Journal of Biosafety and Biosecurity (Dec 2021)
A solution scan of societal options to reduce transmission and spread of respiratory viruses: SARS-CoV-2 as a case study
- William J. Sutherland,
- Nigel G. Taylor,
- David C. Aldridge,
- Philip Martin,
- Catherine Rhodes,
- Gorm Shackelford,
- Simon Beard,
- Haydn Belfield,
- Andrew J. Bladon,
- Cameron Brick,
- Alec P. Christie,
- Andrew P. Dobson,
- Harriet Downey,
- Amelia S.C. Hood,
- Fangyuan Hua,
- Alice C. Hughes,
- Rebecca M. Jarvis,
- Douglas MacFarlane,
- William H. Morgan,
- Anne-Christine Mupepele,
- Stefan J. Marciniak,
- Cassidy Nelson,
- Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh,
- Clarissa Rios Rojas,
- Katherine A. Sainsbury,
- Rebecca K. Smith,
- Lalitha S. Sundaram,
- Ann Thornton,
- John Watkins,
- Thomas B. White,
- Kate Willott,
- Silviu O. Petrovan
Affiliations
- William J. Sutherland
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK; Corresponding author at: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
- Nigel G. Taylor
- Tour du Valat, Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands, 13200 Arles, France
- David C. Aldridge
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Philip Martin
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Catherine Rhodes
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Gorm Shackelford
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Simon Beard
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Haydn Belfield
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Andrew J. Bladon
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Cameron Brick
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129 B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Alec P. Christie
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL, UK; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Andrew P. Dobson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 117 Eno Hall, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA
- Harriet Downey
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Amelia S.C. Hood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Fangyuan Hua
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China
- Alice C. Hughes
- Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan 666303, PR China
- Rebecca M. Jarvis
- Te Kura Pūtaiao - School of Science, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
- Douglas MacFarlane
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
- William H. Morgan
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Anne-Christine Mupepele
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg, Germany
- Stefan J. Marciniak
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, The Keith Peters Building, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK
- Cassidy Nelson
- Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1PT, UK
- Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Clarissa Rios Rojas
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Katherine A. Sainsbury
- Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 2-130V Van Vliet 21 Complex (University Hall), Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H9, Canada
- Rebecca K. Smith
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Lalitha S. Sundaram
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- Ann Thornton
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- John Watkins
- Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4YS, UK
- Thomas B. White
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Kate Willott
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Silviu O. Petrovan
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 3,
no. 2
pp. 84 – 90
Abstract
Societal biosecurity – measures built into everyday society to minimize risks from pests and diseases – is an important aspect of managing epidemics and pandemics. We aimed to identify societal options for reducing the transmission and spread of respiratory viruses. We used SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) as a case study to meet the immediate need to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually transition to more normal societal conditions, and to catalog options for managing similar pandemics in the future. We used a ‘solution scanning’ approach. We read the literature; consulted psychology, public health, medical, and solution scanning experts; crowd-sourced options using social media; and collated comments on a preprint. Here, we present a list of 519 possible measures to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission and spread. We provide a long list of options for policymakers and businesses to consider when designing biosecurity plans to combat SARS-CoV-2 and similar pathogens in the future. We also developed an online application to help with this process. We encourage testing of actions, documentation of outcomes, revisions to the current list, and the addition of further options.
