Academic literature on the topic 'Bioterrorism [MESH]'

AbstractObjectivesThis review was conducted to explore the literature to determine the availability, content, and evaluation of existing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) education programs for health professionals.MethodsAn integrative review of the international literature describing disaster education for CBRN (2004-2016) was conducted. The following relevant databases were searched: Proquest, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Journals @ OVID, Google Scholar, Medline, and Ichuschi ver. 5 (Japanese database for health professionals). The search terms used were: “disaster,” “chemical,” “biological,” “radiological,” “nuclear,” “CBRN,” “health professional education,” and “method.” The following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms, “education,” “nursing,” “continuing,” “disasters,” “disaster planning,” and “bioterrorism,” were used wherever possible and appropriate. The retrieved articles were narratively analyzed according to availability, content, and method. The content was thematically analyzed to provide an overview of the core content of the training.ResultsThe literature search identified 619 potentially relevant articles for this study. Duplicates (n=104) were removed and 87 articles were identified for title review. In total, 67 articles were discarded, yielding 20 articles for all-text review, following 11 studies were retained for analysis, including one Japanese study. All articles published in English were from the USA, apart from the two studies located in Japan and Sweden. The most typical content in the selected literature was CBRN theory (n=11), followed by studies based on incident command (n=8), decontamination (n=7), disaster management (n=7), triage (n=7), personal protective equipment (PPE) use (n = 5), and post-training briefing (n=3).ConclusionWhile the CBRN training course requires the participants to gain specific skills and knowledge, proposed training courses should be effectively constructed to include approaches such as scenario-based simulations, depending on the participants’ needs.KakoM, HammadK, MitaniS, ArbonP. Existing approaches to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) education and training for health professionals: findings from an integrative literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):182–190.

The Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture received diseased geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum) samples from several Pennsylvania (PA) greenhouses in 1999 and 2000 and from one Delaware (DE) greenhouse in 1999. Originating from Guatemala, plants exhibited yellowing, wilting, stunting, and bacterial oozing from the vascular tissues. Isolations on yeast dextrose-CaCO3 (YDC) and triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride (TTC) agars resulted in off-white mucoid colonies and white, fluidal colonies with pink centers, respectively. Such colonies are typical of Ralstonia solanacearum (1). The disease was similar to a bacterial wilt of geranium caused by an unidentified biovar of R. solanacearum (3). Preliminary tests using Biolog MicroLog 3 (Hayward, Ca; 4.01A) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Agdia Inc., Elkhart, IN; BRA 33900/0500) identified the organism as R. solanacearum. For pathogenicity tests, a 10-μl droplet of water suspension containing 1 × 106 CFU of each of five geranium strains (PDA 22056-99, 81849-99, 81862-99, 51032-00, and 64054-00) per milliliter was placed on a stem wound made by cutting off the terminal growth of each of 4 6-leaf stage plants of geranium ‘Orbit Scarlet’, tomato ‘Rutgers’, potato ‘Russet Norkotah’, and eggplant ‘Black Beauty’ in a growth chamber at 28°C, 86% relative humidity, and 12 h light/dark cycle. Water was included as a control. The five strains caused severe yellowing and wilting within 10 days. Colonies typical of R. solanacearum were reisolated from symptomatic tissue on YDC and TTC. To determine the specific biovar, 20 pathogenic geranium strains from PA and DE plus a strain of R. solanacearum originally isolated from a geranium plant of Guatemalan origin received from Connecticut in 1995 were grown up to 28 days on Ayers mineral medium supplemented with a 1% final concentration of D-cellobiose, dextrose, meso-inositol, lactose, maltose, D-ribose, trehalose, mannitol, sorbitol, or dulcitol (1). Acid was produced by 21 test strains from the first five carbohydrates only. Such carbohydrate utilization is typical of bv 2 (1). Bv 2 identification was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction using bv 2-specific primers and probes (N. Schaad, unpublished) designed from a bv 2-specific DNA fragment (2). All tested strains were positive using ELISA. In contrast, strains of bv 2 from geraniums in Wisconsin and South Dakota were reported to be negative using ELISA (4). From our results, it appears that bv 2 was introduced into the United States on geraniums from Guatemala in 1995 and 1999. This cool climate bv 2, a regulated agent by the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002, has caused extensive crop loss in potatoes in Europe, but has not been found in potatoes in the United States. References: (1) T. P. Denny and A. C. Hayward. Ralstonia solanacearum. Pages 151–174 in: Lab Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria. N. W. Schaad et al. eds. 3rd ed. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 2001. (2) M. Fagen et al. Development of a diagnostic test based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify strains of R. solanacearum exhibiting the Biovar 2 genotype. Pages 34–43 in: Bacterial Wilt Disease: Molecular and Ecological Aspects. P. H. Prior et al. eds. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1998. (3) D. L. Strider et al. Plant Dis. 65:52, 1981. (4) L. Williamson et al. (Abstr.) Phytopathology 91 (Suppl.):S95, 2001.

ABSTRACTExperimental infection of animals with aerosols containing pathogenic agents is essential for an understanding of the natural history and pathogenesis of infectious disease as well as evaluation of potential treatments. We evaluated whether the Aeroneb nebulizer, a vibrating mesh nebulizer, would serve as an alternative to the Collison nebulizer, the “gold standard” for generating infectious bioaerosols. While the Collison possesses desirable properties that have contributed to its longevity in infectious disease aerobiology, concerns have lingered about the liquid volume and concentration of the infectious agent required to cause disease and the damage that jet nebulization causes to the agent. Fluorescein salt was added to the nebulizer contents to assess pathogen loss during aerosolization. Relative to fluorescein salt, loss of influenza virus during aerosolization was worse with the Collison than with the Aeroneb. Four other viruses also had superior aerosol performance with the Aeroneb. The Aeroneb did not improve the aerosol performance for a vegetative bacterium,Francisella tularensis. Environmental parameters collected during the aerosol challenges indicated that the Aeroneb generated a higher relative humidity in exposure chambers while not affecting other environmental parameters. The aerosol mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) was generally larger and more disperse for aerosols generated by the Aeroneb than what is seen with the Collison, but ≥80% of particles were within the range that would reach the lower respiratory tract and alveolar regions. The improved aerosol performance and generated particle size range suggest that for viral pathogens, the Aeroneb is a suitable alternative to the Collison three-jet nebulizer for use in experimental infection of animals.IMPORTANCERespiratory infection by pathogens via aerosol remains a major concern for both natural disease transmission as well as intentional release of biological weapons. Critical to understanding the disease course and pathogenesis of inhaled pathogens are studies in animal models conducted under tightly controlled experimental settings, including the inhaled dose. The route of administration, particle size, and dose can affect disease progression and outcome. Damage to or loss of pathogens during aerosolization could increase the dose required to cause disease and could stimulate innate immune responses, altering outcome. Aerosol generators that reduce pathogen loss would be ideal. This study compares two aerosol generators to determine which is superior for animal studies. Aerosol research methods and equipment need to be well characterized to optimize the development of animal models for respiratory pathogens, including bioterrorism agents. This information will be critical for pivotal efficacy studies in animals to evaluate potential vaccines or treatments against these agents.