ADVERTORIAL The New Paradigm of BioSurveillance T
he next biological event is inevitable, the only questions being when and whether it will be an intentional terrorist attack or a natural pandemic.
Either way, it will commence as a quiet event – where a deadly pathogen is inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin unbeknownst to the victim until symptoms manifest themselves days later. Most likely, the fi rst cases from an intentional biological attack will be misdiagnosed since initial symptoms of bioterrorist pathogens such as Anthrax resemble
biological attack, the 2001 Anthrax attacks in America, there have been two signifi cant naturally occurring outbreaks. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in early 2003 killed over 900 people worldwide and nearly became a pandemic and the H1N1 Flu Pandemic in 2009 was responsible for about 17,000 deaths around
biological attacks to encompass an all threats approach, an approach termed BioSurveillance. To address the evolution of BioSurveillance, BioFire Diagnostics off ers a suite of agile, fl exible, and scalable Biosur- veillance systems for identifying biological threats. These systems are used by non-scientifi c personnel such as soldiers,
symptoms of common respiratory diseases. Actual declaration of a biological event will follow some time later as more epidemiological information is collected and combined with other types of information such as intelligence warnings or sentinel surveillance data. The consequences from a biological event can be catastrophic with tens or hundreds of thousands of casualties, up to $1 trillion in economic damage, and threaten national security not to mention the fear that would engulf the world. Current events in Syria and
North Korea serve as a warning that the threat of a biological terrorist attack is real and subse- quently attracts the most attention. However, natural disease outbreaks occur more oſt en and cause far more deaths but receive a fraction of the funding as does detecting and defending against a terrorist attack. Since the last known
the globe. Contrast this to the fi ve casualties and 17 infections that resulted from the Anthrax attacks. Fortunately, policy and funding are evolving to include surveillance for natural threats to human health alongside surveillance for
Lou Banks, BioSurveillance Marketing Manager for BioFire Diagnostics, Inc., formerly Idaho Technology
CBNW 2013/02 93
fi rst responders, and medical technicians and encompass all operational
scenarios. The RAZOR® EX fi lls the requirement for a hand-held fi eld instrument while R.AP.I.D. ® is a fl exible, ruggedized PCR instrument designed for mobile labs. Finally the FilmArray® uses comprehensive disease
diagnostic panels to identify infectious diseases in patients or environmental threat panels to identify bioterrorist attacks. The capability to identify quickly a biological attack, whether a
terrorist act or a natural occurrence, is critical to minimize the number of casualties and contain public fear.
However, agencies must be prepared for such scenarios, even as the memory of the last attack or outbreak fades and budget cuts aff ect policy decisions. zy
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