Naval and Defense scientists join together for biosurveillance program

Scientists from both the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) joined together at a March 7-8 conference to discuss progress and the objective projections for a joint biosurveillance project.

“The goal of the program is to enhance readiness by enabling our warfighters to use handheld diagnostic devices in the field to detect pathogens that can cause incapacitating or deadly diseases,” Captain Rita Simmons, NHRC’s commanding officer, said. “Once a pathogen has been identified, immediate guidance could be provided to troops and their leaders to help them deal appropriately with the health threat. This project has the potential to significantly impact medical and mission readiness.”

The two organizations have been working together, along with the Joint Science and Technology Office on the Field Forward Diagnostics program, since 2013 to develop novel point of need (PON) handheld diagnostics devices to identify pathogens that cause acute febrile illnesses and threaten global and public health

The joint interagency team for the project will evaluate the handheld devices for ease of use diagnostics. The goal of the project is to bring the expertise of cutting edge doctors and scientists to agents in the field.

“Confirmation from a laboratory is needed for a definitive diagnosis, but if you’re in the field, forward deployed, a lab can be hard to come by,” Dr. Christopher Myers, department head for biosurveillance at NHRC, said.