Katrina

[Guest guest]

[Moderator's Note: I am breaking the rule of Asian news only but I

haven't seen this on any other animal welfare/rights forums]

 

Research Lost in Katrina Flood: A Newsmaker Interview With Paul K.

Whelton, MD, PhD

 

Sept. 22, 2005 Editor's Note: In the aftermath of Hurricane

Katrina, flood waters engulfing New Orleans laboratories may have

damaged not only research facilities, but also destroyed

irreplaceable data, tissue samples, and genetically engineered and

other animals involved in ongoing medical studies. In addition to

compromising this research and the information that can ultimately be

gleaned from it, hurricane damage could in theory allow release of

infected animals or other biohazards into the environment.

 

An initial survey by the National Institutes of Health suggests that

Katrina affected approximately 300 federally funded projects at New

Orleans colleges and universities, cumulatively valued at more than

$150 million, including 153 projects at Tulane and others at

Louisiana State University (LSU). These include the Bogalusa Heart

Study of cardiovascular risk factors, and ongoing studies of AIDS,

cancer, and other conditions. When the power went out and back-up

generators failed at a Tulane laboratory, cryopreserved tissue

samples collected since 1973 in the Bogalusa Heart Study thawed and

became useless for all but DNA analysis.

 

For some Gulf Coast investigators, Katrina seems like deja vu,

because Tropical Storm Allison severely damaged the Texas Medical

Center in 2001, causing major interruptions and losses to ongoing

research. During Katrina, the LSU Health Sciences Center School of

Medicine is reported to have lost approximately 8,000 rodents, dogs,

and primates involved in studies. However, Tulane's National Primate

Research Center in Covington, just north of New Orleans, reported

that none of its 5,000 primates escaped. And according to the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, bioweapons defense laboratories

in areas affected by Katrina reported no breakdowns in security.

 

To learn more about the implications of research disrupted by the

hurricane, Medscape's Laurie Barclay interviewed Paul K. Whelton, MD,

PhD, senior vice president for health sciences at Tulane University

Health Sciences Center; professor of medicine at Tulane University

School of Medicine; and professor of epidemiology at Tulane

University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Whelton

has been a lead investigator in many large observational

epidemiologic studies and clinical trials, and since Katrina struck,

he has been coordinating Tulane's response to the challenges faced by

its research community.

 

Medscape: What were the consequences of lost data and research

animals because of severe flooding from Tropical Storm Allison, which

damaged the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in 2001, and what progress has

been made in reversing the effects of these losses?

 

Dr. Whelton: I cannot speak for the institutions in the TMC but am

aware that they faced a big challenge. Despite this, they remained a

major force in biomedical research.

 

Medscape: When Katrina struck, what measures were taken by

researchers at Tulane and at other affected institutions to minimize

losses and risks?

 

Dr. Whelton: First we helicoptered about 2,000 people out safely,

with no loss of life. As soon as we got the last patient, faculty

member, staff member, student, and friend out alive, we focused our

attention on the following in this order: first, working closely with

the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal partners;

second, conducting a research assets inventory; third, removing or

retaining in place vital research assets; fourth, providing

supervised access to our buildings on a need-to-visit basis; fifth,

informing our research community of progress and policies and

assisting them in their efforts to continue their research; and

sixth, starting strategic planning for the future of our research

enterprise.

 

Medscape: What were the losses to Tulane and other New Orleans

institutions because of Katrina, in terms of laboratory animals and

disrupted research?

 

Dr. Whelton: It's hard to quantify the situation, but clearly our

research community has faced major disruption at best and severe loss

of research assets and capacity at worst. The impact varies greatly

by research discipline. There has been little impact on international

research, but major losses for domestic epidemiology biological data

banks, and scattering of participants in population and clinical

research studies. We managed to save many of our key research assets,

including transgenic mice colonies and cell lines.

 

Medscape: What are the potential health consequences if pathogens or

laboratory animals were to escape or fall into the wrong hands?

 

Dr. Whelton: This was never a practical issue for us, but it was a

theoretic concern that Tulane and the NIH addressed at the earliest

stage. We both concluded that it was not an issue. We had

veterinarians and vet staff in place prior to the evacuation, and we

got a veterinarian team back into our buildings as a part of the

first re-entry mission.

 

Medscape: What were the estimated losses involving federally funded

projects at Tulane and at other New Orleans colleges and universities?

 

Dr. Whelton: It's too early to tell, but they will be substantial, at

least at Tulane. I cannot speak for the others.

 

Medscape: How will losses from Katrina affect the Bogalusa Heart

Study?

 

Dr. Whelton: Specimens in the Bogalusa Heart Study, and other

epidemiologic specimens that were stored in -70 degree freezers,

were exposed to room temperature after power was lost and are likely

only useful as a source of DNA and for genetic studies. However, the

participants in these studies have been profiled extensively, and

much valuable information is available in computer databases. I have

not had an opportunity to speak with Dr. [Gerald] Berenson regarding

whether and to what extent he may have back-up specimens elsewhere in

the country.

 

Medscape: Is there anything you would like to add in closing?

 

Dr. Whelton: I'd like to believe the university has taken a proactive

stance to minimize the impact of Katrina on our research community.

Fortunately, our most valuable asset - investigators and their

staff and students - is intact. Likewise, we were able to feed and

water our animals as long as we had staff in our facilities immediately

post-Katrina, and to get back to them with the shortest delay possible. We were

also able to preserve most, possibly all, of our patient- and research-related

cell lines and materials and equipment under liquid nitrogen.

 

Our epidemiology and clinical research community may have suffered

the most due to loss of power to their -70 degree freezers and

scattering of their populations. Many researchers are facing severe

disruption of their projects. We are trying to assist them on an

individual basis. Needless to say, we are working hard to see if and

when we can get them back to their own space. We face a severe

challenge and will need substantial help to get back on track, but we

are receiving wonderful support and encouragement from our colleagues

in the academic community and in federal research agencies, including

the NIH and National Science Foundation.

 

Reviewed by Gary D. Vogin, MD