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A pathogen infects some people and not others. Some people spread the infection, others don’t. Is it possible to predict who’s likely to be contagious—and perhaps head off an epidemic or pandemic? The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s new Prometheus program may help.
Related: Legionnaires Disease: An Ever-Growing Risk
Focusing on acute respiratory infections, Prometheus researchers will aim to pin down the biological responses that occur in infection, especially the early molecular signals that are triggered soon after exposure. The goal is to develop a prognostic assay based on information from, for example, the amount of virus detected during viral shedding, the genes inside immune-system cells, messenger RNA, immune-system proteins, and other biomarkers.
Current efforts at outbreak containment rely heavily on reported cases, generated after the fact—someone has already become sick and exposed others to the disease. That doesn’t even include people with mild symptoms who don’t go to the doctor but can still spread the disease. A “minimal set of early host biomarkers” could indicate, less than 24 hours after exposure to a pathogen, who will become contagious, opening a window to allow early treatment or mitigation.
Related: Identification and Management of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
The announcement by DARPA about Prometheus cites a recent review that shows understanding presymptomatic infection is required to achieve accurate forecasting; using only diagnostics is inadequate. “Our goal with Prometheus is to develop techniques that could alert people that they are likely to become contagious,” said Army Col. Matt Hepburn, Prometheus program manager, “so they can proactively take steps to keep the disease from spreading.”
A pathogen infects some people and not others. Some people spread the infection, others don’t. Is it possible to predict who’s likely to be contagious—and perhaps head off an epidemic or pandemic? The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s new Prometheus program may help.
Related: Legionnaires Disease: An Ever-Growing Risk
Focusing on acute respiratory infections, Prometheus researchers will aim to pin down the biological responses that occur in infection, especially the early molecular signals that are triggered soon after exposure. The goal is to develop a prognostic assay based on information from, for example, the amount of virus detected during viral shedding, the genes inside immune-system cells, messenger RNA, immune-system proteins, and other biomarkers.
Current efforts at outbreak containment rely heavily on reported cases, generated after the fact—someone has already become sick and exposed others to the disease. That doesn’t even include people with mild symptoms who don’t go to the doctor but can still spread the disease. A “minimal set of early host biomarkers” could indicate, less than 24 hours after exposure to a pathogen, who will become contagious, opening a window to allow early treatment or mitigation.
Related: Identification and Management of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
The announcement by DARPA about Prometheus cites a recent review that shows understanding presymptomatic infection is required to achieve accurate forecasting; using only diagnostics is inadequate. “Our goal with Prometheus is to develop techniques that could alert people that they are likely to become contagious,” said Army Col. Matt Hepburn, Prometheus program manager, “so they can proactively take steps to keep the disease from spreading.”
A pathogen infects some people and not others. Some people spread the infection, others don’t. Is it possible to predict who’s likely to be contagious—and perhaps head off an epidemic or pandemic? The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s new Prometheus program may help.
Related: Legionnaires Disease: An Ever-Growing Risk
Focusing on acute respiratory infections, Prometheus researchers will aim to pin down the biological responses that occur in infection, especially the early molecular signals that are triggered soon after exposure. The goal is to develop a prognostic assay based on information from, for example, the amount of virus detected during viral shedding, the genes inside immune-system cells, messenger RNA, immune-system proteins, and other biomarkers.
Current efforts at outbreak containment rely heavily on reported cases, generated after the fact—someone has already become sick and exposed others to the disease. That doesn’t even include people with mild symptoms who don’t go to the doctor but can still spread the disease. A “minimal set of early host biomarkers” could indicate, less than 24 hours after exposure to a pathogen, who will become contagious, opening a window to allow early treatment or mitigation.
Related: Identification and Management of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
The announcement by DARPA about Prometheus cites a recent review that shows understanding presymptomatic infection is required to achieve accurate forecasting; using only diagnostics is inadequate. “Our goal with Prometheus is to develop techniques that could alert people that they are likely to become contagious,” said Army Col. Matt Hepburn, Prometheus program manager, “so they can proactively take steps to keep the disease from spreading.”