Ebola virus. Picture by Shutterstock/ jaddigt
The World Health Organization has recently declared the nearly year-long Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a Public-Health Emergency of International Concern. The declaration was made after recent developments in the outbreak made it one of international concern. Continue Reading
Dr. Tomoya Saito
Last summer, I met with Dr. Tomoya Saito in Tokyo to learn about outbreak and bioterror preparedness in Japan.
Our conversation will be posted in two parts. Part I (below) is about the role that different Japanese institutions play to prevent and respond to biological threats. In Part II (to be posted soon) we will discuss how dual-use technologies change the risk of biothreats.
Dr. Saito is Chief Senior Researcher at the Department of Health Crisis Management of the National Institute of Public Health of Japan (NIPH). His current area of research is biosecurity, public health emergency preparedness and response, and simulation epidemiology. He is based in Saitama, Japan.
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, book by Jeffrey R. Ryan. Photo by Mia Tellmann
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, is a very comprehensive and multi-faceted book. This was one of the first books that I read when I began learning about global public health and it gave me a great introduction into the sometimes complicated field of bioterrorism.
Suneil Malik, PhD. Photo courtesy of McGill University, Canada
I recently spoke with Dr. Suneil Malik about genomics and outbreak preparedness.
Dr. Malik is a Manager and Team Leader for Toxicology at Health Canada, a government agency directed by the Canadian Minister of Health. He is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Scientists in high security lab. Picture by Shutterstock/Gorodenkoff
On the preparedness front in the United States, the new National Biodefense Strategy was released on September 19, 2018. The new strategy establishes clear and thoughtful goals that will become a vital part of “managing the risk of biological incidents… in today’s interconnected world” 1. Continue Reading