Fall 2004 Issue
Beyond Atlanta: A Closer Look at CDC in Fort Collins, Colorado
Safe Water System is simple, fast and cost-effective
$220,000 Sought for Fort Collins’ Natural Pesticide and Repellents Program
Diseases transmitted by insects pose a significant health threat to populations worldwide. Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus. Fleas have been regularly incriminated as the primary carrier of plague throughout the world, and the deer tick is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease, a growing threat in the United States and elsewhere. Control of these infection-carrying insects and ticks has typically been managed through widespread applications of synthetic pesticides. However, these products can lead to environmental contamination, soil and water pollution, non-target pest elimination and insecticide resistance. CDC scientists at Fort Collins and its partners at Oregon State University have been exploring a variety of natural compounds (biocides) to control disease-carrying insects and ticks without harmful effects. With your support, the scientists would be able to further develop and test these natural products to provide safer alternatives to chemical pesticides and repellents.
For more information on how you can help, please contact Chloe Tonney at 404-653-0790.
Most people automatically associate CDC with its Atlanta headquarters. But CDC’s presence extends far beyond Atlanta – from Alaska to Colorado to Maryland. And the CDC Foundation is reaching out to these remote CDC facilities to help add value to their efforts.
For example, Foundation officers met recently with staff at CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases (DVBID), on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The division is a national and international reference center for vector-borne viral and bacterial disease and the world leader in identifying, diagnosing and studying diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease, as well as bioterrorism agents such as plague and tularemia.
Leadership in vector-borne diseases
“Our division is responsible for addressing most infectious diseases that are caused by the bite of an infected insect,” says Lyle Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., director of the DVBID’s staff of approximately 200. Petersen explains that the diseases his division works with are divided into two basic categories: arboviruses, which are viral diseases, mostly spread by mosquitoes or ticks; and bacterial zoonoses, which are bacterial diseases such as Lyme disease, plague and tularemia, spread from deer, rodents and rabbits by insects. The division also includes the Dengue Branch, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which deals with the mosquito-borne dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Petersen adds that the DVBID houses a unique collection of nearly all of the world’s more than 750 arboviruses, which is a tremendous asset when trying to identify new viruses.
“We don’t know which ones might be imported into the United States at any given time,” Petersen says. “For example, the West Nile virus wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen until it appeared in New York City in 1999. Our division was able to recognize the virus and provide immediate technical expertise to help control it. We’ve developed a nationwide surveillance system that’s monitored the spread of this virus across the United States and now into Latin America.”
Lyme disease is another priority for the division – considered an international leader on the disease. “More people in the United States are living in areas where the ticks that harbor Lyme disease are present,” says Petersen. “Despite our best efforts, the incidence of Lyme disease is increasing dramatically. We’re actively trying to find novel ways to reverse this trend.”
In addition to studying these naturally occurring diseases, the division is also tasked with preparing for the possibility that diseases like plague, tularemia and equine encephalitis may one day be used as weapons. More agents of bioterrorism fall under the research agenda of DVBID than of any other division of CDC.
Concentration of expertise
The Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases was initially established in the western United States in the 1940s to address arboviruses, especially western equine encephalitis – a mosquito-borne virus that was a real threat to horses and humans. In 1967, CDC field station labs in Cache Valley, Utah, and Greeley, Colorado, were consolidated into a single facility on the campus of Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins because of the university’s extensive experience in vector-borne diseases and the collaborative opportunities between the university and CDC scientists.
For similar reasons, CDC relocated its plague program from San Francisco to Fort Collins in 1968. Because most cases of human plague occurred nearby in the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, the move also facilitated CDC’s study of the disease.
“Naturally occurring plague is primarily a disease found in rodents, and it’s spread by fleas,” explains Petersen. “CDC research shows that the disease occurs in areas with a specific type of habitat that’s very common in the Four Corners. In many cases we can go right out our back door and do our research.”
Over the years, there has been discussion about moving the division back to Atlanta, but in the late 1990s CDC decided that Fort Collins should remain the permanent home of DVBID. By that point, Fort Collins had evolved into a world-renowned center for vector-borne diseases, and with its CSU partners had built a center of excellence.
“Fort Collins has the highest concentration of vector-borne disease experts in the world,” says Petersen. “There’s the National Wildlife Research Center, the United States Department of Agriculture, CSU and CDC – all in one place, all dealing with these kinds of diseases.”
Breaking ground for state-of-the-art lab
The DVBID recently broke ground on an $80 million, 150,000-square-foot-lab, to partially replace its aging 1960s-era facility.
According to Petersen, the West Nile epidemic and the attacks of 9/11 were the catalysts for the new facility. “West Nile virus really brought to light the importance of vector-borne diseases, which affect people worldwide,” says Petersen. “And after 9/11 issues like biosecurity further highlighted the need for upgraded facilities.”
Scheduled for completion in 2006, the four-story lab will provide a functional, efficient, long-term space for state-of-the-art research. About 50 percent of the lab will be dedicated to basic research; the balance will be dedicated to animal resources, an insectary (a scientific lab support space for work with live insects like mosquitoes, fleas and ticks), and a utility plant. The building will also include Biosafety Level 2 and 3 labs.
“Right now we’re occupying a building that CSU has been leasing to CDC since 1967,” says Mary Ellen (Mel) Fernandez, DVBID’s deputy director. “It was designed for about 50 people, so we’re pushing the limits with 200. The new lab will provide a much more efficient space and a better infrastructure – we’re really looking forward to it.”
The new facility will be complemented by CSU’s plans to build a $24 million, federally funded lab nearby for the study of potential bioterrorism agents and infectious diseases. Construction for CSU’s new lab is set to begin in November 2005.
Building a partnership
DVBID leaders and staff are enthusiastic about partnering with the CDC Foundation to further their research goals. “Historically, we’ve never taken advantage of the CDC Foundation as a resource, or even had knowledge or understanding about how we could partner,” says Fernandez. “We know the Foundation has worked closely with our colleagues in Atlanta, but people here are just beginning to think about those kinds of opportunities. There’s a lot of potential to collaborate with the CDC Foundation on some of the exciting work we’re doing.”
-Lisa Splitlog