{"id":5483,"date":"2016-09-21T13:53:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T17:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/?p=5483"},"modified":"2016-09-22T14:01:49","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T18:01:49","slug":"neidl-symposium-talking-about-infectious-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/2016\/09\/21\/neidl-symposium-talking-about-infectious-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"NEIDL Symposium: Talking about Infectious Diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Fauci, David Quammen address scientists, BU community members, the public<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"h_butoday_0057_8292\"<\/a>National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci told the NEIDL symposium audience that because there have always been, and always will be, emerging infectious diseases, \u201cwe need people and efforts like those that are going on right here, at BU, and at places like the NEIDL.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Anthony Fauci\u00a0flashed on the screen a slide of a huge map of the world crisscrossed with blue and red lines showing dozens of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases<\/span><\/a>. Ebola. Yellow fever. MERS. West Nile virus. Dengue. Zika. This was the map the\u00a0director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\u00a0had shown to the appropriations committee of the US House of Representatives last March, he said, addressing the opening of BU\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) inaugural symposium, held at the George Sherman Union last Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI made this slide completely impossible to read, because I want to overwhelm them so they will give me more money,\u201d Fauci said. \u201cFor the last few years they haven\u2019t, but that\u2019s another story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, during a panel discussion with experts and journalists, Fauci pointed out that in February, President Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion to combat the spread of the Zika virus. \u201cIt is now September 18 and we still don\u2019t have it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is completely unconscionable. We could turn that around by having an emergency fund.\u201d He was referring to a global health security fund that has been proposed by health experts and would not be subject to the whims of Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

The symposium, which ran through Tuesday, brought together some 160 virologists and other scientists from all over the world who study the diseases on Fauci\u2019s map\u2014and work on vaccines, treatments, and public health responses\u2014to discuss their research and the particular challenges of working with dangerous pathogens. On Sunday, the scientists joined a large crowd of BU faculty and students, funders, journalists, and other members of the public at the GSU.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a milestone event in the history of the NEIDL,\u201d said BU President Robert A. Brown, who joined NEIDL director Ronald B. Corley, a School of Medicine professor of microbiology, in welcoming the scientists. \u201cTo be relevant, leading research universities must be involved in understanding the pathways of these diseases and finding vaccines and cures and treatments.\u201d As the NEIDL moves toward opening its biosafety level 4 lab, he said, \u201cwe are committed to assembling a world-class team of interdisciplinary researchers to work on the most virulent diseases in a state-of-the-art facility with the highest standards of safety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"h_butoday_0103_8292-550x367\"<\/a>Science writer David Quammen, author of a book\u00a0about emerging infectious diseases titled Spillover, said, \u201cPeople want to read about people. They want human stories.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

While Fauci gave an overview of emerging infectious diseases, From AIDS to Zika, Sunday\u2019s other keynote speaker, science journalist and author David Quammen<\/span><\/a>, talked about how to communicate effectively with the public about such diseases. Some of Quammen\u2019s pointers:<\/span><\/p>\n