Science Needs For Microbial Forensics: Developing an Initial International Roadmaps

Abstract

Given the possible hostile use of biological agents, the broader scientific community must be engaged in building microbial forensic capacity. The development of microbial forensics illustrates how global life science research can support the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) and create better tools to investigate and discriminate between natural and deliberate disease outbreaks. The technical objective is to support the development of the field of microbial forensics by fostering international collaborations on major research challenges among leading scientists in key countries. The policy objective is to take advantage of existing collaborations in the scientific community to create a greater international understanding of the current capabilities and limitations of microbial forensics to support U.S. nonproliferation objectives and the implementation of the BWC.