Bioscope ‘06

by  Dr. Barbara Price

          Although the statistics for 2006 will take a few years to develop, the end of the year is always a good time to view perspectives from a different angle.

          Biodefense as an industry has grown enormously in budget since 2001. The civilian biodefense budget for NIAID, for example, grew from about $100 million in 2001 to $1.74 billion in 2005 and 2006 and overall $4 billion in Health and Human Services for 2006. (EID, CDC). World-wide, the proportion of people dying from infectious disease is 26% of all deaths, or 14, 867,000. TB is the number one killer infectious disease, killing more than 4 million each year, but TB is not considered a biological weapon.

          Biodefense research in emerging and re-emerging diseases does contribute to understanding of many diseases, not just those caused by biological agents. For example, research in HIV-AIDS research and other viral diseases, especially RNA diseases, have helped advances in understanding for filoviral diseases and viral diseases attacking the immune system.

          The WHO report for 2006 focuses on health care workers and provides estimates of health care spending for each country and worldwide. It also reveals an estimated shortage of almost 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses and support workers worldwide. The shortage is most severe in the poorest countries, but also affects more developed countries. Since the public health system of any country is its best defense against bioterrorism or biological attacks, improving education and training more health care workers (doctors, nurses, medical technicians and medical logisticians) is going to be key. Education and training will certainly help to save lives and protect society from economic losses from infectious disease, pandemics, bioterrorism, and possible biological attacks. Without bolstering our public health systems, we are all vulnerable.

          Another interesting fact this year is that bats and their ecology are gaining importance. Bats have been implicated as reservoirs in many viral diseases including Nipah, SARS, Ebola, St. Louis encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, rabies, etc. Bats are shy and increases in the appearance of these diseases may result from human encroachment on wildlife.

          Concern that H5N1 could evolve into a pandemic highlighted difficulties in biosurveillance and sharing of information between countries. However, H5N1 awareness also showed that countries can and will share information that is important. Dr. Erna Tresnaningsih's article, pages 16-22, illustrates how experts from different countries worked together to pinpoint and determine whether or not H5N1 caused fevers, if the virus evolved using reassortment and if human-to-human transmission occurred.

          Another new development in 2006 was the First ICBPS in Beijing. This symposium dramatically demonstrated both the requirements for and the worldwide interest in a professional discussion of how to take pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals from the bench to production. Professionals from 23 countries participated in this exceptionally interesting meeting that was hosted and sponsored by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, Battelle Memorial Institute, the China Biochemical Pharmaceutical Industry Association and the China National Biotec Group.