The ABSA Emerging Infectious Diseases Committee (EIDC) collated resources that will help the biosafety professional conduct risk assessments for waterborne diseases and fungal diseases. The CDC says “every year, waterborne disease causes 7 million illnesses and $3 billion in healthcare costs in the US”. The Waterborne Diseases toolbox (https://absa.org/topic/waterborne/) include resources for the US and abroad, includes publications, manuals for surveillance, applicable regulations, risk mitigation, and more.
Human fungal diseases are increasing in importance globally and, unfortunately, the perception of their importance to public health is much lower than is required for an effective response. Fungal pathogens have not received the same level of attention as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, so there are not as many tools for dealing with them as with their other “cousins”. Check out the Risk Assessment tool for Fungi (PDF) resource using a modified version of the Bowtie Risk Assessment model.
