Biosafety And Biosecurity Approaches To Counter Sars Cov 2 From Detection To Best Practices And Risk Assessments

Biosafety and Biosecurity Approaches to Counter SARS-CoV-2: From Detection to Best Practices and Risk Assessments

Joint external evaluation of IHR core capacities of Kyrgyzstan

Overall, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, with significant leadership and expertise from the Ministry of Health, is conducting a significant amount of work to protect and strengthen national public health security, including accounting for innumerable lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) team appreciated that several new laws and ministerial orders were enacted from 2019–2022 to respond to COVID-19, with a new, comprehensive public health law and updated terms of reference being discussed in parliament at the time of the external evaluation visit. In combination, the emerging set of legal mechanisms discussed with counterparts from various ministries promises to significantly modernize the entire public health emergency preparedness and response system. Information provided in the Self-Assessment Report and during meetings with national counterparts provided ample evidence of active involvement of numerous ministries with the legislative body and president's office; there appears to be a strong, concerted national effort to achieve public health goals and ultimately meet Kyrgyzstan's obligations under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005.

Potential Risks and Benefits of Gain-of-Function Research

On October 17, 2014, spurred by incidents at U.S. government laboratories that raised serious biosafety concerns, the United States government launched a one-year deliberative process to address the continuing controversy surrounding so-called "gain-of-function" (GOF) research on respiratory pathogens with pandemic potential. The gain of function controversy began in late 2011 with the question of whether to publish the results of two experiments involving H5N1 avian influenza and continued to focus on certain research with highly pathogenic avian influenza over the next three years. The heart of the U.S. process is an evaluation of the potential risks and benefits of certain types of GOF experiments with influenza, SARS, and MERS viruses that would inform the development and adoption of a new U.S. Government policy governing the funding and conduct of GOF research. Potential Risks and Benefits of Gain-of-Function Research is the summary of a two-day public symposia on GOF research. Convened in December 2014 by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, the main focus of this event was to discuss principles important for, and key considerations in, the design of risk and benefit assessments of GOF research. Participants examined the underlying scientific and technical questions that are the source of current discussion and debate over GOF research involving pathogens with pandemic potential. This report is a record of the presentations and discussion of the meeting.