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The Path Toward Improved Biosurveillance

Posted by samzenpus on from the finding-patient-zero dept.

Lasrick writes "Interesting opinion piece that explains successes and holes in the U.S. system of detecting and responding to pandemics: 'In April 2009, following an experimental protocol, staff members at a Navy lab in San Diego tested specimens from two patients using a new diagnostic device. Both tested positive for influenza, but, oddly, neither specimen matched the influenza A subtypes that are known to infect humans. This finding raised suspicions, and so the samples were sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Further tests would reveal that these two patients were the first reported cases of a novel H1N1 influenza virus that would cause a global pandemic in 2009. In many respects, the Navy lab's discovery of H1N1 is a success story for US efforts to boost its biosurveillance capabilities.'"

7 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Whoa by binarylarry · · Score: 3, Funny

    At first I read it as "Brosurveillance" and wasn't sure what the fuck that means.

    But now I want to know.

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    1. Re:Whoa by Megahard · · Score: 3, Funny

      Made me think the NSA was noting every time I took a dump.

      --
      I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
  2. Re:Now the bioweapons conspiranoia(?) begins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    And that is how the bioweapons conspiranoia(?) begins.

    Actually, for those who are informed ( sorry, dumbass, but you aren't on the list )
    this train left the station years ago.

    Google "Biopreparat" if you want to get an idea of what might be out
    there. It makes anything relative to nuclear weapons look like a child's
    toy.

    =

  3. More Whitewashing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I Like all these "US government surveillance is GOOD for you!" articles lately.
    Means they really are running scared about all the illegal shit they do. I hope the paycheck for Lasrick ist worth it.

    And "Biosurveillance" is a cool newspeak where all the first links on google go to such paragons of virtue as the dhs.gov, defense.gov and so on

  4. Weird Article by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I basically don't get it. The Navy has developed a new test for Influenza that (apparently) doesn't need the typical surface markers that other tests do. Cool. But TFA just drops that and wanders around the US government's attempt at creating a more unified / functional bio-surveillance program but then complains we don't have the money or expertise to do it.

    OK. Fine. Another first world Problem.

    I'd like to know more about the test. I'm well aware of the Government's inability to organize anything more complex than an egg coloring contest.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    1. Re:Weird Article by khallow · · Score: 2

      Another first world Problem.

      The 2009 flu happened to kill more third world people as a fraction of people infected. Any actual pandemic of considerable lethality would likely do the same. But then maybe caring whether people live or die is a first world problem.

  5. The technical article by Animats · · Score: 2

    Here's the technical article mentioned. Open source, peer reviewed, incidentally. The Navy gets a mouth swab from every new recruit (all services), and shipped to a lab for analysis. This is done so they catch contagious diseases early. It also gives the military something it's hard to get today - samples from a sizable healthy population. So they have good baseline data for people who aren't sick, to compare against.

    One valuable result of that study is that detection and sequencing of a broad-range of influenza-like viruses may lead to a vaccine that blocks all of them. There's now more understanding of what's common to all flu-like viruses.