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Rapid and Low-Cost Tools Derived from Plants to Face Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism Agents

ABSTRACT: Whether naturally occurring or man-made, biological threats pose a severe risk in an increasingly globalized world. The dual-use nature of biological research, with its most recent advances in biotechnology (‘synthetic biology’, gene editing, nanotechnologies etc.) and the rapid diffusion of knowledge, raise proliferation concerns of biological weapons by non-state actors. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop measures intended to enhance diagnostic, prophylactic and therapeutic capabilities and capacities to improve the ability of society to combat infectious diseases outbreaks, as well as to alleviate the effects of bioterrorism attacks. We present here two examples of biotechnology usage for biodefence purposes: (i) plants as biofactories for the rapid production of improved biopharmaceuticals (‘Plant Molecular Farming’), and (ii) plant sequences as immune-modulating agents to enhance the efficacy of genetic vaccines. These platforms represent two promising (and complementary) approaches for the rapid and low-cost production of countermeasures (diagnostics and vaccine candidates) against emerging, re-emerging and bioterrorism-related infections.

SUBMITTER: Radosavljevic V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7123727 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe emergence and re-emergence of vector-borne and other infectious diseases of poverty pose a threat to the health of populations living in urban and low-income settings. A detailed understanding of intervention strategies, including effectiveness of past outbreak containment, is necessary to improve future practices. The objective was to determine what is known about the effectiveness of containment measures for emerging and re-emerging vector-borne and other infectious diseases of poverty in urban settings and identify research gaps and implications for public health practice.Main bodyWe conducted a scoping review and systematically searched peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 2000 and 2016. Different data extraction tools were used for data coding and extraction, and data on implementation process and transferability were extracted from all studies. A quality assessment was conducted for each included study. We screened 205 full-text articles and reports for a total of 31 articles included in the review. The quality of the studies was generally low to moderate. The largest body of evidence concerned control activities for Ebola virus and dengue fever. The majority of interventions (87%) relied on multiple types of measures, which were grouped into four categories: 1) healthcare provision; 2) epidemiological investigation and/or surveillance; 3) environmental or sanitary interventions; and 4) community-based interventions. The quality of the majority of studies (90%) was poor or moderate, and one-third of the studies did not provide a clear description of the outcomes and of the procedures and/or tools used for the intervention.ConclusionsOur results highlight the difficulty of establishing causation when assessing the effect of containment measures. Studies that extend beyond solely reporting on effectiveness and take into account the complexity of real-world settings are urgently needed. We recommend the allocation of research efforts to the evaluation of the implementation processes of interventions as well as their comprehensive and systematic description using validated checklists.

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Rapid and Low-Cost Tools Derived from Plants to Face Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism Agents

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