Preparing the world for infectious disease outbreaks: new £6m Centre announced

New MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial will analyse new outbreaks of existing diseases and those infections which may pose a serious threat in the future<em> - News Release</em>

Imperial College London News Release
Under strict embargo for 00.01 GMT
Saturday 3 March 2007

Ensuring that the world is prepared for outbreaks of infectious disease is the aim of a new Centre announced today.

The MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, at Imperial College London, will analyse new outbreaks of existing diseases, such as polio, and those infections which may pose a serious threat in the future, such as H5N1 avian flu. It will work closely with governments and health organisations across the world to help them plan and devise policies for potential future pandemics.

In the event of an outbreak of infectious disease, the Centre will rapidly provide countries with information about how the epidemic is evolving, how quickly it is likely to spread, how infectious and lethal it is, and how its spread might be brought under control. The Centre will use information gathered from governments, public health organisations and research contacts across the world to monitor and analyse infectious disease outbreaks in real time.

The GBP 6m Centre is funded jointly by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and Imperial College.

Professor Neil Ferguson , from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College and Director of the Centre, said: "This new Centre is the first of its kind in the world. We will be translating epidemiological modelling expertise into something that makes a concrete difference to the way countries plan for and deal with new infectious disease outbreaks.

"As human populations grow and people become ever more mobile, the speed with which new epidemics will spread in the future will be unprecedented. It is vital that we make best use of the limited data available at the start of an outbreak as rapidly as possible to stand a chance of controlling spread. The research of this Centre will significantly contribute to that effort," he added.

The Centre will be based in a specially refurbished part of the College's St Mary's campus. Most of the funding (GBP 4.6m) will go towards post-doctoral research positions, doctoral studentships and new permanent posts.

The Centre will be staffed by researchers with substantial experience of modelling disease epidemics including HIV, BSE and vCJD, the 2001 UK foot and mouth disease epidemic, SARS, and most recently the H5N1 avian influenza epidemic.

The core staff at the Centre will be working closely with the World Health Organisation, UK Health Protection Agency and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and they will spend a large proportion of their time working at these partner sites.

In addition to analysing the spread of diseases and how they might be controlled, the centre will also be looking at the ecological, biological and social factors that can encourage pathogens to emerge.

Further information about the Centre can be found on its website, at www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/outbreaks

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Laura Gallagher
Press Officer
Imperial College London
e-mail: l.gallagher@imperial.ac.uk
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Notes to editors:

1. Examples of related previous studies from some of the senior Imperial researchers in the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling

a. Polio

In November 2006, Dr Nick Grassly 's team published research in Science explaining the persistence of polio in northern India, one of the few remaining places in the world where endemic polio has not yet been eradicated. The researchers argued that the simple measure of using a 'monovalent' form of the polio vaccine alongside the standard 'trivalent' form in these areas could sufficiently increase the effectiveness of vaccination programmes to wipe out the poliovirus where it persists (see //www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_17-11-2006-13-18-5)

b. H5N1 avian influenza

In August 2005, Professor Neil Ferguson's team published research in Nature which simulated what might happen if the H5N1 virus mutated to become transmissible from person to person. They devised the best possible containment strategy for a simulated outbreak scenario, in rural Thailand, by examining a large number of policy options and using computer modelling to see how effective these might be. They argued that an outbreak could be quickly brought under control if a) the virus was identified whilst infection was confined to around 30 people and b) courses of antiviral drugs were given rapidly to the 20,000 individuals nearest those infected. (See //www.imperial.ac.uk/P6730.htm)

2. About Imperial College London

Rated as the world's ninth best university in the 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 11,500 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

With 62 Fellows of the Royal Society among our current academic staff and distinguished past members of the College including 14 Nobel Laureates and two Fields Medallists, Imperial's contribution to society has been immense. Inventions and innovations include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of our research for the benefit of all continues today with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle climate change and mathematical modelling to predict and control the spread of infectious diseases.

The College's 100 years of living science will be celebrated throughout 2007 with a range of events to mark the Centenary of the signing of Imperial's founding charter on 8 July 1907. Website: www.imperial.ac.uk

3. About the MRC

The Medical Research Council is dedicated to improving human health through excellent science. It invests on behalf of the UK taxpayer. Its work ranges from molecular level science to public health research, carried out in universities, hospitals and a network of its own units and institutes. The MRC liaises with the Health Departments, the National Health Service and industry to take account of the public's needs. The results have led to some of the most significant discoveries in medical science and benefited the health and wealth of millions of people in the UK and around the world. www.mrc.ac.uk