Alaska Area Specimen Bank

Key points

  • The Alaska Area Specimen Bank is a repository of more than 700,000 samples collected to improve the health of people living in the Arctic.
  • The Specimen Bank has enabled critical discoveries that improve health in Arctic communities—advancing understanding of infectious diseases, nutritional trends, cancer risks, and more.
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Overview

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Woman in a doctor's office getting her temperature taken by medical worker.
The Specimen Bank is a critical asset for improving health. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

The Alaska Area Specimen Bank is a secure biorepository that supports long-term understanding of health trends among people living in the Arctic. Established through decades of collaboration, it contains more than 700,000 human specimens, most collected to study infectious diseases such as viral hepatitis. The repository is a critical resource for protecting and improving the health of Alaska Native communities.

The Specimen Bank is co-managed by CDC and Alaska Native Tribal leaders, ensuring shared stewardship, culturally grounded decision-making, and ethical use of specimens. This partnership guides how specimens are accessed, analyzed, and protected. The Alaska Area Specimen Bank makes sure human specimens are:

  • Responsibly collected, processed, and securely stored for future public health use
  • Prioritized to address the health concerns of Alaska Native people
  • Used ethically, with respect for Indigenous values, adherence to federal requirements, and strict protection of data privacy

Where the Specimens Come From

Specimens originate from research studies, public health surveillance, and outbreak investigations. They include blood, tissue, and other biological samples—many collected as far back as the 1960s. A large proportion of samples were contributed by Alaska Native people, whose participation makes long-term health monitoring possible.

Use of Specimens for Research

All specimens remain the property of the individuals who provided them. Tests involving personal identifiers require participant consent. Tests without personal identifiers require approval from: The Alaska Area Institutional Review Board (IRB), Relevant Alaska Tribal Health Organizations, and The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). This oversight ensures that research benefits communities while safeguarding individual rights.

Alaska Area Specimen Bank in Action

Two people loading baggage on to a small plane.
The Specimen Bank samples have been collected from all areas of Alaska.

The Alaska Area Specimen Bank plays a vital role in understanding and improving health across the Arctic. Its carefully preserved samples have supported major studies on disease, nutrition, and emergency response. The stories below show the impact of this unique resource.

Prevalence of zoonotic pathogens among Alaskans

In 2019, Specimen Bank samples were tested to assess seroprevalence (the number of persons in a population who test positive for a specific disease based on blood serum samples) of 11 zoonotic pathogens in Alaskans. These samples were chosen due to environmental exposure risks.

There were 887 participants, including subsistence bird hunters, sport bird hunters, avian wildlife biologists, and those with no wild bird exposure. Pathogens tested included Cryptosporidium spp., Echinococcus spp., Giardia intestinalis, Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spp., Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, California serogroup bunyaviruses, and hepatitis E virus (HEV).

Antibodies for 10 out of 11 pathogens were detected. The highest seroprevalence was for Cryptosporidium spp. (29%), California serotype bunyaviruses (27%), and G. intestinalis (19%), while 63% of participants had antibodies to at least one pathogen.

The significant prevalence of zoonotic pathogens among Alaskans, provides a baseline for future studies on seroprevalence changes over time.

Association between core mutations in hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype F1b is strongly linked to Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) in young Alaska Native people, but the mechanisms behind this association are not well understood. Research gathered from the Specimen Bank analyzed clinical and virological data from 20 HCC patients with HBV infection, specifically looking at multiple time points. The study identified a link between specific core mutations in HBV genotype F1b and the earlier development of HCC in Alaska Native individuals, suggesting that these mutations may contribute to earlier onset of HCC during chronic hepatitis B infection.

Declines in traditional marine food intake and vitamin D levels

In 2017, a Specimen Bank study was conducted to assess trends in traditional marine food consumption and serum vitamin D levels among Alaska Native women of childbearing age (20-29 years) from the 1960s to the present.

Two women seated at a table chopping food, while a younger woman stands at the table.
Further research is needed to promote traditional subsistence foods.

The study measured δ15N values (a biomarker for traditional food intake) and serum vitamin D levels in 100 serum samples from women aged 20-29, archived in the Specimen Bank, with samples selected from each decade from the 1960s to the 1990s. These were compared with more recent data from women in the same age group collected during the 2000s and 2010s.

There was a significant decline in the intake of traditional marine-based foods from the 1960s through the 1990s, with serum vitamin D concentrations also showing a significant decrease from the 1960s to the present.

This study suggests the need for further research on promoting traditional foods and considering routine vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy for this population.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and markers of gastric cancer risk

Illustration of gastric cancer cells.
Alaska Native individuals with gastric cancer have a higher likelihood of previous H. pylori infection.

Alaska Native individuals have gastric cancer incidence and mortality rates that are three to four times higher than the general U.S. population. This retrospective case-control study matched gastric cancer cases reported to the Alaska Native Tumor Registry (1969-2008) with three controls based on demographic risk factors for H. pylori infection. Serum samples were obtained from the Specimen Bank and assessed for associations between serum markers and gastric cancer.

The findings indicate that Alaska Native individuals with gastric cancer have a higher likelihood of previous H. pylori infection, and low pepsinogen I levels may serve as a potential precancer marker for non-cardia gastric cancer.

2016 CDC Zika Response and ongoing CDC Dengue Response (San Juan)

Mosquito biting skin.
The AASB provided human sera samples from the Arctic as vital negative controls in assay validation and laboratory testing for tropical diseases such as Zika and Dengue.

Specific historic collections within the Specimen Bank are completely anonymized and available for laboratory validations. Because all samples were collected in sub-Arctic and Arctic regions, these samples provide a critical negative control for some disease limited only to the tropics / equatorial regions. For both Zika and Dengue surveillance and investigation work by the CDC, the Specimen Bank provided anonymized human sera samples from the Arctic as vital negative controls in assay validation and laboratory testing.

High prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the Alaska Native population and association with iron deficiency

Iron deficiency anemia is a prevalent public health issue among the Alaska Native population, with unclear causes. Previous research indicated a potential link between H. pylori infection, gastrointestinal blood loss from hemorrhagic gastritis, and iron deficiency anemia in adults.

Cells displaying iron deficiency anemia.
H. pylori may contribute to iron deficiency anemia.

A study using Specimen Bank samples examined the relationship between H. pylori-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and serum ferritin levels (an iron deficiency marker) using a random sample of 2,080 serum samples from Alaska Native residents collected between 1980 and 1986. 75% of the samples tested positive for H. pylori-specific IgG, with seropositivity increasing with age; 78% of residents were positive by age 14.

A significant association was identified between low serum ferritin levels and H. pylori-specific IgG prevalence, especially in those under 20, suggesting H. pylori may contribute to iron deficiency anemia in this population.

Estimating the date of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection from antibody tests of samples

Patient recall can lead to inaccuracies in determining the duration of HCV infection. Using Specimen Bank samples, a study was conducted to investigate the accuracy of estimated dates of HCV infection based on patient interviews, particularly focusing on blood transfusions (BT) and injecting drug use (IDU).

Researchers compared patient-reported BT dates with confirmed dates from a BT-Lookback project and assessed the correlation of reported IDU years with seroconversion dates from historical serum tests. They found 50% of interviewed BT recipients were unaware of their BT history, 36% of individuals with confirmed BT dates had anti-HCV results that did not match their BT date, and 31% of IDU individuals had anti-HCV results that did not correlate with their reported first year of IDU.

This highlights the need for statistical methods that account for uncertainty in infection date assignment in outcome studies.

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Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)