Michael G. Tyshenko

• PhD, MPA
• Research Associate at University of Ottawa

A recent approach for bioterrorism risk management calls for stricter regulations over biotechnology as a way to control subversion of technology that may be used to create a man-made pandemic. This approach is largely unworkable given the increasing pervasiveness of molecular techniques and tools throughout society. Emerging technology has provide...

Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) is a disease vector for the West Nile virus (WNV). Climate change impacts the disease transmission carried by mosquitoes, and it is partly to blame for the resurgence of mosquitoes as important disease vector insects. This study assessed the geographic range of Culex pipiens in the United States under both present...

The WHO 2021 malaria report revealed that its Global Technical Strategy (GTS) 2020 milestones for morbidity and mortality, based on the 2015 baseline, have not been achieved globally -- the world is off-track by 42% and, can be extended up to 91% in 2030. Most of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries failed to achieve GTS 2020 -- only 4 out of 40...

The potential range and distribution of insects are greatly impacted by climate change. This study evaluates the potential global shifts in the range of Gryllus bimaculatus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) under several climate change scenarios. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility provided the location data for G. bimaculatus, which included ninete...

Increasing evidence suggests that human movement, including international travel and mass forced population displacement, acts as a catalyst for global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission. Immigration increases the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains being imported into developed countries, particularly from several develop...

Conventional approaches to setting occupational exposure limits (OELs) by regulatory agencies are reviewed. Example OEL derivations show how guidance values are developed in practice. OEL values from various agencies may differ. We present a framework to help select the most appropriate OELs in practice. Use of the framework is demonstrated by OELs...

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith) in combination with climate change impacts poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity, ecoregion habitat, and biodiversity in the Neotropical Realm. This study presents an assessment of the fall armyworm distribution in the Neotropics under the influence of climate change. To c...

Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) commonly known as the fall armyworm (FAW), is a serious maize and sorghum pest endemic to North and South America. Recently, the insect has invaded most of Africa, China and the Tropics where it is now considered a serious threat to small farm holder productivity and to local food security....

Spodoptera frugiperda , (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) commonly known as the fall armyworm (FAW), is a serious maize and sorghum pest endemic to North and South America. Recently, the insect has invaded most of Africa, China and the Tropics where it is now considered a serious threat to small farmholder productivity and to local food security. The work p...

A key "watch item" was identified by McDonald et al. (2015) in a study conducted in Nepal that a growing number of tourists arrive largely unprepared for mountain expedition thinking it is simply "a holiday." They lack awareness and understanding of altitude risks, hypothermia, wind-chill, weather conditions and exposure. Tourists believe Sherpas,...

Background Kuwait had its first COVID-19 in late February, and until October 6, 2020 it recorded 108,268 cases and 632 deaths. Despite implementing one of the strictest control measures-including a three-week complete lockdown, there was no sign of a declining epidemic curve. The objective of the current analyses is to determine, hypothetically, th...

Risk management decisions in public health require consideration of a number of complex, often conflicting factors. The aim of this review was to propose a set of 10 fundamental principles to guide risk decision-making. Although each of these principles is sound in its own right, the guidance provided by different principles might lead the decision...

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a spongiform encephalopathy disease caused by the transmission of infectious prion agents. CWD is a fatal disease that affects wild and farmed cervids in North America with few cases reported overseas. Social interaction of cervids, feeding practices by wildlife keepers and climate effects on the environmental carry...

Background Anticipating an initial shortage of vaccines for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States developed priority vaccine allocations for specific demographic groups in the population. This study evaluates the performance of the CDC vaccine allocation strategy with respect to multiple potentially competing vaccinat...

Externality exists in healthcare when an individual benefits from others being healthy as it reduces the probability of getting sick from illness. Healthy workers are considered to be the more productive labourers leading to a country’s positive economic growth over time. Several research studies have modelled disease transmission and its economic...

Anticipating an initial shortage of vaccines for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States developed priority vaccine allocations for specific demographic groups in the population. In this poster, I present our recent study that evaluates the performance of the CDC vaccine allocation strategy with respect to multiple pote...

Background: Anticipating an initial shortage of vaccines for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States developed priority vaccine allocations for specific demographic groups in the population. This study evaluates the performance of the CDC vaccine allocation strategy with respect to multiple potentially competing vaccina...

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a World Health Organization designated pandemic that can result in severe symptoms and death that disproportionately affects older patients or those with comorbidities. Kuwait reported its first imported cases of COVID-19 on February 24, 2020. Analysis of data from the first three mont...

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant societal impacts. Besides loss of life there were large additional costs incurred by every country including the treatment of patients and costs to implement response plans. The pandemic resulted in major economic disruptions and stalled growth worldwide due to travel bans, lockdowns, social dista...

The application, timing, and duration of lockdown strategies during a pandemic remain poorly quantified with regards to expected public health outcomes. Previous projection models have reached conflicting conclusions about the effect of complete lockdowns on COVID-19 outcomes. We developed a stochastic continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) model with...

Background: Kuwait had its first COVID-19 in late February, and until October 6, 2020 it recorded 108,268 cases and 632 deaths. Despite implementing one of the strictest control measures-including a three-week complete lockdown, there was no sign of a declining epidemic curve. The objective of the current analyses is to determine, hypothetically, t...

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a World Health Organization designated pandemic that can result in severe symptoms and death that disproportionately affects older patients or those with comorbidities. Kuwait reported its first imported cases of COVID-19 on February 24, 2020. Analysis of data from the first three mont...

Background: Anticipating an initial shortage of vaccines for COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States developed priority vaccine allocations for specific demographic groups in the population. This study evaluates the performance of the CDC vaccine allocation strategy with respect to multiple potentially competing vaccina...

The application, timing, and duration of lockdown strategies during a pandemic remain poorly quantified with regards to expected public health outcomes. Previous projection models have reached conflicting conclusions about the effect of complete lockdowns on COVID-19 outcomes. We developed a stochastic continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) model with...

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging zoonotic coronavirus that has a tendency to cause significant healthcare outbreaks among patients with serious comorbidities. We analyzed hospital data from the MERS-CoV outbreak in King Abdulaziz Medical Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June–August 2015 using the susceptible-expos...

Advances in the biological sciences have led to an ongoing paradigm shift in toxicity testing based on expanded application of high-throughput in vitro screening and in silico methods to assess potential health risks of environmental agents. This review examines progress on the vision for toxicity testing elaborated by the US National Research Coun...

The detection of prion protein in widely used urine-derived fertility drugs has raised the possibility that prions from urine donors with (asymptomatic) prion disease could be present in these drugs. A high level of uncertainty exists regarding this issue. An international expert panel provided judgments related to prion disease transmission throug...

MERS - Lecture

SARS in Canada lecture

This article summarises efforts at disease surveillance and risk management of chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of cervids and is considered to be one of the most contagious of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Evidence has demonstrated a strong species barrier to CWD for both human and far...

“Prion Research in Perspective IV” is PrioNet Canada’s fourth open paper call and maintains its mandate allowing PrioNet Canada researchers, the Alberta Prion Research Institute, and other partner organizations a venue to publish their latest research.

A high degree of uncertainty exists for chronic wasting disease (CWD) transmission factors in farmed and wild cervids. Evaluating the factors is important as it helps to inform future risk management strategies. Expert opinion is often used to assist decision making in a number of health, science, and technology domains where data may be sparse or...

ABSTARCT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurodegenerative, protein misfolding disease affecting cervids in North America in epidemic proportions. While the existence of CWD has been known for more than 40 years, risk management efforts to date have not been able to curtail the spread of this condition. An expert elicitation exercise was carried...

Nepal, like many other low-income countries, is facing an increasing burden of disease and deaths from Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). The main NCDs causing some of the highest mortality in Nepal are cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. When compared, t...

The rapid commercialization of nanotechnology over the past decade has caught many regulatory agencies off guard without sufficient capacity to oversee nanomaterials or the means to assess the potential toxicity of different nanomaterials. One of the most difficult decisions in public health practice is determining when evidence is sufficient for a...

Globally, millions of lives (and billions of dollars) are lost each year because of communicable diseases. In Canada influenza in 2014-2015 alone totalled 7,719 hospitalizations and 591 deaths. All infectious and parasitic diseases rank 10th in Canada causing ~4,300 annual deaths (all ages male and female). The basic component of every communicable...

Listeriosis outbreak in Ready to Eat meats in Canada 2008 and the Government policy revisions 2011 response.

A review of pharmacogenomics and Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) in a Canadian context. Two examples (Codeine and Warfarin) are reviewed and the rise of high-throughput sequencing (new pyrosequencing methods) for personalized medicine is explored to mitigate ADRs. Finally, ethical concerns over personalized medicine are discussed (equity, informed co...

This scoping study is focused on defining performance excellence and operational readiness for Sherpa mountain-guiding for improved tourist safety in Nepal. Based on applied research with Olympic athletes, an internationally-tested, operational readiness assessment tool has been developed for evaluating gold-medal performers’ in any given high-risk...

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) belongs to a group of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These fatal diseases (listed in Table 1) are caused by proteinaceous agents that have many unusual properties, including a relatively high degree of resistance to standard methods of inactivation and degradation.

News media remains one of the foremost communication portals for information regarding the risks and benefits of new technologies. News media content provides information which helps to shape public attitudes toward emerging technologies. An analysis of national news media content from May 2008 to May 2012 was conducted for nanotechnology content i...

The establishment of nanotechnology across commercial markets, technology sectors, and policy arenas has been accompanied by the spread of nanotechnology-related activities in many countries, far beyond the institutional and cultural context from which it originated. This special issue examines this international dimension of nanotechnology by focu...

Preface: There are a myriad number of different types of risks that, as individuals, we face every day that impact human health. Exposure to hazards can result from the natural and build environments with modulation of this exposure due to other factors such as our biology (eg. genetics, age, gender and comorbid conditions) and social interactions...

Much uncertainty surrounds transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) through blood and blood derived products. A first expert elicitation with 14 experts was conducted in March 2008, and a second re-elicitation involving 11 experts was held a year later in March 2009. Both expert groups were calibrated using a series of seed...

In late September 2004 I met Cathy Paterson, a good friend I hadn’t seen in several years, by chance in a small Kingston, Ontario restaurant. It was an auspicious event that led to this book about risk communication of pandemic disease, and a detailed treatment of risk communication during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Ca...

There is a high level of uncertainty surrounding the potential for iatrogenic prion transmission through transplantation, medical instrument reuse, blood transfusion, and blood product use due to a lack of evidence-based research on this important risk issue. A group of specialists was enlisted to evaluate some of the knowledge gaps in this area us...

Before the first domestic case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was identified in May 2003, Canada was the world's third largest exporter of cattle behind the USA and Australia. After the detection of BSE, over 30 countries imposed an immediate ban on imported Canadian beef and cattle products, including the USA. The interdependence of the...

This paper reviews the history of the risk management challenges faced by many countries and regions of the world which have had cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from 1986 to the present. The paper first summarises the nature of prion diseases from a scientific perspective, and then presents an overview of the findings of an extensiv...

Globally, Canada is only a minor beef producing country, and yet ranks fourth among countries exporting beef products. That fact alone shows considerable market vulnerability. When coupled with dependence on corporate-owned slaughter capacity and heavy reliance on only one export market (the USA), that vulnerability is magnified. Economic losses fr...

The World Organisation for Animal Health (formerly the Office of International Epizootics, or OIE) provides inter-governmental guidance on animal health issues. The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code contains standards and recommendations to prevent import of infectious pathogens during trade of animal products. The OIE designed recommendations for...

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) emerged in the UK in the mid-1980s, and eventually spread to other countries, ultimately becoming a disease of global concern. Each BSE-affected country detected its first domestic case at different points in time, faced different internal and external challenge levels, and responded with different risk manage...

Imports of animal feeds containing contaminated meat and bone meal (MBM) from the UK and other countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s was identified as the major risk factor for an increased risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) entering into the Netherlands. The first BSE case was confirmed in March 1997. Early preventive measures, s...

Following the outbreak of BSE in the UK in the mid-1980s, Israel banned the importation of live cattle and meat and bone meal from the UK. The appearance of its first and only domestic case in 2002 prompted the implementation of several additional protective measures, including improvements to the active surveillance system and the removal of high...

In 1990, Switzerland became the first country in mainland Europe to report a native case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), despite a low level of live bovine and meat and bone meal (MBM) imports from the UK, the country generally recognised as the origin of the epidemic. Although an MBM to ruminant feed ban was immediately put into effect,...

Regardless of the increased spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to several European countries during the late 1990s Japan considered the occurrence of domestic BSE a remote possibility. However, Japan was the first country outside of Europe to report a domestic case of BSE. The public vehemently rejected beef and its increased risk to...

India is unique in its management of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) due to its distinct system of socio-religious beliefs with respect to cows and beef consumption. Hindus, who comprise the great majority (over 80%) of India's population, revere the cow as a symbol of life, a practice that has evolved over the centuries according to Hindu t...

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has never been reported in South America. As BSE began to be detected in other parts of the world, Argentina and Brazil were able to gain a larger share of the global demand for beef, with these two countries currently controlling one-third of the world export beef market. In both countries, the practice of pa...

The prevalence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Nordic countries is low. To date, there have been 14 BSE cases in domestic cattle in Denmark, three cases in Danish cattle exported to other countries, one case in Finland, one in Sweden, and no cases in Norway. As of April 2008, no cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) have be...

During the late 1970s, the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched a series of far-reaching economic reforms in rural areas of the country in order to develop a market economy; after three decades, these nationwide reforms have achieved enormous success. The country witnessed phenomenal growth in its economic development and became the second lar...

Italy experienced two imported cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in 1994 and viewed the disease as a 'foreign' problem. Early, precautionary actions including: a 1989 ban on UK meat and bone meal (MBM), 1990 ban on UK beef, 1994 domestic ban on mammalian MBM to ruminants, and 1996 ban on UK live cattle, protected Italy from a much lar...

Large imports of cattle and meat and bone meal from countries potentially affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have led to the BSE agent entering Belgium, and the occurrence of domestic BSE cases. The first case was confirmed in 1997. The ability to avoid amplification of incoming infectivity, as well as to reduce already circulat...

Geographic proximity and a long history of integration between US and Canadian cattle industries have resulted in similar management of BSE risk factors. Both countries have had a single imported case of BSE followed by multiple endemic cases of the bovine disease. Comparable risk management strategies have been put in place, such as a ban on the f...

Portugal was one of the first countries outside of the UK to detect indigenous bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases. However, initial low compliance with control measures contributed to the occurrence of increasing numbers of cases. This resulted in Portugal being the only other country to be designated at a higher risk level (GBR IV) by th...

The UK was the first country to detect bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in 1986, and has reported the vast majority (over 97%) of the world's BSE cases. BSE resulted in large economic losses, disbanding of the lead government agency responsible for managing the outbreak and a loss of public trust in government. Despite a World Organization fo...

To date, Russia has not reported any cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in its own territory. Qualitative self risk assessment indicated that if BSE occurred in the Russian Federation, the economic consequences would be devastating for its agriculture and economy. Preventive measures taken by...

The experience of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk assessment and management in France was somewhat unique among BSE affected countries. Due to its proximity to the UK, the French meat and bone meal industry was challenged with particularly high amounts of infectivity from imported contaminated feed and infected cattle. Although France a...

Between 1962 and 1966, Australia and New Zealand ceased importing rendered animal protein from any country other than each other; as a result, both were protected against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contaminated meat and bone meal (MBM), which was being exported from the UK during the 1980s. More recently, global trade considerations hav...

Costa Rica is a representative Latin American country with significant regional cattle production for its size. The country experienced an exceedingly low challenge for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) as evidenced by no direct meat and bone meal imports from the UK, few imported cattle, no specified risk materials imports from high risk coun...

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland are economically stable countries located in the Central and Eastern part of Europe that became European Union Member States on May 1, 2004. These countries reported their first domestic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases in 2001-2002. Several national and European Union legislative measur...

Despite the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) throughout Europe, Germany considered itself free of the disease. However, on November 26, 2000, the first domestic case of BSE appeared in the country, leading to public concerns about food safety. The occurrence of BSE within the country's borders had dramatic economic and social eff...

PPo4‐22: Amyotrophic Leucospongiosis (Miotch Disease) As a Possible Novel Human Prion Disease in Europe: Analysis of the National Surveillance Data on Human Prion Diseases in the Republic of Belarus. Prion. 2010 July 1; 4(3): 159–168. Published online 2010 July 1. PMCID: PMC4049876

Nanotechnology has the potential to create immense economic growth in the future for developed and developing countries. Given that nanotechnology and the industrial processes require a high level of human capital investment there are concerns that the benefits may not be attainable by all countries. Emerging markets like China and South Korea are...

Nanotechnology promises a multiplicity of benefits to society. At the same time it has become a focus of debate regarding potential health and other associated risks. Rejection of new nanotechnology innovations could result in loss of trust in regulators, a phenomenon observed previously with nuclear and genetically altered food crop technologies....

Medical nanotechnology is a recent emerging field with the intention to improve human health. The creation and rapid expansion of nanomedicine as a new research field in the last decade is the result of nanotechnology's convergence with biology, genetics, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, pharmacology and medicine. Within nanomedicine, two major ca...

Researchers, governments and industries developing products present the miraculous benefits associated with nanotechnology stating that it will be transformative capable of alleviating water, energy and material shortages globally. Nanotechnology development is framed in this way to discourage early opposition, as those against it would also appear...

Expert opinion from Canada, the United States and European Union countries was solicited to examine the regulatory and non-regulatory approaches used to protect children's environmental health. Thirty-five experts were interviewed by telephone from June 2004 to March 2005 using an open-ended survey questionnaire. Experts were asked to name legislat...

Following the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada, and subsequently in the United States, confidence in the safety of beef products remained high. Consumers actually increased their consumption of beef slightly after the news of an increased risk from mad cow disease, which has been interpreted as public support for beef f...

PrioNet Canada's strength in basic, applied, and social research is helping to solve the food, health safety, and socioeconomic problems associated with prion diseases. Prion diseases are transmissible, fatal neurodegenerative diseases of humans and animals. Examples of prion diseases include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, commonly known as...

Nanomedicine applications are an extension of traditional pharmaceutical drug development that are targeting the most pressing health concerns through improvements to diagnostics, drug delivery systems, therapeutics, equipment, surgery and prosthetics. The benefits and risks to the individual have been extrapolated to include broader societal impac...

This paper reviews the history of the development by governments, beginning in the 1980s in the United States, of formal schemata intended to represent the necessary steps in arriving at a credible and robust risk management decision. The paper illustrates the challenge posed by the emergence of BSE, by summarizing the nature of prion disease risks...

The retinoid X receptor (RXR) is activated by its often elusive cognate ligand, 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA). In flies and moths, molting is mediated by a heterodimer ecdysone receptor consisting of the ecdysone monomer (EcR) and an RXR homolog, ultraspiracle (USP); the latter is believed to have diverged from its RXR origin. In the more primitiv...

Public perception of the negative effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals appears to be higher compared to other chemical pollutants, due to (1) chronic, low-probability effects, and (2) uncertainties about which biological effects may be relevant for human health. Individuals, both expert and lay public, require credible, trustworthy, and unders...

This article discusses issues associated with the lifetime deferral from donating blood of men having sex with men (MSM), in the context of well-established risk management principles, including ethical considerations associated with the risk-based approach to social policy matters. Specifically, it deals with the questions about the rationale for...

Nanotechnology promises a plethora of benefits to society. Early research has established that some types of nanomaterials may be highly toxic to living systems, while others are seemingly inert. Nanotoxicology is a new field that has become the focus for risk assessment and management of nanomaterials. To address the potential risks either current...

As a new field of research, medical nanotechnology promises a suite of potential applications for drug delivery, diagnostics and gene therapy. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is ideal at the nanoscale for use as a backbone when making scaffolded structures and more complex dendrimer constructions owing to its properties as a rigid, linear molecule. Muc...