Quantitative Investigation of Wildlife Trafficking Supply Chains: A Review

The illicit wildlife trade is a pervasive and global problem that has far-reaching impacts on both society and the environment. Aside from threatening numerous species around the world and acting as a potential disease transmission vector for several zoonotic diseases, including the COVID-19 pandemic, this complex system is often linked with other illicit networks such as drugs, weapons, and human trafficking. The annual monetary value of wildlife trafficking is estimated to be over twenty billion USD, and, unfortunately, wildlife trafficking has several unique characteristics that make it difficult to disrupt in an effective and efficient manner. There has been much research and media awareness around wildlife conservation and moral issues surrounding the illicit wildlife trade, but little is known about the supply chain structures and operations of these illicit networks, especially from a quantitative, analytical perspective. This research reviews wildlife trafficking through an operations and supply chain lens. By understanding the unique challenges faced in impeding wildlife trafficking, we present opportunities to resolve them using analytical techniques. We provide the groundwork for future developments in detection, interdiction, reduction, and possibly, elimination of illicit wildlife trade.

Protection of K18-hACE2 mice and ferrets against SARS-CoV-2 challenge by a single-dose mucosal immunization with a parainfluenza virus 5-based COVID-19 vaccine.

Transmission-blocking vaccines are urgently needed to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV 2, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upper respiratory tract is an initial site of SARS-CoV-2 infection and, for many individuals, remains the primary site of virus replication. An ideal COVID-19 vaccine should reduce upper respiratory tract virus replication and block transmission as well as protect against severe disease. Here, we optimized a vaccine candidate, parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) expressing the SARS-CoV-2 S protein (CVXGA1), and then demonstrated that a single-dose intranasal immunization with CVXGA1 protects against lethal infection of K18-hACE2 mice, a severe disease model. CVXGA1 immunization also prevented virus infection of ferrets and blocked contact transmission. This mucosal vaccine strategy inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in the upper respiratory tract, thus preventing disease progression to the lower respiratory tract. A PIV5-based mucosal vaccine provides a strategy to induce protective innate and cellular immune responses and reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in populations.

COVID contingencies: Early epicenter experiences of different genetics clinics at a New York City institution inform emergency adaptation strategies.

The unique situational challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have demanded creative modifications to the delivery of genetic services. Institutions across the country have adapted workflows to continue to provide quality care while minimizing the need for physical visits. As the first epicenter of the pandemic in the country, New York City healthcare workers and residents had to make rapid, unprecedented changes to their way of life. This article describes the workflow adaptations of genetic counselors across various clinical settings at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, the largest provider of genetics care in New York City, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors observe how the adaptations impacted clinical care and the genetic counselors. Our lived experience and account can provide guidance for others during the current and future pandemics.