Global Biodefense June 26, 2019 The Hazard Assessment Simulation and Prediction Suite (HASP) software was developed by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). It models how CBRN threats will disperse if released in urban or open areas. It provides hazard predictions in a matter of minutes, greatly improving upon previous models. It also takes into consideration the interactions between indoor and outdoor dispersion as well as estimates the source parameters, such as location, discharge time, and the amount of substance released. The HASP Suite will be available in a next generation CBRN information management system known as EuroSIM […]
Category Archives: Biodefense
Biological Threat Reduction: Design and Build Effluent Treatment System at Kenya’s FMD Vaccine Facility
Global Biodefense June 18, 2019 The Kenya Veterinary Vaccine Production Institute/National Veterinary Quality Control Lab (KEVEVAPI/NVQCL) is the national foot and mouth disease vaccine producer and a quality control laboratory in Kenya. Pathogen containment capacity at the lab is an important milestone to reduce the risk of widespread foot and mouth disease outbreaks. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) is seeking eligible performers to design and install a new Effluent Treatment System…read more. Solicitation
How machine learning could keep dangerous DNA out of terrorists’ hands
Nature News January 31, 2019 The US government is backing efforts that use machine learning to detect whether a DNA sequence encodes part of a dangerous pathogen. Researchers are beginning to make progress towards designing artificial-intelligence-based screening tools, and several groups are presenting early results at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Biothreats meeting in Arlington, Virginia, on 31 January. In 2016, IARPA launched an initiative to design better algorithms for spotting potentially threatening sequences. Information about the basic biology of organisms — such as a universal DNA sequence that allows toxins or viruses to stick to cells could help […]
Rethinking Ebola Vaccine Stockpile as Outbreak Threatens Mega-Cities
Global Biodefense December 20, 2018 The nature of Ebola outbreaks is changing as the virus finds its way out of rural villages into populous urban settings. Outbreak response experts at the WHO and GAVI are already talking to the leading Ebola vaccine manufacturer, Merck, to reassess just how much larger global stocks need to be. Besides Merk’s vaccine, another potential vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson could also eventually become part of the stockpile, global health officials say… read more.
Fundamental Research to Counter Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear Weapons
Global Biodefence September 21, 2018 The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) seeks to identify, adopt, and adapt emerging, existing and revolutionary sciences that may demonstrate high payoff potential to Counter-WMD (C-WMD) threats, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives threats. Initially released in 2015, the BAA, Fundamental Research to Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction (FRCWMD) https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=275322 is open continuously through September 2024. Published Topics may be updated at any time… read more.
Roadmap for Biosecurity and Biodefense Policy in the United States [2018]
Global Biodefense July 15, 2018 The report presents a roadmap for implementing biosecurity and biodefense policy to leverage the capabilities of science and technology advances and minimize security risks. Supporting the conclusions and suggestions in the Roadmap are detailed analyses of the overall system of U.S. biosecurity and biodefense policy, existing methodologies for evaluating successful implementation of policies, and historical case studies with which to develop an analytic framework for assessing potential opportunity and costs of biosecurity policy requirements. The study was supported by the U.S. Air Force Academy and Defense Threat Reduction Agency under their Project on Advanced Systems […]
DHS Seeks BioWatch Laboratory Staffing Support
Global biodefense May 24, 2018 BioWatch currently maintains operational laboratories in approximately 30 jurisdictions across the country. The program must ensure each location is able to perform daily sample collection and analysis in a timely manner and be flexible enough to provide additional coverage for large special security or other high-risk events. The mission of the BioWatch program is to provide and maintain a continuous bio-terrorism air monitoring system in large metropolitan areas and coordinate with state and local public health communities to prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist event… read more. Solicitation
Ebola Is Back. Here’s How The New Outbreak Is Different From 2014
Science Alert May 17, 2018 The largest of Ebola outbreaks took place in West Africa from 2014 through 2016 killing 11,310. The world is once again on the brink of another Ebola outbreak, this time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This time health officials have another, far more proactive weapon in the fight against Ebola: an experimental vaccine known as Merck’s rVSV-ZEBOV, or V920. The first batch of 4,000 Ebola vaccine doses arrived in the DRC capital of Kinshasa. More doses should follow, according to the WHO… read more.