Medical Benefits of the Biological Defense Research Program

1990 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles F. Dasey
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Budget Request ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Safety Compliance ◽  
Medical Benefits ◽  
Defense Research

The U.S. Army conducts the Biological Defense Research Program to provide medical protection for U.S. military personnel against the threat of biological weapons. The unclassified medical research program is consistent with the Biological Weapons Convention, which prohibits the production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons, and encourages the international exchange of scientific and medical information on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. The program is the source of secondary benefits to civilian public health in the form of vaccine and drug development, diagnostic capability, and contributions to the world body of knowledge on infectious diseases. As the executive agent for the program, the Army submits descriptions of the work conducted under the program to Congress as part of its budget request, and provides numerous other responses to Congressional scrutiny of the program. Internal monitoring of the program is conducted from the perspectives of safety, compliance with regulatory agencies, quality assurance, and close administrative and technical oversight of contracts.

Research Program in Tropical Infectious Diseases

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce C. Redington ◽  
Jose A. Lopez ◽  
Llewellyn J. Legters ◽  
Richard E. Krieg
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Tropical Infectious Diseases

Europe Agrees on Joint Defense Research Program

Science ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 229 (4708) ◽  
pp. 36-36
Author(s):  
David Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Defense Research

scholarly journals Cross-sectional telephone surveys as a tool to study epidemiological factors and monitor seasonal influenza activity in Malta

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Marmara ◽  
D. Marmara ◽  
P. McMenemy ◽  
A. Kleczkowski
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Seasonal Influenza ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Reporting Rate ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Public

Abstract Background Seasonal influenza has major implications for healthcare services as outbreaks often lead to high activity levels in health systems. Being able to predict when such outbreaks occur is vital. Mathematical models have extensively been used to predict epidemics of infectious diseases such as seasonal influenza and to assess effectiveness of control strategies. Availability of comprehensive and reliable datasets used to parametrize these models is limited. In this paper we combine a unique epidemiological dataset collected in Malta through General Practitioners (GPs) with a novel method using cross-sectional surveys to study seasonal influenza dynamics in Malta in 2014–2016, to include social dynamics and self-perception related to seasonal influenza. Methods Two cross-sectional public surveys (n = 406 per survey) were performed by telephone across the Maltese population in 2014–15 and 2015–16 influenza seasons. Survey results were compared with incidence data (diagnosed seasonal influenza cases) collected by GPs in the same period and with Google Trends data for Malta. Information was collected on whether participants recalled their health status in past months, occurrences of influenza symptoms, hospitalisation rates due to seasonal influenza, seeking GP advice, and other medical information. Results We demonstrate that cross-sectional surveys are a reliable alternative data source to medical records. The two surveys gave comparable results, indicating that the level of recollection among the public is high. Based on two seasons of data, the reporting rate in Malta varies between 14 and 22%. The comparison with Google Trends suggests that the online searches peak at about the same time as the maximum extent of the epidemic, but the public interest declines and returns to background level. We also found that the public intensively searched the Internet for influenza-related terms even when number of cases was low. Conclusions Our research shows that a telephone survey is a viable way to gain deeper insight into a population’s self-perception of influenza and its symptoms and to provide another benchmark for medical statistics provided by GPs and Google Trends. The information collected can be used to improve epidemiological modelling of seasonal influenza and other infectious diseases, thus effectively contributing to public health.

Microbes for War and Peace

Germ Wars ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
World War ◽  
High Security ◽  
Modern Warfare ◽  
The U.S

When the U.S. military created a bioweapons research program at Fort Detrick, Maryland, following World War II, it enlisted microbiology in the production of modern warfare. Biological weapons magnify the potential of germs to harm humans, remaking the terms of risk to account for natures that have been engineered to be more contagious, fatal, and far-reaching. This alliance between war and science also bracketed certain ways of knowing nature by creating spaces and mechanisms to control microbes according to human desires. Beyond the weapon itself, bioweapons research promulgated knowledge of containment, designing top-secret, high-security laboratory spaces for the safe study of deadly microbes, thereby materializing the belief that microbes must (and could) be contained.

ASM and Biological Arms Control

1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-262
Author(s):  
Kenneth I. Berns
Keyword(s):  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Defense Research ◽  
American Society ◽  
American Society For Microbiology ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
The U.S

Members of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) have a considerable history of bringing scientific and technical knowledge to the issue of biological weapons control and being available to serve in advisory roles to the government. ASM's involvement with the biological weapons issue began in the 1940s, when microbiologists served as advisors to the government's Biological Defense Research Program and participated in the Biological Warfare Committee of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In 1970, a controversy resulting from the ASM's involvement with this issue abated when the ASM Council approved a statement concerning non-secrecy and free movement in research. Simultaneously, the society affirmed support for President Richard M. Nixon's action to end the U.S.'s offensive biological weapons program. The society's code of ethics, published in 1985, contains two relevant sections that seek to discourage ASM members from participating in biological weapons development.

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