Laura H. Kahn | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

When the H1N1 flu hits home

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:18:08 -0800

On Saturday, October 24, President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 flu a national emergency. To date, more than 20,000 people have been hospitalized and more than 1,000 have died.

When science is lacking, good leadership is critical

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:21:55 -0700

Since the middle of the twentieth century, more than 330 novel infectious diseases have emerged in human populations. The majority of these new diseases spread from animals to humans--take, for example, HIV/AIDS, SARS, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as "mad cow disease," or BSE). Some political leaders chose to respond to these dangerous diseases by ignoring or downplaying the problem. Others consulted scientific and medical experts in order to make informed decisions to combat the threats.

The need for political leadership during a crisis

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:29:33 -0700

The concept of "meta leaders"--individuals who make decisions beyond their official lines of authority in order to facilitate collaborations across jurisdictions and agencies--was proposed in an effort to overcome the silo thinking that characterizes how traditional government leaders carry out their roles. Since then, meetings and summits have promoted the concept of "meta leadership" among business, government, and nonprofit sectors.

Leadership in a public health crisis

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:21:08 -0700

Max Weber, the noted German sociologist of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, wrote that an inherent conflict exists between political and bureaucratic leaders. Political leaders strive to get reelected and implement their ideologically based policies while bureaucratic leaders aim to perpetuate and expand their bureaucracies.

Reduce the spread of flu with good hand hygiene

Laura H. Kahn — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:58:32 -0700

A recent report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimates that a resurgence of the H1N1 influenza virus during the 2009-2010 flu season could lead to 30,000-90,000 deaths, mostly in children and young adults. What's worse, the flu season could begin as early as September, just as school is starting.

Hiroshima, (re)visited

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:13:04 -0700

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, my father, who had struggled through the Great Depression to become a surgeon, volunteered with the U.S. Army. He was stationed in the United States for some time, but eventually sought an overseas assignment. In March 1944 he shipped out of San Francisco to join the 35th General Hospital in New Guinea and then, one year later, transferred to the 1st Portable Surgical Hospital at Leyte Island in the Philippines where he operated on wounded soldiers in an active combat zone.

The problems with the Department of Homeland Security

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:34:19 -0700

In response to 9/11, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a massive cabinet-level agency that consolidated 22 departments and agencies and almost 200,000 federal employees. Its goal was to improve domestic security coordination and communication.

Stirring up "swine flu" hysteria

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:07:03 -0700

All disease crises begin with some level of chaos and confusion, particularly when a novel microbe is involved. The current influenza A (H1N1) crisis--referred to by the media as "swine flu"--isn't an exception. The notable difference is the level of hysteria it inspired.

Who's in charge during the swine flu crisis?

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:22:18 -0700

As the swine flu crisis worsens, effective disease control will require political and public health leadership at the federal, state, and local levels. Like the deadly influenza virus of 1918 that took more lives than World War I, this latest virus is an H1N1 strain and has the potential to develop into a major pandemic. Already, the virus has infected more than 150 people in Mexico and has spread to New York City and other parts of the United States.

Licensing life science researchers

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:36:39 -0700

In a previous column, I discussed how the recent U.S. buildup of high-containment biodefense laboratories might inadvertently increase the risk of another bioterrorist attack by increasing the number of researchers who have expertise and access to dangerous pathogens. One response to this risk has been to oversee research facilities and monitor the acquisition of microbes.

The threat of emerging ocean diseases

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:28:16 -0800

Much attention has been paid to newly emergent diseases that have afflicted humans in recent decades--HIV/AIDS, SARS, avian influenza, etc. Conversely, deadly diseases that have emerged in the world's oceans during the same time period have been largely ignored. While these diseases haven't caused epidemics in humans, they have proved troublesome to marine animal populations and to susceptible humans who have ventured into contaminated waters.

Modeling disease spread

Laura H. Kahn — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:32:17 -0800

Many things went wrong during Britain's 2001 foot-and-mouth disease crisis. Initial efforts at identifying infected animals, slaughtering them, and burying their carcasses within 24 hours--the tried-and-true method for containing the disease--were sluggish at best. And the country's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAFF), still reeling from criticism about how it handled the country's decade-long mad cow disease epidemic, was unprepared for the severity of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Unifying the U.S. government response to bioterrorism

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:18:33 -0800

Of the many ways in which the United States is unprepared to deal with an infectious disease outbreak or bioterrorist attack, here's one of the most problematic: The responsibility for public health is a state concern.

The role of bats in disease transmission

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:03:01 -0800

Bats are considered mysterious creatures and often generate fear. Specifically, South American vampire bats feed on animal blood and possess a legendary lore. But more importantly, bats are the host species for deadly diseases such as rabies, Nipah and Hendra viruses, and SARS. There's also evidence that they continue to serve as sources of novel emerging viruses.

Strong health care equals strong emergency response

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:28:17 -0700

In previous columns, I've discussed the consequences that will result during a pandemic or bioterrorist attack from not insuring all Americans and providing adequate primary care--see "The Security Impact of the Uninsured" and "The Exodus of General Medical Physicians." What I haven't discussed is that the U.S.

Health-care realities during a pandemic

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:54:02 -0700

Despite the availability of antiviral medications and intensive care units, mortality rates for the 385 humans infected with avian influenza remain high. Virtually all of the victims have been from developing countries, with the case fatality rate in children younger than 15 years of age reaching almost 90 percent.

Biosecurity lessons from the Bruce Ivins case

Laura H. Kahn — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:12:33 -0700

We'll never know if Bruce Ivins, a former U.S. government microbiologist, perpetrated the 2001 anthrax letter killings, but the circumstantial evidence is pretty convincing. The DNA of the anthrax strain used in the killings matched the anthrax strain in his laboratory. Searches of his home in Frederick, Maryland, turned up "hundreds" of letters similar to those used in the terrorist attacks.

Food-borne illness: Attack of the killer tomatoes

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:55:17 -0700

Imagine sitting down at a restaurant and enjoying a delicious meal that includes fresh tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. Then, 12 to 72 hours later, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and a fever develop that can last up to a week--possibly, from those tomatoes and/or jalapeno peppers.

How evil can prevail in state-sanctioned biowarfare research

Laura H. Kahn — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:08:00 -0700

Some people consider physician Wouter Basson South Africa's Josef Mengele. During the 1998 Truth and Reconciliation hearings on Project Coast, South Africa's apartheid-era chemical and biowarfare programs, Schalk Janse van Rensburg, a veterinarian, stated that Basson, the program's head, wanted to devise a way to kill individuals that would appear undetectable to a forensics laboratory.

The furor over genetically modified foods

Laura H. Kahn — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 -0700

The United Nations estimates that world population will top 9 billion people by 2050. Combined with the anticipated consequences of global warming such as drought, this could lead to devastating food shortages.