Marburg biosafety and biosecurity scale (MBBS): a framework for risk assessment and risk communication.

Current risk assessment and risk communication of biosafety and biosecurity concerns lack a convenient metric and conceptual framework. The absence of such a systematic tool makes communication more difficult and can lead to ambiguous public perception of and response to laboratory biosafety incidents and biosecurity threats. A new 7-category scoring scale is proposed for incidents and situations in laboratories related to the handling of human and animal pathogens. The scale aims to help clarify risk categories, facilitate coordination and communication, and improve public understanding of risk related to biosafety and biosecurity.

The national framework and consequence management guidance following a biological attack.

Consequence management following a release of aerosolized Bacillus anthracis spores requires a high level of technical understanding and direction. National policies and regulations address the topics of preparedness goals and organizational structure, but they do not tell responders how to perform remediation. Essential considerations include determining what must be cleaned, evaluating health risks, ascertaining the priority of cleanup, and selecting appropriate decontamination technologies to meet consensus and risk-derived clearance goals. This article highlights key features of a national-level framework that has been developed to guide a risk-based decision process and inform technical personnel of the best practices to follow during each activity leading to the restoration of functions at affected facilities or areas. The framework and associated guidance follows the scheme of 6 phases for response and recovery arrived at through interagency consensus and approval. Each phase is elaborated in a series of detailed decision flowcharts identifying key questions that must be addressed and answered from the time that first indications of a credible biological attack are received to final reoccupancy of affected areas and a return to normal daily functions.

The NYC native air sampling pilot project: using HVAC filter data for urban biological incident characterization.

Native air sampling (NAS) is distinguished from dedicated air sampling (DAS) devices (eg, BioWatch) that are deployed to detect aerosol disseminations of biological threat agents. NAS uses filter samples from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in commercial properties for environmental sampling after DAS detection of biological threat agent incidents. It represents an untapped, scientifically sound, efficient, widely distributed, and comparably inexpensive resource for postevent environmental sampling. Calculations predict that postevent NAS would be more efficient than environmental surface sampling by orders of magnitude. HVAC filter samples could be collected from pre-identified surrounding NAS facilities to corroborate the DAS alarm and delineate the path taken by the bioaerosol plume. The New York City (NYC) Native Air Sampling Pilot Project explored whether native air sampling would be acceptable to private sector stakeholders and could be implemented successfully in NYC. Building trade associations facilitated outreach to and discussions with property owners and managers, who expedited contact with building managers of candidate NAS properties that they managed or owned. Nominal NAS building requirements were determined; procedures to identify and evaluate candidate NAS facilities were developed; data collection tools and other resources were designed and used to expedite candidate NAS building selection and evaluation in Manhattan; and exemplar environmental sampling playbooks for emergency responders were completed. In this sample, modern buildings with single or few corporate tenants were the best NAS candidate facilities. The Pilot Project successfully demonstrated that in one urban setting a native air sampling strategy could be implemented with effective public-private collaboration.