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Maximum Containment Infectious Disease Laboratories as an Integral Part of Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response

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Defense Against Biological Attacks

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Abstract

Maximum containment [biosafety level 4 (BSL-4)] laboratories offer unique opportunities for research on emerging infectious diseases. Though maximum containment laboratories contribute to some of the seminal research on viral haemorrhagic fevers, very little has been written about the roles of these laboratories in infectious disease outbreaks response and preparedness. Drawing on interviews and data coming from maximum containment laboratories, the authors elucidate the complex roles of maximum containment laboratories in infectious disease outbreaks, using the recent 2013–2016 Ebola virus disease epidemic to highlight these functions. The first three sections define terms, discuss the unique research produced at maximum containment laboratories, and consider the barriers to operating these facilities. The next section focuses on the role of maximum containment institutions in capacity-building and surveillance as a part of emergency preparedness prior to the outbreak of an epidemic. Subsequently, the authors examine the function of these laboratories in emergency response as sources of subject matter expertise and as contributors to on-the-ground mobile laboratory systems. The chapter concludes with recommendations for improved collaboration between maximum containment laboratories themselves as well as between the laboratories and resource-limited countries most affected by the studied pathogens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Sarah Carpenter

  2. Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Nahid Bhadelia

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  1. Sarah Carpenter
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  2. Nahid Bhadelia
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Correspondence to Nahid Bhadelia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology Unit, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Sunit K. Singh

  2. NIH/NIAID, Division of Clinical Research, Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA

    Jens H. Kuhn

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Carpenter, S., Bhadelia, N. (2019). Maximum Containment Infectious Disease Laboratories as an Integral Part of Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response. In: Singh, S., Kuhn, J. (eds) Defense Against Biological Attacks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03053-7_7

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