The need for improved biosecurity is a growing issue for the world. Globalisation of markets has enabled the rapid import and export of goods and people – and pathogens.
While such pathogens cause human suffering in terms of the rapid spread of illnesses such as swine flu, avian flu and NDM-1, they also pose concerns for those producing livestock and plant products. Foot and mouth disease (FMD), for example, has had devastating economic and social consequences for societies, costing billions and ending livelihoods.
It is not surprising that research to combat such diseases is high on government agendas and more is being spent on facilities for this work.
However, the research brings with it its own risks. The outbreak of FMD in the UK on 3 August 2007 on farmland located in Surrey was identified as an “01 BFS67-like” virus – one linked to vaccines and not normally found in animals. The same strain was used at the Institute for Animal Health and Merial Animal Health at Pirbright, which shared a site 2½ miles away from the outbreak. The cause was never directly pinpointed but investigations did pick up defective drainage on the site.
No wonder concerns are being raised about the decision to locate the US National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas, an area otherwise known as “tornado alley” and a densely populated area.
We have improved containment technology dramatically over the past decade, but we have a long way to go in preventing the risks of human failure, criminal intervention and natural disasters. More work is needed on risk assessment and mitigation strategy.