Download How can we better prepare for more frequent infectious disease

THE NEXT
ZIKA
How can we better prepare
for more frequent infectious
disease outbreaks?
W R I T T E N B Y A L A N S . R U D O L P H , PH D
E ARE EXPERIENCING AN INCREASING NUMBER of
outbreaks and epidemics associated with
microbial diseases, bacteria and viruses. They
are affecting animals, people, food and the
environment. While the Zika virus is front
and center as the most recent example, the
threat of pandemic disease has been gaining
attention since the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and
reports of food borne illnesses impacting the
national and international landscape in the
last several years.
With long-standing, federally funded investments in infectious disease in the Colorado
Front Range, Colorado is uniquely poised to
offer a strategic shot in the arm to combat this
issue. The state is home to research universities and federal laboratories such as the Rocky
Mountain Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA), United States Geological
Survey (USGS) and National Wildlife Research
Center (NWRC).
Outbreak response is costly. The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimated the cost of
2014's Ebola epidemic to be $32 billion. Foodborne illness from microbes such as E.Coli,
salmonella and listeria is estimated by the
USDA to cost the nation $15 billion annually.
Additionally, the CDC estimates that each year
in the US, one in six Americans (or 48 million
people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and
3,000 die of foodborne diseases.
30
BIOSCIENCECOLORADO 2016-2017
Experts project that we will continue to see
a rise in the frequency of new outbreaks
and epidemics.
The rapid transit of material and commerce
across state, national and international borders allows these disease outbreaks to move
quickly across large geographic regions. Widespread use of antibiotics and increasing global
temperatures have created new challenges,
including resistant strains of existing diseases
as well as the opportunity for microbes to
occupy and adapt to new environments.
The increase in outbreaks creates the opportunity to address the need for more resilience
and agility in our public health response.
An integrated “systems” approach will
allow for improved information sharing, and
ultimately a more coordinated surveillance
and response framework. This approach
crosses government and industry, and includes
community-based inputs.
For instance, AgConnect, a suite of customizable data integration and analysis products
designed to enhance situational awareness,
incorporates climate data and animal health
data from livestock producers to provide
the earliest warning of potentially infectious
cases in regional zones across the western US.
Social media has already proven to be a more
effective rapid-communication platform than
our current system. During Germany’s 2012
E.Coli outbreak, Twitter feeds and health blogs
alerted the community to the outbreak faster
than the public health system of surveillance,
detection and response.
Programs that promptly identify the potential
for rapid spread of new contagions create
opportunities to develop countermeasures in
Experts project that we
will continue to see a rise
in the frequency of new
outbreaks and epidemics.
response. These responses include vaccines,
therapeutics, diagnostics, barrier protections
and policies and practices to reduce public
health consequences.
Colorado is positioned to create coalitions
that can model a resilient and agile outbreak
response for the country. Over the last
decade, Colorado State University has
constructed a National Institutes of Health
(NIH)-funded regional center of excellence
in infectious disease, with hundreds of
faculty and staff active across a spectrum of
discovery and translation, including a cGMP
biomanufacturing facility, BioMarc. BioMarc
is designed to produce and commercialize
diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for
infectious disease outbreak response.
Many companies in our region are playing
a critical role in progressing research and
formulating commercial development
in infectious diseases. Terumo BCT has
developed a novel way to inactivate known,
unknown and emerging pathogens in blood
that is seeing expansion and acceleration
in the increasing outbreak era. Companies
such as Corgenix, ViroCyt and SomaLogic are
developing rapid signatures and diagnostic
tests that can determine if individuals have
been exposed or infected. New materials for
infection control are also under development
by companies including Sharklet Technologies
and Diazamed. In addition, companies like
Birko help food producers control, clean and
sanitize their facilities, and reduce the levels
of bacteria, including pathogens, on fresh food
products. Major sectors in agriculture, livestock
and food are more active in managing disease
outbreaks as regulation and public pressure
reduce the use of antibiotics and agrochemicals in practices in these industries.
While we don’t know the course Zika will take
in the current outbreak, our country and our
state stand ready to position new systems to
create resilience and agility in our public health
response, and to create new public-private
partnerships to provide rapid response to new
threats from infectious diseases.
Alan S. Rudolph PhD, MBA, is the vice president
of research and a professor of biomedical
sciences at Colorado State University.
THESE COLORADO COMPANIES ARE AMONG OTHERS IN LEADING OUTBREAK PREVENTION
1
2
Terumo BCT
Advancing the safety of donated blood components, the Mirasol
Pathogen Reduction Technology System uses a simple, non-toxic
process to inactivate a broad range of viruses, bacteria and parasites,
as well as residual white blood cells in blood components. This can
benefit patients who require blood components, as the Mirasol PRT
system reduces the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and
adverse reactions associated with blood transfusion. The Mirasol
system is not approved for use in the US. Terumo BCT is currently
pursuing US FDA approval.
5
Sharklet Technologies
6
Diazamed
7
Birko
Corgenix
The ReEBOV™ Antigen Rapid Test is authorized for use in individuals with signs and symptoms of Ebola virus infection in conjunction
with epidemiological risk factors (including geographic locations with
high prevalence of Ebola infection) for the presumptive detection of
Ebola Zaire virus (detected in the West Africa outbreak in 2014).
3
ViroCyt
4
SomaLogic
The Virus Counter 3100 is a novel approach for determining total
virus particle concentration that provides precise results in minutes,
not days. The system provides a quantitative picture of viral growth
that’s simple, compliant and cost-effective.
The company has developed a micropattern that mimics a
shark’s skin and is resistant to the growth of bacteria and other
microorganisms without the use of chemicals or antibiotics. The
micropattern can be ingrained into any surface, creating a safer,
cleaner environment.
The company’s technology is a unique anti-thrombogenic and
anti-infective material that can be integrated into any biocompatible
polymer. The technology, while not a coating, acts as a self-clearing
catalyst to continually produce low levels of nitric oxide (NO) on the
surface of any medical device that encounters blood. This enables
the production of medical devices that replicate the human body’s
management of thrombus and infection in the bloodstream.
The company has developed meat antimicrobials from food-grade,
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) ingredients based on organic
acids. The compounds are designed for use on beef, chicken, pork
and other proteins. Other specialties include antimicrobials for direct
application to further processed meats and fruits and vegetables.
SomaLogic discovers and develops unique, reproducible and
cost-effective antigen-binding reagents called “SOMAmers,” which
can be used in place of antibodies in a wide array of diagnostic tests
and research assays.
2016-2017 BIOSCIENCECOLORADO
31