Biosecurity Memos To The Obama Administration

On inauguration day, President Obama posted his administration's biosecurity priorities on the White House website. They are:Prevent Bioterror Attacks: Strengthen U. S. intelligence collection overseas to identify and interdict would be bioterrorists before they strike.Build Capacity to Mitigate the Consequences of Bioterror Attacks: Ensure that decision makers have the information and communication tools they need to manage disease outbreaks by linking healthcare providers, hospitals, and public health agencies. A well-planned, well-rehearsed, and rapidly executed epidemic response can dramatically diminish the consequences of biological attacks.Accelerate the Development of New Medicines, Vaccines, and Production Capabilities: Build on America's unparalleled talent to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests and to manufacture them more quickly and efficiently.Lead an International Effort to Diminish Impact of Major Infectious Disease Epidemics: Promote international efforts to develop new diagnostics, vaccines, and medicines that will be available and affordable in all parts of the world.The memos that follow from the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC offer views on an array of biosecurity challenges confronting the Obama Administration. The first offers recommendations regarding strategic priorities for U.S. biosecurity. The memos that follow provide program recommendations in key areas: the biosecurity budget, prevention, biosurveillance, medical preparedness, public health preparedness, community engagement, and medical countermeasure development and manufacturing.These memos are intended to be of strategic and pragmatic value for the incoming officials in the Obama Administration who have responsibility for biosecurity in the White House and in the federal agencies.