Center News

Threats to Animals, Feed, and Food

New Publication Focuses on Prevention, Detection, and Response to Agroterrorism Threats

OCTOBER 23, 2013—Baltimore, MD—In a Supplement to the most recent issue of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., authors from across Europe present research and perspectives on the biological threats to animals, feed, and food (https://www.liebertpub.com/toc/bsp/11/S1).

The editors have assembled nearly 30 peer-reviewed papers that deal with prevention, preparedness and response, detection, and actions that need to be taken in cases of animal bioterrorism. The authors—from Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK—offer a historical perspective on agroterrorism, discuss policies that can help prevent it, and present scientific advances in laboratory identification technologies.

Topics include:

• Harmonization of European Laboratory Response Networks

• High-Quality Whole-Genome Sequence Databases in Microbial Forensics

• Pre-PCR Processing Applied to Bioterrorism Preparedness

• Decontamination of High-Risk Animal and Zoonotic Pathogens

• Vaccine Preparedness and Decontamination: What Can Be Learned from FMD?

• Genetic Diversity of Bacillus anthracis in Europe

• Management of Animal Botulism Outbreaks

• Multiplex Real-Time PCR for Detecting and Typing Clostridium botulinum Organisms

• Extracting and Detecting Avian Influenza Virus in Broiler Chicken Meat

• Rodents as Potential Couriers for Bioterrorism Agents

• Social Media and Its Dual Use in Biopreparedness

The Supplement is a product of the AniBioThreat project, which was undertaken to improve the European Union’s capacity to counter animal biothreats through raised awareness and prevention efforts. The European Union project has built bridges across boundaries that divide countries, competencies, and disciplines.

“While the articles all deal with biological weapon threats against animals, the authors’ approaches are multidisciplinary, which makes this collection valuable and unique. Policy audiences and scientists alike will find insights useful for their work,” notes Supplement Editor Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a Senior Associate at the UPMC Center for Health Security.

The AniBioThreat consortium is composed of experienced personnel from 8 European countries in the fields of veterinary medicine, security, forensics, animal and public health, food safety, and academia. The breadth of expertise includes all levels—from superintendents, sergeants and police officers, to fingerprint experts, lawyers, communicators and DNA specialists, to veterinarians, medical doctors, bacteriologists, virologists, molecular biologists, agronomists, pharmacists, and modelers. This pioneering project has enhanced international cooperation and promoted multidisciplinary networking for bridging security measures between animal health and public health.

The purpose of the Supplement is to disseminate project results and to identify further research and development needs. The editors hope that publishing these papers in one volume will facilitate the bridging of disciplines and allow the project to tell its whole story under one cover.

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Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, published quarterly in print and online by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com), covers topics such as bioscience, medical and public health preparedness and response, infrastructure and institutions, international collaborations, agroterror/food safety, infectious disease surveillance, and citizen response and responsibility in all matters related to national and international biosecurity. It provides an international forum for debate and exploration of the many key strategic, scientific, and operational issues posed by biological weapons, bioterrorism, and other major health-related events.

The UPMC Center for Health Security is an independent nonprofit organization that works to protect people’s health from the consequences of epidemics and disasters and to ensure that communities are resilient to major challenges.