The Council on Public Health Preparedness, created to advise the US Department of Health and Human Services' Secretary Tommy Thompson on how best to prepare for and defend the country against bioterrorist attacks, has held its first meeting. The 21-member council set out to prioritize counter-terrorism measures and recommend how to achieve these goals. Anti-bioterrorism research was high on the agenda.
"In the whole area of biodefense, there is incredible need for research—the cupboard is rather empty," says Council member Frederick Murphy, professor at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), presented new areas for NIAID-funded bioterrorism research, and described the construction of new facilities suitable to work with category A pathogens such as anthrax, botulism, tularemia, plague, smallpox and ebola.
The Council identified three crucial areas of study. The "highest research priority," according to Council member Gail Cassell, vice president for Scientific Affairs at Eli Lilly, is the development of relevant animal models to test therapeutic compounds under study. US research is "severely lacking" in this area, says Cassell. Other priorities include studying the pathogenic characteristics of infectious agents themselves, and hosts responses to them. Finally, the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs, antibiotics and immune modulators must be accelerated. Other priorities include "better surveillance to detect outbreaks, either natural or manmade," she says. The Council also acknowledged the need to educate the public, government officials and emergency services.
The Council's role is strictly advisory; it has no official power over governmental policy-making or implementation. However, it is expected to be a strong influence on the direction of spending of the new $1.75 billion for bioterrorism research at NIAID proposed for FY03. Despite the fact that the new NIAID monies represent the single largest funding increase ever disbursed by the NIH, Cassell cautions the public against impatience and high expectations. The development of any new vaccine, antibiotic or antiviral therapy takes 5−7 years at a minimum. She believes it is important to appreciate that while the increase in NIAID funding is quite significant, it is still "only a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of developing and producing effective compounds."
The Council will meet three or four times a year to reassess the state of the country's preparedness for bioterrorist attacks and reprioritize goals if necessary. Future projects include increased recruitment of young researchers into bioterrorism research. "There are lots of brilliant young scientists...out there, but recruiting them into this particular subject area will be a challenge," says Murphy, who attributes this to an unclear career path, no specific research training programs and peer pressure.
