- LARCHMONT, NY (BW HealthWire)
-- "The recent outbreak of West Nile virus in Louisiana has important,
and often overlooked, links to U.S. biodefense capabilities," says
Durland Fish, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine
and Editor-in-Chief of Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, a peer-reviewed
journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com/vbz) and
the only medical journal specifically devoted to such diseases. Like West
Nile virus, most emerging infectious disease threats and nearly all recognized
bioterrorism agents (with the exception of small pox), are either vector
borne or zoonotic agents. In fact, the introduction of West Nile virus
into New York City in 1999 was originally suspected to be an act of bioterrorism.
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- Yet, just how much of the recently announced $1.8 billion
in federal funds allocated to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for
biodefense research will be earmarked for research on controlling the spread
of vector borne zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus is not yet known.
At a recent NIH briefing on $40 million in federal funding for Regional
Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research,
it was announced that neither environmental studies of zoonotic agents,
nor studies on vector control would be among the stated goals for these
Centers of Excellence.
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- "The emphasis is exclusively on diagnostics, therapeutics,
and vaccines," says Dr. Fish. "If there is anything we have learned
from our experience with the recent epidemics of Lyme disease, hantavirus,
and West Nile virus, it is that the traditional NIH response, which focuses
solely on these areas of applied research, is totally inadequate and has
had minimal impact on these epidemics," explains Fish. In a recent
editorial in Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, he cites the recent withdrawal
of the Lyme disease vaccine from the market, after an estimated $200 million
investment by government and private industry, as a prime example of the
failure of misplaced resources.
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- According to Dr. Fish, the public health threat from
vector borne zoonotic diseases, either natural or introduced, is best combated
through an understanding of the establishment, maintenance, and spread
of such pathogens in the environment, and by the execution of effective
vector control programs that will minimize exposure to humans.
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- "The unabated spread of West Nile virus and the
continuing national epidemic of Lyme disease are testimony to our lack
of knowledge in these obviously crucial areas," states Dr. Fish. "Continuing
to focus only on diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines will leave us
vulnerable to future epidemics and bioterrorist attacks," he concludes.
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- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately-held, fully integrated
media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals
in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, such as the
quarterly publication, Viral Immunology. A new journal, Biosecurity and
Bioterrorism: Strategy, Practice and Science will be launched in fall 2002
(www.liebertpub.com/bsp). Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.'s biotechnology trade
magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and
is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete
list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsletters is available at
www.liebertpub.com.
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- CONTACT:
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- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
- Paula Masi, 914/834-3100, ext. 615
- pmasi@liebertpub.com
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- SOURCE: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
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