Defense Technology International - May 2008 - (Page 10)

SCIENCE WATCH MICHAEL DUMIAK DETECTING BIOTERROR Research using a common yeast that causes candidiasis, or deep thrush, a systemic infection of the organs, recently sparked a call from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) for further investigation into DNAbased early detection of biological outbreaks or attacks. Darpa is the latest to enter a turbulent research ﬁeld. While bioterror detection systems are currently deployed, early detection of a biological outbreak remains an objective rather than reality. The difﬁculty in developing technologies that identify a bioterror event before it spreads is testimony to the elusiveness and complexity of the goal. Darpa declines to comment on its plans, but ﬁnished taking bids last month for new early-stage research to detect, analyze and identify double-stranded DNA produced as a result of an infectious disease, a way of identifying markers. The agency wants these markers to be detectable using trace amounts—less than 30 nanograms—of plasma, ﬂuids, saliva, blood or tears, and the analysis to take no more than 90 min. The move is prompted by two recent research efforts: A National Institutes of Health study that used polycombinase chain reactions or PCR (i.e., cloning) to detect low levels of DNA from pathogens in clinical samples, specifically from the common yeast candida albicans in the bloodstream of rabbits. The other study, from a group doing work in Paris and Tunis, detected human herpes virus-6 DNA in the plasma of hitherto asymptomatic people with repressed disease. The goal is early detection. Further studies are aimed at developing a prototype instrument for military and civilian health care workers. During his 2003 State of the Union address, George W. Bush said America had deployed its ﬁrst earlywarning network of sensors to detect biological attack. This was the debut of the $40-million BioWatch program, which mounted aerosol samplers at air-quality monitoring stations operated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The samplers pass air through filters, 10 which are examined using DNA ampliﬁcation at local labs. There are at least a halfdozen efforts in the U.S. that are aimed at early detection of biological outbreaks and attacks. These are broken down into two categories: statistical or data-based syndromic biosurveillance, and biodetection, which is more immediate. Both categories have pros and cons, according to Ron Fricker, a statistics expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. “The real difﬁculty is, if you tell me exactly what the attack will look like, I can deﬁne a great method to detect it,” he remarks. Biosurveillance is a component of the BioSense program from the Cen- U.S. Army specialist loads a biological ters for Disease Control, agent identiﬁcation and system analyzer which uses data mining at Aberdeen Proving Ground. to search for “leading indicators” across the country—spikes ing biological outbreaks since it can and anomalies in such areas as lab be temperamental. Extrapolation of reports, over-the-counter medicine the use of PCR outside the laboratory, in the ﬁeld, can be difﬁcult besales and employee absenteeism. Darpa has also employed soft- cause of the need to store the unware prototypes using rudimen- stable compounds required to bring tary automatic translation technol- about the desired reaction. “You use ogy to ﬁnd meaningful patterns in PCR to detect infections, not to deopen-information sources around tect an infection before someone’s the world. The technology is based got it. People on the battleﬁeld are on the MiTAP engine from Mitre not interested in waiting.” He is working toward proteomic Corp., McLean, Va., which now lives on, much modiﬁed, at Georgetown detection, which steps back from University’s Division of Integrated DNA and uses a mass spectrometer to detect telltale proteins from bioBioDefense. But searching for clusters and logical agents in dust samples. Earlier this year, in fact, Ibis Biosymptoms doesn’t have the immediacy of lab work and instruments. sciences, Carlsbad, Calif., landed a In 2005, Idaho Technology Inc. of $2.8-million Army grant to use its Salt Lake City, rolled out a 40-lb. mass spectrometer-based T5000 biodevice for the U.S. Air Force and sensor system in studies aimed at Army to analyze food, environ- detecting infectious agents within mental and clinical samples using the military blood supply. This is a DNA ampliﬁcation. It could report- lab-based machine, too heavy and edly identify a biological warfare sensitive for the ﬁeld. Fox believes there needs to be agent in 40 min. This sounds a lot like what Dar- coordinated efforts to compare the pa wants. Alvin Fox, a University utility of the most promising apof South Carolina microbiologist, proaches. “There’s a dearth of rethinks PCR has drawbacks in detect- search with military relevance.” ■ AviationWeek.com/dti ELAINE WILSON/U.S. ARMY DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MAY 2008 http://AviationWeek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - May 2008

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