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Protecting the Nation from Biological Threats August 2009
When five letters containing anthrax were postmarked at a Trenton, N.J. post office on September 18, 2001, it marked the beginning of the worst biological attack in U.S. history. Biosecurity has advanced considerably in recent years, but the ongoing threat of bioterrorism continues to pose new challenges. "The federal government takes biological threats very seriously," says Regina Tan, veterinarian and epidemiologist, and a MITRE multi-discipline systems engineer. As defined by MITRE, biosecurity is the physical, scientific, and information-sharing measures taken to prevent and mitigate natural and intentional biological threats to humans, animals, and infrastructure. A wide range of federal agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and many others—currently share the effort on biosecurity. "There are many parts of the U.S. government involved," Tan says. Depending on a specific agency's mission, the focus of its biosecurity activities can vary. For example, public health practitioners in the Department of Health and Human Services as well as veterinarians at the Department of Agriculture all focus on biosecurity-related issues. In addition, if authorities suspect criminal activity, law enforcement agencies join other government organizations in the investigation. Ultimately, the goal is the same for all government agencies—to protect the health and well-being of U.S. citizens. Agricultural Roots As reflected by the multitude of agencies involved in biosurveillance, a facet of effective biosecurity, biological threats can take a number of forms. "It's a very complex system," says Tan.
As a science, biosecurity traces its origins back to farming. Today, an agricultural component continues to play an important role in biosecurity. In fact, approximately 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases that infect humans initially come from animals. "Agriculture is a very big part of understanding the [biosecurity] landscape," says Karen Detweiler, an MITRE enterprise systems engineer. "It includes everything from 'farm to fork.'" Raising livestock and growing produce, processing, and distribution mechanisms all require a certain level of oversight. The agricultural-related aspects of biosecurity call attention to naturally occurring threats. Anthrax (an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis) is usually related to an occupational exposure to infected cattle or sheep. Another recent example of a naturally occurring biothreat is severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the viral respiratory illness was contained in February 2003. Two years later, the widespread outbreak of avian flu prompted renewed concern around the world about naturally occurring viral infections. The Biosecurity Enterprise MITRE plays a growing role in supporting the federal government in protecting the United States from intentional and naturally occurring biological threats. One current project involves developing a next-generation DNA sequence database and data analysis system for the Naval Medical Research Center. "They're doing a lot of work on rapid sequencing of pathogens of interest and looking at what differentiates one strain from another by using the DNA sequence," says James Diggans, a MITRE group leader for computational biology. One of the biggest challenges for the biosecurity community is coordinating the respective organizations and their roles. Because of differing budgets, lines of authority, and levels of information-sharing among the agencies, it can be challenging to knit all the pieces together. "Part of our challenge at MITRE is to help this biosecurity enterprise emerge out of all those pieces," says Detweiler. To provide a framework for the technical, organizational, and human systems of the various stakeholders to effectively respond to national security threats, MITRE is developing a biosecurity enterprise systems engineering approach. "One of our biosecurity initiatives is to define the enterprise landscape," says John Dileo, MITRE group leader for experimental biology. "There are actually nine [government] sectors, so far, making for a large-scale challenge." Integrating different parts of various federal agencies agency plays to MITRE's strengths: systems engineering, bioinformatics, and information technology. "Biosecurity is performed in a very diffuse way," says Detweiler. "It's an emergent enterprise and there are lots of different parts where people are doing excellent work." "What the MITRE Biosecurity Initiative is providing is the context," says Tan. "By adding enterprise systems engineering, we're ensuring that the changing political, organizational, economic, and technical facets of the biosecurity field are well understood. It will enable us to map our work directly to evolving needs." As an indication of the level of commitment to biosecurity at MITRE, the Biosecurity Initiative as well as the Biosecurity Challenge are both an integral part of a company goal to strengthen national security. Participants include staff from across the company. "Everyone is involved in protecting the nation," Tan says. "Everyone has a mission." —by Elvira Caruso Related Information Articles and News
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