An Ebola Outbreak

Dr. Olinger serves as an adjunct Associate Professor Faculty member of Boston University, School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, and Division of Infectious Diseases. In addition, he oversees and manages the BSL-4 training program as the Associate Director of Training for Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL). He serves as high containment coordinator for the NIH Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Frederick, MD., as a contractor and is the science lead for the contract supporting the NIH IRF BSL4 laboratory. Dr. Olinger is a co-founder, equity owner, and serves as the Chief Science Officer for Phoenix Research Group. In this role he oversees the science within high containment laboratories and in deployed field operations. Dr. Olinger has greater than 16 years’ experience coordinating, executing, and analyzing in vitro and in vivo studies conducted in BSL3 and BSL4. He has extensive experience with overseeing contract based research for extramural clients, including companies, academic institutions, and NGOs. He has overseen and conducted numerous projects focused on the development of countermeasures against highly lethal viral hemorrhagic fever viruses (VHFV). Dr. Olinger was the lead in the transition of a vaccine candidate for filovirus from basic to applied and early pre-clinical studies. Several of these vaccines are now being advanced for Phase I and Phase 2/3 clinical studies. During that same period, Dr. Olinger was an integral member and principle investigator of efforts to utilize immunotherapy against VHFV. His work has focused on the development of murine and humanized monoclonal antibody and emerging plant based production methods against Ebola Zaire virus under both DOD and NIH funding. This work was instrumental in the development of the ZMapp immunotherapeutic for Ebola. Continuing the effort to develop therapeutics against VHFV, Dr. Olinger’s team began to screen small molecules to identify VHVF antivirals in 2007. These drug discovery efforts have led to an established effort to find therapeutic molecules for nine viral emerging and biodefense diseases. Dr. Olinger has extensive field experience where he served as a member, science leader coordinating diagnostic, serological and other clinical assays to monitor patients during and after outbreaks. Dr. Olinger has served as a subject matter expert for multiple Federal panels related to biodefense and emerging viral pathogens. He has served on WHO, DHS, DHHS, and NGOs as a SME for these topics and as a reviewer for HIV and safety training research.

Prelude to an outbreak - Early detection and warnings; prevention attempts ignored. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers: Lassa and Undiagnosed Fever in Western Africa. Regional health, economic and social challenges. Health Care Systems in West Africa. Political reality before the outbreak. Early Outbreak Indications and Challenges. Opportunity to control outbreak early lost. Clinical approaches early- Focus on Patient isolation and case contact monitoring. Diagnosis Dilemmas - defining a case and the limits of a test. Outbreak out of control – Clinical Sites Overwhelmed. Fighting a Forrest Fire with a Water Gun. Uncoordinated Foreign Assistance Arrives. International Resources Arrive. Ebola Isolation Units begin to transition to Ebola Treatment Units. Emergency Clinical Trials. Contrast of the clinical experience in Africa versus Europe and US. The Balance Between Protecting Patients’ Rights and Saving Lives. Clinical Trials Conducted. Science in the laboratory during an outbreak. Outbreak Declared Over but Survivors Continue to Suffer and Capacity Issue Remain. Billions of dollar bolus: Does more money help stop/prevent an outbreak? Value of Coordination – National and Global Coordination Efforts. Sequela of an Outbreak. Lessons Learned and will We Learn? Impact of Ebola on the Region and on the Nation. Leap Frog Technology- how can it help sustain capacity. Sustainable Public Health and Health Care Systems to Prevent Outbreaks. References and links.