On April 7, 2006, over 200 public health, business, university, and government officials gathered together at the Global Biological Threats Symposium to learn about the origins, risks, and possible solutions demanded by emerging biological threats, such as bioterrorism, Avian influenza, and SARS.  The symposium featured speakers from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, the USDA, Southcentral Wisconsin Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Consortium, and from multiple disciplines at the University of Wisconsin –Madison. The day closed with a discussion, lasting more than 90 minutes, to further problem solve the challenges communities face as they confront global biological threats.

The symposium underscored the need for a broad, multi-faceted approach when identifying global biological security threats and feasible solutions at the global, national, and local levels.  Dr. Jonathan Patz of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison showed how on a global scale environmental degradation leads to increases in global temperatures which introduce new disease threats, such as malaria, into previously inhospitable ecosystems.  On a national level, Dr. Eric Noji, an expert in the treatment of biological, chemical, nuclear terrorism, noted the need for awareness and response planning for a broad range of threats facing national security including terrorism, SARS, and global warming.  Dr. Mary Proctor, the Program Director of the Southcentral Wisconsin Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Consortium, explained the steps taken by Dane County to prepare for a broad range of health and security threats.  Dr. Vicki Bier of the UW Madison Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering emphasized the importance of properly identifying private sector needs when designing effective pandemic action plans.  Dr. Donald Moynihan of the UW-Madison LaFollette School of Public Affairs outlined some of the management challenges facing crisis responders and suggested better coordination between government officials, threat experts, and communities as an important factor for successful response. 

Two experts from the United States Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (USGS), Dr. Hon Ip and Dr. F. Joshua Dein, stressed the importance of wildlife monitoring as a key component of threat identification and management.  Dr. Ip explained the centrality of waterfowl in a potential future Avian Influenza pandemic, and put such an outbreak into historical perspective.  Dr. Dien argued that currently wildlife monitoring is not well integrated into biological threats monitoring and much needed international coordination remains quite limited.  Dr. Ty Vannieuwenhoven, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), discussed how local, state, and national networks coordinate to respond to foreign animal disease outbreaks in the United States.

The Global Biological Threats Symposium was designed to build bridges between the university and the public, and across the natural and social sciences, to increase our capacity to confront bioterrorism and emerging diseases. The UW-Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE), a member program of the International Institute, a joint initiative of the Division of International Studies and the College of Letters & Science, organized the Global Biological Threats Symposium.  Other sponsors included: Division of International Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), Department of Population Health Sciences, Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, Center for Global Health, University Research Park, WI Department of Natural Resources, WI Department of Agriculture, Trade, & Consumer Protection, WI Department of Health and Family Services, and USGS National Wildlife Health Center.

We invite you to visit the Global Biological Threat Symposium’s web page where you can access audiorecordings and the powerpoints for each presentation. You also can learn more about our speakers, and find links to important related resources identified by the presenters.  In the near future WAGE will offer follow up programs, including a Pandemic Planning Workshop.  Details of those and other WAGE events can be found on WAGE’s event calendar.