Biosecurity Fundamentals

This table documents the known human-caused pathogen exposure events from 1975-2016, both accidental and deliberate, from peaceful research and bioweapons programmes. Using this data, we can start to build an idea of the base rate of these events to begin to inform how likely we might expect human-caused pandemics to be in the future.

Original text:
 https://f1000research.com/articles/10-752

Author(s):
 David Manheim and Gregory Lewis

This introduction to the course underscores its focus on mitigating the risk of catastrophic pandemics, a specific aspect of the complex and multidisciplinary field of biosecurity. It clarifies various interpretations of 'biosecurity', categorises different sources of pandemic risk, and underscores the need for collaboration across numerous disciplines and skill sets to effectively prevent pandemics. We also highlight the core values of the course - a scout mindset, healthy scepticism, active learning and community.

Original text:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1niZllKaLbYhVvA2ls9c5pVxgJyJfXr_IiU1XYaf9jCM/edit?usp=sharing

Author(s): 
Will Saunter