BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:d30a64447807b552e86b53bbbc9c0436
CATEGORIES:Polar Conferences, Meetings and Events
CREATED:20190325T152740
SUMMARY:Workshop "Understanding and Responding to Global Health Security Risks from Microbial Threats in the Arctic"
LOCATION:Hanover\, Germany
DESCRIPTION:<p>This workshop&nbsp;is being planned as a cooperative effort among three 
 boards of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicin
 e [the Polar Research Board, the Board on Life Sciences, and Board on Globa
 l Health] in partnership with the InterAcademy Partnership and the European
  Academies Science Advisory Council.&nbsp;</p><p>A rapidly warming climate 
 is leading to widespread thawing of permafrost and ice across Arctic and su
 b-Arctic regions. Among the many concerns this raises are growing questions
  about bacteria and viruses that could possibly emerge from these thawing e
 nvironments, raising infectious microbial risks for animal and human popula
 tions. This interest grew in 2016, when Siberia’s Yamal Peninsula saw an ou
 tbreak of anthrax that infected dozens of people and killed more than 2300 
 reindeer, which some speculated may have resulted from anthrax spores relea
 sed from a thawing reindeer carcass. &nbsp;Also in recent years there have 
 been numerous instances where researchers have recovered from permafrost so
 il samples various fragments of DNA/RNA from diseases such as smallpox, bub
 onic plague, and the 1918 influenza virus.&nbsp; This raises concerns, give
 n that many currently or previously populated high-latitude regions contain
  buried remains of humans and animals that died from such diseases.&nbsp; S
 tudies have shown that bacteria and viruses frozen in the environment can r
 emain viable for thousands and even millions of years; and this raises ques
 tions about whether permafrost may harbor microbes that are human pathogens
 , and for which modern immune systems have no protection. Given the very li
 mited studies to date, it is difficult to characterize the magnitude and na
 ture of these potential risks; yet understanding and preparing for “low-pro
 bability, high-consequence” events is one of the hallmarks of a robust publ
 ic health protection strategy.</p><p>This workshop will bring together an i
 nternational, interdisciplinary group of experts to explore what is known, 
 and what critical knowledge gaps remain, regarding existing and possible fu
 ture risks of harmful infectious agents emerging from thawing Arctic enviro
 nments. Discussions will encompass topics such as:</p><ul><li>known risks s
 uch as anthrax, and other unknown human and animal microbial health risks t
 hat could conceivably be harbored in ice and permafrost;</li><li>key resear
 ch needs and critical tools for improving observations and surveillance, to
  advance our understanding of these risks, and to develop effective early w
 arning systems;</li><li>relevant lessons learned from efforts to address em
 erging/re-emerging microbial threats elsewhere in the world;</li><li>opport
 unities to facilitate interagency and international cooperation on such eff
 orts, and to build upon existing programs and platforms for cooperation.</l
 i></ul><p>The workshop may also consider broader “One Health“ perspectives 
 on the changing Arctic environment and infectious disease dynamics; and que
 stions about whether research on particular pathogens raises new biosafety/
 biosecurity concerns.&nbsp; We hope to convene active researchers from nume
 rous disciplines, public health officials, and representatives from key Arc
 tic-region indigenous communities (such as reindeer herders).</p><p><strong
 >Deadline to submit nominations for workshop planning committee members:&nb
 sp;5 April 2019, via&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.arcus.org/sites/all
 /modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=13917&amp;qid=2363744">Call for Nominatio
 ns webpage</a></p>
CONTACT:Lauren Everett, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
				document.getElementById('cloakb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583').innerHTML = '';
				var prefix = '&#109;a' + 'i&#108;' + '&#116;o';
				var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '=';
				var addyb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583 = 'l&#101;v&#101;r&#101;tt' + '&#64;';
				addyb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583 = addyb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583 + 'n&#97;s' + '&#46;' + '&#101;d&#117;';
				var addy_textb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583 = 'l&#101;v&#101;r&#101;tt' + '&#64;' + 'n&#97;s' + '&#46;' + '&#101;d&#117;';document.getElementById('cloakb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583').innerHTML += '<a ' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addyb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583 + '\'>'+addy_textb323f4c68384382efd86b41ba5226583+'';
		
DTSTAMP:20260514T133407Z
DTSTART;TZID=UTC;VALUE=DATE:20191106
DTEND;TZID=UTC;VALUE=DATE:20191108
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR