Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Division of Agricultural Select Agents and Toxins (DASAT) established a list of biological agents (Select Agents List) that threaten crops of economic importance to the United States and regulates the procedures governing containment, incident respo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1234238/full |
| _version_ | 1827820837593415680 |
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| author | Segaran P. Pillai Segaran P. Pillai Julia Fruetel Todd West Kevin Anderson Patricia Hernandez Cameron Ball Carrie McNeil Nataly Beck Stephen A. Morse |
| author_facet | Segaran P. Pillai Segaran P. Pillai Julia Fruetel Todd West Kevin Anderson Patricia Hernandez Cameron Ball Carrie McNeil Nataly Beck Stephen A. Morse |
| author_sort | Segaran P. Pillai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Division of Agricultural Select Agents and Toxins (DASAT) established a list of biological agents (Select Agents List) that threaten crops of economic importance to the United States and regulates the procedures governing containment, incident response, and the security of entities working with them. Every 2 years the USDA DASAT reviews their select agent list, utilizing assessments by subject matter experts (SMEs) to rank the agents. We explored the applicability of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques and a decision support framework (DSF) to support the USDA DASAT biennial review process. The evaluation includes both current and non-select agents to provide a robust assessment. We initially conducted a literature review of 16 pathogens against 9 criteria for assessing plant health and bioterrorism risk and documented the findings to support this analysis. Technical review of published data and associated scoring recommendations by pathogen-specific SMEs was found to be critical for ensuring accuracy. Scoring criteria were adopted to ensure consistency. The MCDA supported the expectation that select agents would rank high on the relative risk scale when considering the agricultural consequences of a bioterrorism attack; however, application of analytical thresholds as a basis for designating select agents led to some exceptions to current designations. A second analytical approach used agent-specific data to designate key criteria in a DSF logic tree format to identify pathogens of low concern that can be ruled out for further consideration as select agents. Both the MCDA and DSF approaches arrived at similar conclusions, suggesting the value of employing the two analytical approaches to add robustness for decision making. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:33:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2e62c1f63d54bb6af0983120a5caab4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-4185 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:33:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2e62c1f63d54bb6af0983120a5caab42023-09-11T14:20:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852023-09-011110.3389/fbioe.2023.12342381234238Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision makingSegaran P. Pillai0Segaran P. Pillai1Julia Fruetel2Todd West3Kevin Anderson4Patricia Hernandez5Cameron Ball6Carrie McNeil7Nataly Beck8Stephen A. Morse9Office of the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United StatesU.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, United StatesSandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy, Livermore, CA, United StatesRetired, Livermore, CA, United StatesRetired, Palmetto, FL, United StatesSandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy, Livermore, CA, United StatesSandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy, Livermore, CA, United StatesSandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy, Livermore, CA, United StatesSandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy, Livermore, CA, United StatesRetired, Atlanta, GA, United StatesThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Division of Agricultural Select Agents and Toxins (DASAT) established a list of biological agents (Select Agents List) that threaten crops of economic importance to the United States and regulates the procedures governing containment, incident response, and the security of entities working with them. Every 2 years the USDA DASAT reviews their select agent list, utilizing assessments by subject matter experts (SMEs) to rank the agents. We explored the applicability of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques and a decision support framework (DSF) to support the USDA DASAT biennial review process. The evaluation includes both current and non-select agents to provide a robust assessment. We initially conducted a literature review of 16 pathogens against 9 criteria for assessing plant health and bioterrorism risk and documented the findings to support this analysis. Technical review of published data and associated scoring recommendations by pathogen-specific SMEs was found to be critical for ensuring accuracy. Scoring criteria were adopted to ensure consistency. The MCDA supported the expectation that select agents would rank high on the relative risk scale when considering the agricultural consequences of a bioterrorism attack; however, application of analytical thresholds as a basis for designating select agents led to some exceptions to current designations. A second analytical approach used agent-specific data to designate key criteria in a DSF logic tree format to identify pathogens of low concern that can be ruled out for further consideration as select agents. Both the MCDA and DSF approaches arrived at similar conclusions, suggesting the value of employing the two analytical approaches to add robustness for decision making.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1234238/fullmulti-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)decision support framework (DSF)plant select agentsbiennial reviewrisk assessment tool |
| spellingShingle | Segaran P. Pillai Segaran P. Pillai Julia Fruetel Todd West Kevin Anderson Patricia Hernandez Cameron Ball Carrie McNeil Nataly Beck Stephen A. Morse Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) decision support framework (DSF) plant select agents biennial review risk assessment tool |
| title | Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| title_full | Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| title_fullStr | Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| title_short | Application of multi-criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| title_sort | application of multi criteria decision analysis techniques and decision support framework for informing plant select agent designation and decision making |
| topic | multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) decision support framework (DSF) plant select agents biennial review risk assessment tool |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1234238/full |
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