Microbiology and Bioterrorism

It's been 2 decades since the posting of the anthrax letters in the United States in 2001. This event marked a pivotal point in our history. It highlighted the vulnerability of modern society to acts of bioterrorism and set countries on a course to develop capabilities to pre-empt, prevent, react to, investigate, and recover from acts of bioterrorism. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the enormity of the impact that the release of a biological agent, natural or otherwise, can have on an immunological naïve society. The purpose of this article is to describe how microbiology is applied in the investigation of bioterrorism, highlighting the modern advances in technology, particularly the DNA technologies, which have assisted this discipline as a forensic practice. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Equipment Management and Sustainability and Implications for Pandemic Preparedness Priorities1.

Substantial investments into laboratories, notably sophisticated equipment, have been made over time to detect emerging diseases close to their source. Diagnostic capacity has expanded as a result, but challenges have emerged. The Equipment Management and Sustainability Survey was sent to the Veterinary Services of 182 countries in mid-2019. We measured the status of forty types of laboratory equipment used in veterinary diagnostic laboratories. Of the 68,455 items reported from 227 laboratories in 136 countries, 22% (14,894/68,455) were improperly maintained, and 46% (29,957/65,490) were improperly calibrated. Notable differences were observed across World Bank income levels and regions, raising concerns about equipment reliability and the results they produce. Our results will advise partners and donors on how best to support low-resource veterinary laboratories to improve sustainability and fulfill their mandate toward pandemic prevention and preparedness, as well as encourage equipment manufacturers to spur innovation and develop more sustainable products that meet end-users' needs.

The 100 Days Mission—2022 Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit

Summit participants also noted that regulators must come to a consensus regarding requirements for clinical trial data, become more familiar with technology platforms through review of data across various pathogens over time, and provide guidance on the feasibility of alternative pathways to emergency use approval, especially in the context of the 100 Days Mission (10). Speakers shared reports of progress being made on several fronts: the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are setting up mRNA vaccine technology transfer hubs in South America (12) and South Africa (13);Moderna (https://www.modernatx.com) plans to set up an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya (14);SK bioscience (https://www.skbioscience.com) plans to produce routine vaccines in preparation for Disease X that can quickly transfer to large-scale manufacturing if a new pandemic occurs;and WHO has designated South Korea as a biomanufacturing training hub (15). More tools and innovations that enable rapid R&D and manufacturing responses will, in turn, be needed, including standardized animal models and assays, accelerated trial designs, improved rapid diagnostics, laboratory and clinical trial networks that enable data sharing, and distributed manufacturing across regions. March 8, 2022 [cited 2022 Jun 7]. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-build-mrna-vaccine-manufacturing-facility-kenya-2022-03-07/ World Health Organization.

Airborne prokaryotes and toxins

Increasing evidence of possible airborne transmission of many microorganisms causing important human diseases such as the causal agent of the current COVID-19 pandemic has led to renewed interest in the field of aeromicrobiology. In this chapter, we examine the diversity of prokaryotes and toxins found in the atmosphere and their public health importance. This chapter among other important information focuses on occupational exposure to airborne prokaryotes and their toxins, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes as emerging airborne pollutants of global public health concern and airborne prokaryotes and toxins in bioterrorism. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interventions to Reduce Risk for Pathogen Spillover and Early Disease Spread to Prevent Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Pandemics.

The pathogens that cause most emerging infectious diseases in humans originate in animals, particularly wildlife, and then spill over into humans. The accelerating frequency with which humans and domestic animals encounter wildlife because of activities such as land-use change, animal husbandry, and markets and trade in live wildlife has created growing opportunities for pathogen spillover. The risk of pathogen spillover and early disease spread among domestic animals and humans, however, can be reduced by stopping the clearing and degradation of tropical and subtropical forests, improving health and economic security of communities living in emerging infectious disease hotspots, enhancing biosecurity in animal husbandry, shutting down or strictly regulating wildlife markets and trade, and expanding pathogen surveillance. We summarize expert opinions on how to implement these goals to prevent outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.

The educational outcomes of an online pilot workshop in CBRNe emergencies

Background: In the past 20 years, humanity, particularly in the Middle East, has experienced three outbreaks of coronavirus disease, restricting our ordinary activities. In addition to the growing risk of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents, discussing an alternative to the usual refresher or first-time face-to-face disaster preparedness education is necessary. This study aimed to evaluate the participants' educational outcomes following their participation in the "HazMat/CBRNe in the context of mass gatherings"online pilot workshop, which used PowerPoint presentations, a remotely facilitated tabletop exercise, and videos. Methods and Analysis: This was a retrospective quantitative analysis study based on the participants' pre- and post-workshop session 1 multiple choice assessment scores and their evaluation results. Result(s): Although it was based on a small number of participants, the implemented workshop helped accomplish the participants' educational outcomes. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated that this online workshop helped fulfil the participants' educational needs and familiarize them with the concept of readiness and preparedness for CBRNe threats in mass gatherings;hence, it should be conducted again for other participants. The increasing worldwide use of CBRN agents in industries and bioterrorism heightens the need to ensure appropriate healthcare workers' readiness through practical, innovative continuous professional development tools in times of pandemics.Copyright © 2022 Farhat, Laughton, Joseph, Abougalala, Dhiab, Alinier, licensee HBKU Press.

Infectious Disease as a Security Threat: A Mental Framework for Future Emergency Preparedness

The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on human lives as well as economic and social stability. The United States has a complicated history with biosecurity. The September 11th terror attacks uncovered various weaknesses in the national biosecurity infrastructure that have persisted into the current pandemic. This study explores the implications of framing the infectious disease biothreat as a security threat to improve our capabilities while protecting against the potential accelerated threat of bioterrorism in the post-COVID-19 era. To counter the increasing biothreats, the United States must invest in revamping the biodefense infrastructure to increase our resilience to various biothreats. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Homeland Security & Emergency Management is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Evaluating Nebraska EMS Providers' Ability and Willingness to Respond to Emergencies Resulting from Bioterrorist Attacks.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have found that public health systems within the United States are inadequately prepared for an act of biological terrorism. As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues, few studies have evaluated bioterrorism preparedness of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), even in the accelerating environment of biothreats. METHODS: This study utilized an Internet-based survey to assess the level of preparedness and willingness to respond to a bioterrorism attack and identify factors that predict preparedness and willingness among Nebraska EMS providers. The survey was available for 1 month in 2021 during which 190 EMS providers responded to the survey. RESULTS: Only 56.8% of providers were able to recognize an illness or injury as potentially resulting from exposure to a biological agent. The provider Clinical Competency levels ranged from a low of 13.6% (ability to initiate patient care within his/her professional scope of practice and arrange for prompt referral appropriate to the identified condition(s)) to a high of 74% (the ability to respond to an emergency within the emergency management system of his/her practice, institution, and community). Only 10% of the respondents were both willing and able to effectively function in a bioterror environment. CONCLUSION: To effectively prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist attack, all levels of the health care system need to have the clinical skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to treat patients exposed to biological agents. Policy changes and increased focus on training and drills are needed to ensure a prepared EMS system, which is crucial to a resilient state. EMS entities need to be aware of the extent of their available workforce so that the country can be prepared for the increasing threat of bioterrorism or other novel emerging infectious disease outbreaks. A resilient nation relies on a prepared set of EMS providers who are willing to respond to biological terrorism events.

Timeline: Key Stories and Topics in HIC This Century

The article presents the discussion on news related to various topics. Topics include Infection preventionists (IPs) urging to take a leadership role in the burgeoning national patient safety movement after the 1999 Institute of Medicine report;and MRSA killing more people annually than human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the US.

The educational outcomes of an online pilot workshop in CBRNe emergencies

Background: In the past 20 years, humanity, particularly in the Middle East, has experienced three outbreaks of coronavirus disease, restricting our ordinary activities. In addition to the growing risk of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents, discussing an alternative to the usual refresher or first-time face-to-face disaster preparedness education is necessary. This study aimed to evaluate the participants' educational outcomes following their participation in the 'HazMat/CBRNe in the context of mass gatherings' online pilot workshop, which used PowerPoint presentations, a remotely facilitated tabletop exercise, and videos. Methods and Analysis: This was a retrospective quantitative analysis study based on the participants' pre- and post-workshop session 1 multiple choice assessment scores and their evaluation results. Result(s): Although it was based on a small number of participants, the implemented workshop helped accomplish the participants' educational outcomes. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated that this online workshop helped fulfil the participants' educational needs and familiarize them with the concept of readiness and preparedness for CBRNe threats in mass gatherings;hence, it should be conducted again for other participants. The increasing worldwide use of CBRN agents in industries and bioterrorism heightens the need to ensure appropriate healthcare workers' readiness through practical, innovative continuous professional development tools in times of pandemics.

Spike ferritin nanoparticle (SpFN) WRAIR's COVID-19 vaccine and SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain ferritin nanoparticle RFN vaccine from American Walter Reed Institute during pandemic of SARS-CoV-2

In general, it can only be stated that new or emerging diseases are dangerous diseases and have high potential for spreading. Their common denominator is high mortality, dangerous spread in the population and limited treatment options. Today, there is a real possibility of introducing these diseases from the areas of their occurrence due to massive tourism, population migration and foreign workers. Another possibile way of their spread may be abuse in the form of bioterrorism, i.e. the use of an infectious agent as a biological weapon. The World Health Organization (WHO) continuously monitors and quantifies dangerous events in several well-defined categories (e.g. nuclear hazards, chemical hazards, natural disasters), however, annual as well as long-term statistics lead infectious diseases worldwide, which, due to epidemics and pandemics, account for more than 80% of the overall picture. The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is unprecedented. This is also because it is the first pandemic in human history, during which we are able to develop both drugs and vaccines against the biological agent. Copyright © 2022, EEZY Publishing, s.r.o.. All rights reserved.

Regulations on Genetically Modified Microorganisms & Their Relation to Bioterrorism in India

Covid-19, a virus-driven pandemic, has shown the world the possible dangers posed by microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, fungi, and their toxins. However, genetically engineered microorganisms are helpful in various biosciences fields, including medication, horticulture, and fundamental investigation into life processes. Among these, some genetically altered microorganisms have drastic potential to cause harm to humans, and the environment, like the current coronavirus pandemic has shaken the world with fatalities caused by it worldwide and crashed the global economy. On the one hand, genetically engineered organisms help understand the ultrastructure of these organisms and as a tool to combat the disease caused by them. On the other, the increasing research on this also poses a threat to the occurrence of pandemics throughout the world. In India, genetically altered microorganisms are regulated by the Rules, 1989 under sections 6,8 and 25 of the Environment Act, 1986. Bioterrorism is the systematic and deliberate deployment of hazardous organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or toxins to spread infectious diseases on a massive scale to wipe out a vast population. The global incidents of the recent twenty years presented that the danger of biological fighting isn't a fictional thing yet a harsh truth. Hazardous microbes can be utilised in bioterrorism by seeing flare-ups brought about by microorganisms. So, there is a need to improve the countermeasures to tackle the spread of infectious diseases. This review covers the various regulations for genetically altered microorganisms in India regarding their sale, import-export storage, and creation, emphasising regulating bodies;their constitution, and application forms for the registrations and approval for research on such microorganisms, and this assessment presents a clear overview of the country's probable biothreats, current laws, and regulations to combat such incidents, with a significant necessity for their execution, and biodefense measures for readiness and defence, in favour of making India a bioterror-free country. Copyright © 2022 Assiut University. All rights reserved.

Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future

Lawrence Gostin’s Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future comes along at an opportune time, as a pandemic reminds humankind of the importance of public health response to our wellbeing and security (Figure). The book addresses the types of infectious disease outbreaks and actions needed to prepare and respond, emphasizing the roles of multinational agreements and international cooperation. For readers knowledgeable about global health security, the content might serve as a refresher, for persons unfamiliar with the subject, as an introduction. Gostin, director of Georgetown Law School’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, shaped by experiences as a lawyer and interactions with the World Health Organization, examines scientific and policy approaches. He discusses COVID-19 throughout the book and emphasizes health equity, drawing attention towards disadvantaged populations in low- and middle-income countries

Microbiology and Bioterrorism

It’s been 2 decades since the posting of the anthrax letters in the United States in 2001. This event marked a pivotal point in our history. It highlighted the vulnerability of modern society to acts of bioterrorism and set countries on a course to develop capabilities to pre-empt, prevent, react to, investigate, and recover from acts of bioterrorism. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the enormity of the impact that the release of a biological agent, natural or otherwise, can have on an immunological naïve society. The purpose of this article is to describe how microbiology is applied in the investigation of bioterrorism, highlighting the modern advances in technology, particularly the DNA technologies, which have assisted this discipline as a forensic practice.

Implications of the anti-vaccine movement, bioterrorism, infodemic and intrusion in the COVID-19 pandemic: student perception. Dr. Jose Maria Vargas School of Medicine, Universidad Central de Venezuela

The aim of this work was to study the perception of a group of students about the implications of the anti-vaccine movement, bioterrorism, infodemic and intrusion in the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive, non-experimental study with the quantitative approach was designed, using an intentional non-probabilistic sampling including 70 active students from the Microbiology Chair of the School of Medicine Dr. Jose Maria Vargas of the Universidad Central de Venezuela. The survey technique was used for collecting the information and a questionnaire was prepared, which consisted of five parts and 11 questions with two types of answer options: single and multiple selection closed response options and was applied in June 2021. The results of this study showed that the second-year medical students surveyed have knowledge about important subjects such as bioterrorism and the anti-vaccine movements. However, despite possessing and handling information on the aforementioned topics, the wave of misinformation caused by non-competent media affected the students participating in the survey, producing mostly stress and anxiety.

Challenges in governance of Synthetic Biology: Biorisk assessment

Synthetic biology is an emerging area of research representing one of the finest example of culmination of various engineering principles to biology resulting in multi-dimensional implications for humans. In other terms, as with any technology, synthetic biology presents plausible opportunities as well as potential risks. Commercialisation of synthetic biology- oriented products requires critical analysis to outweigh the probable risks. Synthetic biology based processes and products have been considered to be regulated under biotechnology regulatory framework due to existing overlap at various levels in the two fields. However, with ever widening scope and impact of synthetic biology, several nations have enacted various guidelines to regulate synthetic biology research. Outbreak of COVID-19 and various speculations about its origin has further attracted global attention to address bio risk concerns of synthetic biology. Therefore, the present study focuses on biosecurity, bioterrorism, and ethical aspects of synthetic biology, emphasising the urgent need for policymaking in this regard in India. In addition, role of various agencies in regulating synthetic biology has been reviewed. Furthermore, position of India in the synthetic biology race has been also assessed towards the end of the study.. © 2021, RIS.

Public health emergencies: Case studies, competencies, and essential services of public health

Public Health Emergencies provides a current overview of public health emergency preparedness and response principles with case studies highlighting lessons learned from recent natural and man-made disasters and emergencies. Designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate public health students, this book utilizes the 10 essential services of public health as performance standards and foundational competencies from the Council on Education for Public Health to assess public health systems. It emphasizes the roles and responsibilities of public health careers in state and local health departments as well as other institutions and clarifies their importance during health-related emergencies in the community. Written by prominent experts, including health professionals and leaders on the frontlines, this textbook provides the framework and lessons for understanding the public health implications of disasters, emergencies, and other catastrophic events, stressing applied understanding for students interested in pursuing public health preparedness roles. Practical in its approach, Part One begins with an introduction to the fundamentals of public health emergency preparedness with chapters on community readiness, all-hazards preparedness design, disaster risk assessments, and emergency operation plans. Part Two covers a range of public health emergency events, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, disease outbreaks and pandemics, accidents and chemical contamination, nuclear and radiological hazards, extreme heat events, and water supply hazards. The final part addresses special considerations, such as how the law serves as a foundation to public health actions;preparedness considerations for persons with disabilities, access, and functional needs;children and disasters;and a chapter evaluating emerging and evolving threats. Throughout, chapters convey the roles of front-line, supervisory, and leadership personnel of the many stakeholders involved in preparedness, response, and recovery efforts to demonstrate decision-making in action. © 2022 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Optimizing the Sensitivity of Biological Particle Detectors through Atmospheric Particle Analysis According to Climatic Characteristics in South Korea

Biological agents used in biological warfare or bioterrorism are also present in bioaerosols. Prompt identification of a biological weapon and its characteristics is necessary. Herein, we optimized an environmentally adaptive detection algorithm that can better reflect changes in the complex South Korean environment than the current models. The algorithm distinguished between normal and biological particles using a laser-induced fluorescence-based biological particle detector capable of real-time measurements and size classification. We ensured that the algorithm operated with minimal false alarms in any environment by training based on experimental data acquired from an area where rainfall, snow, fog and mist, Asian dust, and water waves on the beach occur. To prevent time and money wastage due to false alarms, the detection performance for each level of sensitivity was examined to enable the selection of multiple sensitivities according to the background, and the appropriate level of sensitivity for the climate was determined. The basic sensitivity was set more conservatively than before, with a 3% alarm rate at 20 agent-containing particles per liter of air (ACPLA) and a 100% alarm rate at 63 ACPLA. The reliability was increased by optimizing five variables. False alarms did not occur in situations where no alarm was unnecessary.