June 2002

Below is a listing of bioterrorism-related events this month, part of an ongoing bioterrorism chronology that begins with Sep 11, 2001. To see events from other months, go to the Bioterrorism Watch index page.

June 30

Next bioterrorist attack likely to be worse than the last, says Osterholm
Another bioterrorist attack will probably take place in the United States, and it will probably be worse than the anthrax attacks last fall, says Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, in a speech to more than 300 environmental health experts. Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and a nationally recognized bioterrorism expert, says a future attack could easily do more harm than the 2001 anthrax attacks, which caused 22 cases of anthrax and 5 deaths. He makes the comments in a speech to the National Environmental Health Association convention in Minneapolis. Osterholm, a special adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, says Americans should not have been surprised by the Sep 11 attacks, nor should they be surprised when the next attack happens. He also says that careful consideration is needed to determine how best to spend the large sums of money now being allocated to state and local public health agencies for biodefense purposes.

Handheld device can quickly detect E coli O157:H7, scientists say
Scientists say they have developed a handheld sensor that can help save lives by quickly detecting Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other harmful germs in food and drinks. This device may help prevent people from getting sick and save money as far as medical treatment goes, but the ultimate concern is consumer safety, says Cornell University chemist Richard Durst, who helped develop the test. The device attaches antibodies to the outside of microscopic fat bubbles called liposomes on a test strip. A sample moving up the strip attaches to the antibodies and turns red if E coli O157:H7 is present. A negative sample does not change color. High levels of the pathogen can be detected in as few as 8 minutes. The device is the size of a micro-cassette recorder and could be used by inspectors at beef plants or investigators at restaurants and food services. Field-testing of the new device is scheduled to start in July.

June 28

Part of anthrax vaccine supply to be stockpiled for possible civilian use
The Bush administration announces a new anthrax vaccination policy that includes plans to continue vaccinating some military personnel and to stockpile for civilian use a large share of all the anthrax vaccine being produced for the Pentagon. The Pentagon intends in the next two weeks to begin vaccinating those expected to spend at least 15 days a year in regions where the threat of anthrax attack is considered high. At least a third of the vaccine to be produced will be stored by the Department of Health and Human Services in secret warehouses scattered around the country for use in case a domestic anthrax attack occurs, according to unnamed administration officials quoted in the New York Times. In the event of an attack, most of those doses would probably be given to police officers, firefighters, rescue squads, and other first-responders, as well as to people who live or work in areas contaminated by anthrax.

Monkey study underlies decision to create civilian stockpile of anthrax vaccine
A 1990s research project designed to determine whether antibiotic treatment, anthrax vaccine, or a combination of the two could keep people exposed to anthrax from getting sick provides the scientific underpinning for the governments decision to create the first stockpile of anthrax vaccine for civilian use, according to a New York Times report. The experiment involving 68 rhesus monkeys suggested that monkeys that received both antibiotics and vaccine would fare better than those that received either vaccine or antibiotics alone. But the research, led by Arthur M. Friedlander, a senior scientist at the Army's biodefense laboratory in Fort Detrick, Md., was far from definitive. Despite the lack of evidence, most experts agree with the governments decision. There is no way in the world you could do a clinical trial of this in humans, says Dr. Philip Brachman, an anthrax expert at Emory University. We use the best scientific judgments we have.

Public health experts want Julie Gerberding to head CDC
Bush administration officials say public health experts have urged the appointment of infectious disease specialist Dr. Julie Gerberding as the next director of the CDC. Credited with taking some of the earliest steps to protect healthcare workers from exposure to the AIDS virus, Gerberding has become one of the CDCs most visible investigators into last falls anthrax attacks. If appointed, she would be the CDCs first female director. The administration also is considering Dr. Robert Redfield, a former Army physician and longtime AIDS vaccine researcher, according to unnamed officials quoted by the Associated Press.

Hauer named acting assistant secretary for public health preparedness
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces that Jerome M. Hauer will become acting assistant secretary for public health emergency preparedness. The position was created June 12 when President Bush signed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act. Hauer has been serving as director of the HHS Office of Public Health Preparedness since D.A. Henderson left the position in May. Before coming to HHS, Hauer served as director of the Office of Emergency Management in New York City, where he gained respect for developing the countrys first bioterrorism response plans.

US to station cargo inspectors in three European ports
Aiming to learn more about cargo heading for the United States and to screen sea containers for possible weapons of mass destruction, the United States secures permission to station specially trained customs officials in three large European ports. According to a US Customs Service spokesman, the agreement will first involve the ports of Rotterdam, Netherlands; Antwerp, Belgium; and Le Havre, France. Talks are under way with five other ports in Germany, Italy, and Spain. A similar arrangement already exists in Canada with the ports of Halifax, Montreal, and Vancouver. Eventually, customs officials hope to cover the 20 ports around the world that send the largest volume of cargo to the US. Those 20 ports jointly account for almost 70 percent of the 5.7 million containers shipped by sea to the US each year, says customs spokesman Dean Boyd.

Lieberman says proposed department should aggressively pursue new security tools
The proposed Homeland Security Department needs an alert and aggressive technology development agency that can quickly access new security devices and systems, according to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. We need dozens of new security technologies, and we need them quickly, says Lieberman, who is working with the White House to establish the new department. Lieberman wants the department to have what he calls the Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, modeled on the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

West's move to help Russia get rid of weapons causes some resentment
The decision at the Group of Eight summit in Canada this week to allow the worlds wealthiest nations to help Russia dispose of its arsenal of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons won support from some Russians, but others saw it as a sign of Russian capitulation to the West. Retired Gen. Leonid Ivashov warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin is leading his country into a potentially dangerous relationship with the West by agreeing to closer cooperation with NATO and bringing Russia fully into the Group of Eight. The summit agreed to a pledge of up to $20 billion to keep Russias arsenal from falling into the hands of terrorists. Russia is invited to join, but we are treated like a beneficiary, not as an equal, says Ivashov, who also questions the Wests motive in offering the funds.

Post-flood anthrax outbreak reported in North Caucasus area of Russia
Rescuers from the Russian Ministry of Emergencies Situations have prevented the expansion of an anthrax outbreak in the North Caucasus. Sergey Shoigu, head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, says at a meeting of the governments commission in Stavropol that recent floods that occurred in the North Caucasus uncovered 64 pits containing anthrax-infected cattle. In all, the rescuers burned the bodies of 3,500 cattle and 36,000 poultry. Shoigu says the ministry has enough anthrax vaccine.

June 27

APHA worries that Bush proposal would weaken public health system
The American Public Health Association (APHA) issues a statement of concern that certain parts of the Bush administrations proposal to create a new Department of Homeland Security may undermine efforts to strengthen the nations public health system. The APHA says that, under the administration's proposal, many federal public health functions would be transferred to the new Homeland Security Department, thereby threatening to weaken efforts to achieve an effective, broad-based public health system prepared for all emergencies. While coordination and communication among health agencies, law enforcement, and the intelligence community are essential, the integrity of the public health system and the science upon which it is based must be preserved, the APHA says.

Iraqi diplomat says new round of talks on weapons checks won't be the last
Iraqs United Nations ambassador says he expects next weeks UN-Iraq talks to require further follow up discussions before that country will allow the return of UN weapons inspectors. Ambassador Mohammad Al-Douri says he hopes to see progress at the July 4 and 5 talks in Vienna, but he believes there wont be enough time to resolve all issues. His remarks dampen hopes expressed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who looked forward to a decisive meeting that would lead to a swift return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq. We cannot keep talking forever, and I would hope that we will be able to yield some results, Annan said last week.  Al-Douri, who will be in the Iraqi delegation, reiterated that Iraq has a broader agenda for the talks and four key issues that it wants resolved, not just the return of inspectorsa topic never mentioned directly.

June 26

US Capitol acquiring gas masks for legislators, staff, tourists
The first of 20,000 gas masks arrive at the US Capitol to protect lawmakers, aides, other employees, and tourists in the event of a chemical or biological attack. The masks are intended to protect users long enough to evacuate the Capitol and nearby office buildings. Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer says the devices, each costing about $100, are good for up to an hour for filtering out anthrax spores or toxic gases, depending on the temperature and how hard the user is breathing. The masks are ineffective against radiological agents, he says. Employee training on how to use the quick masks will begin next week when lawmakers are out of town for a weeklong July Fourth holiday.

Report says Postal Service will repay N.J. hospital for anthrax costs
The US Postal Service has agreed to reimburse Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, N.J., for treatment of postal employees who might have been exposed to anthrax last fall, a New Jersey state legislator says. The hospital spent $651,000 to treat people from the Hamilton regional mail-processing center. The hospital will accept $618,922, a 5% discount, if paid within 15 days, says Nick Manetto, a spokesman for State Rep. Christopher Smith, R-Mercer. The Hamilton center has been closed since last falls anthrax attacks. Manetto says Smith wants the center cleaned and reopened, with all 1,100 workers brought back.

Walter Reed plans conference on risk communication
Walter Reed Army Medical Center announces that it will host a 2-day risk-communication conference in Alexandria, Va., Sept. 9 to 11. The national conference is expected to draw healthcare providers, patients, and practitioners from military and civilian sectors to learn about communicating risk during and after acts of terrorism and war. Following the conference, recommendations for new clinical approaches to risk communication will be made for use by federal agencies.

June 25

Setting up Homeland Security Department could take years
Comptroller General David Walker tells Congress that the proposed Homeland Security Department could take years to establish and much more money than originally anticipated. Walker tells the Senate Judiciary Committee's Technology, Terrorism and Government Information Subcommittee that Congress has a unique opportunity to set up the agency to protect borders and guard against terrorism, but it would take substantial time and effort and additional resources to do the job properly. Numerous complicated issues will need to be resolved in the short term, including a harmonizing of information technology systems, human capital systems, the physical location of people and other assets, and many other factors, says Walker.

Anthrax investigators search biologist's house, find no clues
Federal authorities search the home of biologist Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, who has worked on germ defenses for the government, but they find no evidence linking him to last falls anthrax attacks. FBI agents say that Hatfill consented to the search and is not a suspect. Hatfill, 48, has been the subject of Web site gossip among scientists, journalists, and other professionals about possible domestic suspects in the attack. After reporters pursued him, he was fired in March from his job at Science Applications International Corporation, a biodefense contractor for the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency. From 1997 to 1999, he worked at the Armys biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md.

Pentagon plans to merge missile warning network with offensive forces
Pentagon officials say they plan a new command to incorporate the US missile attack warning network and forces that can hit suspected nuclear, chemical, and biological arms sites. Combining the Space Command and its warning satellites with the Strategic Command of offensive bombers and missiles would allow for pre-emptive strikes against states and groups seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction, officials tell Reuters. I know it sounds like an esoteric corporate merger. But its important in the post-September world to marry warning and response, says a Pentagon official. The new command has not yet been named, but it is likely to be headed by Adm. James Ellis, the current head of Strategic Command, according to a senior official.

June 24

RCMP officers at G-8 summit site have mysterious illness
Dozens of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers working at the site of this weeks G-8 summit near Calgary, Alta., are nauseous, and three have been hospitalized. Constable Rob Dunnett of the RCMP says the officers at Nakiska camp, in the security zone at the Kananaskis resort where the summit will be held, became ill during the night. He says about 30 were treated at Nakiska camp. The cause of the outbreak is unknown. Officials initially said the symptoms were consistent with food poisoning but later ruled that out. The regional health authority, the RCMP medical team, and the Department of National Defense medical team have taken a look at what those officers had to eat, and they believe they could not find any source of contamination there in Kananaskis, says Calgary police spokesman Murray Stooke.

Vanderbilt University to test Aventis smallpox vaccine
Vanderbilt University has announced it will conduct clinical trials of smallpox vaccine and other vaccines under a $12.6 million contract with the National Institutes of Health. Smallpox will be our initial target in preparing for the bioterrorism threat, says Dr. Kathryn Edwards, principal investigator of the clinical trials and professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases. The initial trial will focus on smallpox vaccine that has been held in storage by Aventis Pasteur for several decades. Healthy young adults will be vaccinated with full-strength vaccine and vaccine diluted by 1:5 and 1:10 ratios. The tests will determine how much the vaccine can be diluted and still be effective. Three other institutions are conducting similar trials, Vanderbilt officials say.

Report urges use of science and technology to fight terrorism
A report by the National Research Council says the United States should develop a counter- terrorism program applying science and technology to a wide range of efforts, including protecting and controlling nuclear weapons and material at home and abroad, producing sufficient supplies of vaccines and antibodies, securing shipping containers that could hide bombs or toxins, protecting power grids more effectively, and improving ventilation systems in public buildings and emergency communications for workers responding to disasters. A committee of scientists, engineers, physicians, and other experts identified national security areas that could be improved with a concerted science and engineering push. Committee Co-Chairman Dr. Lewis M. Branscomb says, Our report gives the government a blueprint for using current technologies and creating new capabilities to reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks and the severity of their consequences. The other co-chair, Dr. Richard D. Klausner, says many opportunities to use science against terrorism will be lost unless the government establishes a coherent strategy to use the nations technical capabilities.

Physicians losing interest in bioterrorism preparedness courses
Physicians interest in learning more about smallpox or treating people exposed to nuclear fallout has slacked off since last fall, according to Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD, who created the biological and chemical terrorism continuing medical education course for the Florida Medical Association (FMA). The threat has passed, nothing new has happened, and people have lost interest, he says. Only those already invested in public health still turn up for his classes. They understand its a long-term investment, he adds. Others report similar loss of interest. FMA spokeswoman Lisette Gonzalez Mariner says 300 doctors took the FMAs online bioterrorism course from October 2001 through January 2002, but since then only 10 have taken it. The AMAs bioterrorism Web site has shown a similar drop-off in use, from 424 visits in February to zero in April and May.

USDA considers upgrading Long Island lab to handle most dangerous germs
The US Agriculture Department appears to be considering a controversial upgrade of its Plum Island Animal Disease Center, located off Long Island, N.Y., according to a report by Global Security Newswire. The upgrade would allow the department to work with infectious animal diseases posing the greatest risk to humans. The decision could pit the departments desire for constructing such a facility against safety concerns of local residents. The lab currently has a biosafety level 3 classification; a level 4 classification would enable the lab to work with diseases posing the highest risk to humans, such as anthrax, screwworm, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The department contracted with Science Applications International Corp. for a report to address whether the department needs such a facility. The panel of experts met last week and concluded that one is needed, according to a participant.

June 23

Aircraft carriers stock biodefense equipment
Aircraft carriers like the USS George Washington now stock about 200,000 doses of Cipro as well as state-of-the-art equipment for detecting chemical, biological, and radioactive agents, according to the Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Va. The new equipment includes a small lab that allows the ships medical team to identify specific types of hazards, as well as a portable analyzer for checking questionable substances. The "Ruggedized Advanced Pathogen Identification Device" (RAPID) is small enough to have its own backpack and can be carried onto other ships for testing. It can identify anthrax, smallpox, and plague, among other potentially fatal pathogens, the report says. The ship carries enough Cipro to treat its crew of 5,100 for 60 days.

June 22

Anthrax used in attacks was only 2 years old, officials say
Scientists have determined that the anthrax powder sent through the mail last fall was made no more than 2 years before it was sent, senior government officials say. The finding concerns investigators, who say it indicates that whoever sent the anthrax could make more and use it again. The new findings strengthen the theory that the person responsible for the mailings has a direct, current connection to a microbiology laboratory and may have used relatively new equipment. The new discovery also casts doubt on a theory that the culprit stole or obtained an old laboratory sample of powdered anthrax, from a strain first identified in 1981. Its modern, one official says. It was grown, and therefore it can be grown again and again. Officials say the FBI determined that the anthrax was fresh by radiocarbon dating, a standard means of estimating the age of biological samples.

Smallpox immunization recommendation raises logistical, ethical problems
The advisory panel decision to recommend smallpox vaccination for healthcare and law enforcement workers who would respond to an outbreak creates logistical and ethical problems, notes a report in the New York Times. Given the potential for side effects, some first responders who receive the vaccine may suffer serious complications. Also, because recently vaccinated people can shed the vaccinia virus, steps must be taken to protect certain people who come in contact with them. Those at risk include people who have eczema and those whose immune systems are weakened by cancer treatment or HIV infection. Vaccination will be voluntary, and issues of confidentiality concerning vaccine recipients' health could arise. Theres no single answer, and the states will have to talk it through, says Dr. Harold Margolis, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

June 21

Homeland Security Department's possible effects on HHS raise concern
President Bushs proposed reorganization would end the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS's) dominant role in bioterrorism preparedness by transferring 300 employees and $4 billion from HHS to a new Department of Homeland Security. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson says this would allow bioterrorism experts to benefit from other intelligence data. But some members of Congress worry that the transfer could create duplication of effort and uproot some public health specialists, according to a report from GovExec.com. Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., says, Ill be concerned if they start to separate scientific research and begin fragmenting it to the point where its losing the synergies of having one place. Currently HHS is a one-stop shop for biodefense, and any division of labor could run into problems. Many National Institutes of Health scientists working on bioterrorism have other responsibilities as well. If youre an infectious-disease specialist, you know smallpox, but you also know West Nile virus and influenza, says Kevin Kean, assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS.

June 20

ACIP recommends smallpox shots only for those involved in outbreak response
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously rejects the idea of offering smallpox vaccine to the public. Instead, the panel recommends immunizing only the estimated 15,000 healthcare and law enforcement workers who would be most likely to respond to a biological attack. These include teams of healthcare and security personnel assigned to investigate smallpox cases and initiate control measures, plus selected clinical workers in hospitals designated to receive smallpox patients in an outbreak. The ACIP says the risk of complications from the vaccine outweighs its benefits in the absence of any known case or confirmed threat of a smallpox attack. The recommendation leaves unchanged the CDC's smallpox response strategy of surveillance and ring vaccination. The new recommendation now goes to acting CDC Director Dr. David Fleming and then to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.

AMA endorses ACIP advice not to vaccinate public for smallpox
The American Medical Association supports the recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that smallpox vaccine not be offered to the general public. The risk of complications from the vaccine outweighs any potential benefits of mass vaccination, the AMA says in a prepared statement. The AMA also emphasizes the need for increased education for both physicians and the general public about issues related to smallpox. Physicians need to understand how to diagnose and treat smallpox and take other appropriate actions should a case be identified, the organization says.

Chemist designs device to kill pathogens in ventilation systems
Chemist Richard S. Potember of Johns Hopkins University is designing a system that could fit in an air conditioner or heater and destroy anthrax spores, viruses, and bacteria in building vents, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun. Early test results suggest that his invention, which uses ozone and ultraviolet light, can potentially kill 100% of the viruses and bacteria that a terrorist might dump into a building vent. Early tests show it also kills or filters out more than 99 percent of spores resembling anthrax. Potember will now test the machine in a new lab modeled after an office building. Potember estimates that it would cost approximately $5,000 to assemble a machine, depending on the size of the structure it serves.

Office established to coordinate setup of Homeland Security Department
President Bush signs an executive order establishing a transition office in the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate the creation of the proposed Homeland Security Department. A director of the Transition Planning Office for the Department of Homeland Security has yet to be named. The order requires OMB Director Mitch Daniels to provide funding and staff for the new office, which will be terminated within 90 days after Congress clears legislation creating the department.

CDC puzzled over rashes in schoolchildren
Federal health officials are increasingly puzzled over rashes that have been afflicting schoolchildren in 27 states. In March the CDC reported outbreaks in 14 states. Since then, another 13 states have joined the list. Although the number of reported rashes continues to grow, theres still no evidence for a common cause for all of the reports, CDC spokesman Mike Groutt says. Reports indicate that the rashes are self-limiting and affected children have few if any accompanying signs or symptoms. However, the rashes raise concern because they occurred simultaneously in various locales across the nation and began in the wake of Sep 11 and the anthrax attacks.

June 19

ACIP hears 12 hours of testimony on smallpox vaccination issues
Meeting in Atlanta, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices hears almost 12 hours of testimony on whether to allow some segment of the public to be vaccinated against smallpox before any potential bioterror attack occurs. But the 15-member group making vaccine policy recommendations to the federal government cannot answer a key question underlying every argument: How great is the risk of an attack? The key piece of information that we dont have is the actual risk of disease, says Dr. Paul Offit, a committee member from the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Should we be making this decision in the absence of that information?"

Bush drops proposal to put Livermore lab into proposed new department
President Bush asks Congress to create a national research center at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to help protect the United States against biological and radiological attacks. This reverses an initial White House proposal to transfer nearly all of the University of California labs budget to the proposed Department of Homeland Security. Scientists had complained that such a move would complicate the labs mission of doing research to help maintain the nations nuclear weapons stockpile without having to conduct live tests. It was decided that theres still some (Department of Defense) responsibilities and Department of Energy responsibilities that are uniquely situated at the Lawrence Livermore Lab, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge says. "It would not be appropriate to take the entire facility within the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, the administration plans to ask Congress to create a new center of excellence at Livermore that would be part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Spokane man accused of making ricin weapon
A Spokane, Wash., man is arrested for allegedly building a homemade biological weapon with ricin, a lethal extract of castor beans. FBI agents allege that Kenneth Olsen may have intended to poison his wife with the toxin after having an affair with another woman. The investigation began after Olsens co-workers found items at his workstation at the Agilent Technologies Inc. plant suggesting he was plotting a homicide, documents show. Olsen, who had been fired from the plant in August, was trying to determine how much ricin was needed to kill a 150-pound person, the approximate weight of his wife, court documents say. An Agilent manager also found documents related to ricin, glass jars, test tubes, and castor beans, plus cards and letters from a woman named Debra Davis. Ricin is twice as deadly as cobra venom and, in large doses, causes diarrhea leading to shock and death.

Security officials call terror assault on Europe nearly inevitable
European security officials say a terror assault on Europe is almost inevitable, and the next attack on the West could be nuclear. David Veness, the head of Britains anti-terrorist police, says a nuclear or biological attack is sadly the next logical step, while the director of the European Union police agency, Europol, says it is a question of when and where, not if, an attack would occur in Europe. We are talking about attacks beyond macro casualties. This, Im afraid, represents a step we can all anticipate, Veness says at an international crime conference in London. He adds that the new dimension of terrorism is illustrated by the lines crossed on September 11: no notice suicide attacks, mass deaths, and simultaneous attacks. Our great fear is the change that will be wrought when inevitably a suicide attack occurs in Western Europe, he says.

June 18

State and local governments working on biodefense plans
With a first wave of grants arriving from Washington, states and cities throughout the United States are racing to make plans to cope with bioterrorism. Local and regional governments are securing water reservoirs, upgrading alert systems from regular mail to high-speed intranets, and drawing plans to protect monuments and sports stadiums. Its kind of like terror itself, says Lin Wilson, the grant application writer in Allen County, Ind. You never know when the money is going to strike. Javier Gonzalez, the Santa Fe, N.M. commissioner who heads the National Association of Counties, lobbyist for local governments, says, We are seeing measurable progress, but we still dont have the capacity to care for our communities. All but two states have received most of the money that was set aside for them in January.

Virginia hiring 130 people for bioterrorism preparedness
Using $22 million in federal funds, Virginia is preparing for bioterrorism by hiring doctors, epidemiologists, and bioterrorism coordinators to work throughout the state tracking health trends and keeping tabs on diseases. The federal funds, plus $1.8 million from the state, will also support laboratory testing, staff training, and public education. The 130 specialists being hired in the state program include one epidemiologist and one bioterrorism coordinator for each of the state's 35 health districts. If were going to get on top of biological events, we need to do this 24-7, says Casey Riley, a state health department spokesman. Local health officials say the added help will make an immediate difference in their efforts. Being able to have an epidemiologist working on identifying and controlling communicable diseases and not having to pull assistance from other departments will be an enormous boon to our ability to respond, says Merni Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County.

Meeting focuses on legal implications of biodefense
Preparing the legal system for bioterrorism is the focus of a two-day meeting sponsored by the CDC beginning in Atlanta today. I dont think we have even started seriously considering the legal implications of trying to protect the population from bioterrorism, says former US Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., who will speak at the meeting tomorrow. It would test not only our health system and our technology, but also our whole legal structure and the relationship between federal, state and local governments. To deal effectively with bioterrorism, the CDC says, state governments need the ability to declare a health emergency, close roads and buildings, commandeer hospitals and drug supplies, begin vaccination campaigns, and isolate individuals and groups. Currently state laws differ, creating questions such as what portion of the $1 billion in bioterrorism-preparedness money that Congress has sent to the states can be spent on legal preparation.

June 17

Texas hires firm to assess hospitals' bioterrorism preparedness
The Texas Department of Health selects General Physics Corporation, a Columbia, Md., performance-improvement company, to assess bioterrorism preparedness at more than 550 Texas hospitals. The Texas Department of Health plans to use the assessment results to develop a plan for improving hospital preparedness. General Physics will partner with ZA Consulting, LLC, to complete the assessment.

Food technologists discuss plans for responding to attack on food supply
Food safety experts meeting in Anaheim, Calif., discuss plans for responding to a biological attack. We operate with a mindset that its not an issue of if but when a food terrorism event will occur, Dr. LeeAnne Jackson, health science policy advisor for the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, says at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting. In the event of an attack, the Food and Drug Administration would work with the FBI, local law enforcement, and other agencies to respond, Jackson says. Initially it could be difficult to distinguish a bioterrorism attack from accidental food contamination, she points out, which is why the FDA is emphasizing the importance of laboratory facilities. We need labs that can quickly scale up, she says.

June 16

CDC preparing to inject monkeys with smallpox virus
CDC researchers are preparing to inject monkeys with the smallpox virus to test new medications and diagnostic procedures. This is the first major study of antiviral smallpox drugs and vaccines since the disease was officially eradicated in 1980. Conducted in a high-security lab at the CDC, the research also aims to improve the CDCs ability to handle an outbreak. Weve made a good deal of progress and we are much better off than we were in 1999 or last September. But in no way does that mean we are adequately prepared today to deal with a major bioterrorist attack," says Dr James Hughes, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases. The CDC has dedicated one of its two maximum-containment laboratories in Atlanta solely to smallpox research.

June 15

Report says Soviet weapons test triggered smallpox cases in 1971
A Soviet field test of weaponized smallpox in 1971 caused an outbreak that killed two children and a young woman before health teams quarantined hundreds of people and administered nearly 50,000 vaccine doses, according to a report by the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Seven other people, all of whom had been vaccinated against smallpox, became ill during the outbreak but survived, according to the report. The report has not been published but is described in a story in the New York Times.
The outbreak occurred in Aralsk, a port on the Aral Sea in what was then the Kazakh Republic, according to the report. It says that a ship doing environmental research sailed too close to a military smallpox test that sent out a deadly plume, which infected a crew member, who then carried the virus to the city. The three people who died in Aralsk had not been vaccinated and all had the rare hemorrhagic form of the disease. The hemorrhagic form accounts for about 1% to 3% of smallpox cases and is usually fatal, says Alan Zelicoff, a co-author of the report and a physician and smallpox expert at Sandia National Laboratories.
The episode raises questions about whether new vaccines or drugs might be needed if this strain were used in an attack. We all know that the vaccine works well in the vast majority of cases, says Zelicoff. What the new data strongly suggests is that we have much more work to do on new vaccines and the development of antiviral drugs, none of which are available today.
But smallpox expert D. A. Henderson, MD, bioterrorism adviser to the secretary of health and human services, tells the Times he is skeptical of the Monterey report's conclusions and remains confident in the vaccine. Too little is known about the Soviet vaccine to assess its effectiveness among Aralsk residents in 1971, Henderson says. "We don't know when they were vaccinated or whether they were successfully vaccinated," he says, adding that the Monterey report authors jumped to conclusions on the basis of little information.

Families still suspect anthrax link in deaths of Washington postal workers
Although health officials say anthrax was not the direct cause of any of the eight post-Sep 11 deaths at Washingtons Brentwood postal plant, some employees and family members continue to fear that the deaths were related to last falls anthrax attack. Several of them also allege that postal and health officials have been slow to provide information about the deaths and are not doing enough to monitor the health of the plants workforce. CDC officials say that, although none of the eight died of inhalational anthrax, more research is needed before the CDC can rule out a link to the anthrax episode. They say they are doing further study of the cases as part of a larger effort to monitor the condition of 9,700 people nationwide who were advised to take antibiotics because of potential exposure in the anthrax attacks..

June 13

Passenger causes unwarranted smallpox scare on airliner
A passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight remarks that a rash on his neck could be smallpox. But paramedics check the 40-year-old Memphis man when the plane arrives in Memphis and determine that he does not have the disease. Authorities say the mans offhand statements caused a serious in-flight scare that prompted hurried calls from the plane to the Mayo Clinic for advice. The flight crew immediately alerted the pilots, who radioed the Northwest communication center, says Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch. He says the plane was not quarantined and that passengers left without incident. "We certainly regret the unnecessary worry that this passengers unfortunate remarks caused," Ebenhoch says.

Suspicion in anthrax case falls on former Fort Detrick scientist
The FBI is seriously exploring the possibility that a Fort Detrick insider could have clandestinely produced anthrax spores and removed them to a private location to be refined into lethal powder. That premise also lies at the center of a new assessment of the investigation by bioweapons expert Barbara Hatch Rosenberg. Rosenberg says five biodefense experts have given the FBI the name of a former Fort Detrick scientist who had access to "a remote location" that could have been used to refine anthrax spores into a weapon. The Hartford Courant obtained an advance copy of Rosenbergs report, in which she states that the unidentified scientist suffered a career setback last summer that "left him angry and depressed" and that the FBI, with his consent, searched his home and computer. The unidentified scientist has declined interview requests.

MIT panel says anti-terrorism laws could rule out some research
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty panel recommends that classified research remain off-campus and concludes that some research may be off limits in the future. MITs report, the first from a major research institution weighing the impact of new federal anti-terrorism laws on campuses, says universities must re-examine how they handle biological agents, sensitive information, and classified research. The report also raises concerns about how post-Sep 11 federal regulations could restrict research. If areas of research currently conducted on campus have to be classified, it would cut the campus in half, with some faculty members allowed to discuss their research and others forbidden, says Professor Jerome I. Friedman. The report recommends that MIT not allow students to pursue research subjects that could result in reports being classified following a government review.

More than 70% of mayors worried about chemical and biological threats
A homeland security survey of the nations mayors finds that they are most concerned about the threat of chemical and biological terrorism. According to a survey summary, mayors are most likely to report funding shortfalls for threat detection and emergency response equipment. The survey was conducted by the US Conference of Mayors and DuPont through their Cities United for Science Progress partnership. More than 7 out of 10 mayors expressed "very high concern" or "high concern" about chemical (73%) and biological (71%) threats. Two-thirds are similarly concerned about bomb threats. Less than half expressed the same level of concern about traditional crime (48%), cyber threats (46%), and nuclear threats (30%).

Aide to bin Laden says al-Quaida will kill 4 million Americans
Osama bin Ladens chief aide warns that al-Qaida will kill 4 million more Americans, according to The Mirror, a British tabloid. The paper's online edition reports that Suleiman Abu Ghaith claims terrorists plan to attack the United States with chemical or biological weapons. Ghaith, a close friend of bin Laden, says on an Islamic website: "We have the right to kill 4 million Americans  2 million of them children  and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands." He adds that it is the right of terrorists to fight with chemical and biological weapons. In the past he has spoken only with bin Ladens permission, and the latest statement, according to the report, increases the likelihood that the al-Qaida chief is alive.

June 12

Bush signs $4.3-billion biodefense bill
President Bush signs legislation authorizing spending of $4.3 billion to protect Americans and their food and water from biological warfare. The bioterrorism legislation, which the House and Senate agreed upon recently after passing different versions of the bill in December, calls for expansion of government stockpiles of antibiotics and vaccines and tightening of federal regulation of laboratories handling deadly microbes. It also contains measures to increase inspections of imported food, improve detection of foodborne pathogens, and protect water systems. The bill provides $1.5 billion for states to expand defenses against biological attacks. Money also is earmarked for hospital equipment and to train medical workers to deal with bioterrorism.

Biodefense law sets deadlines for water-system security assessments
The American Water Works Association announces recommendations for public water systems to comply with the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act signed by President Bush. The act includes new requirements for water utilities to prevent intentional contamination of water supplies. Water utilities serving more than 3,300 people must assess the vulnerability of their systems. Completion dates for vulnerability assessments depend on system size, as follows: 100,000 people or more, March 31, 2003; 50,000 to 100,000, December 31, 2003; 3,300 to 50,000, June 30, 2004. About 8,000 utilities will be required to prepare assessments under the new law, at a cost estimated at $450 million.

Scientists say FBI suspects anthrax spores originated at Fort Detrick
The FBI is considering whether anthrax spores used in last falls attacks could have been grown secretly inside an Army lab and then taken elsewhere to be weaponized, according to sources familiar with the inquiry. A former government microbiologist who was interviewed recently by the FBI says agents asked about how someone with access to the US Armys biodefense lab at Fort Detrick, Md., might carry out the scheme. "They asked me, if I wanted to grow something I wasnt supposed to, would there be somebody asking me about it, and could I have taken it out of the lab," the scientist says. "I told them no one checked, and it was far easier to get something out of Fort Detrick than into it." A second scientist questioned by the FBI says the "operating theory" appeared to be that the Fort Detrick labs were the anthrax source, and spores were covertly removed.

Canada will stockpile enough smallpox vaccine for everyone
The Canadian government has decided to stockpile enough smallpox vaccine to inoculate every Canadian in the event of a bioterrorist attack, the Ottawa Citizen reports. Plans are currently underway to purchase millions of vaccine doses from an unnamed supplier. "If we need to, we will be able to vaccinate every man, woman and child," says Dr. Ron St. John, executive director of Health Canadas Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response. The total cost "is to be negotiated," he says. Based on the reported cost of $2.76-US per dose, Canada could face a bill of $123 million. By late summer or early fall, Health Canada expects to vaccinate epidemiologists and other federal disease investigators, who would be the first people dispatched to the scene of a suspected smallpox outbreak.

Administration pushes proposed Homeland Security Department
President Bush convenes the first meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. The group includes former FBI Director William Webster, former Representative Lee Hamilton, an Indiana Democrat, and executives and public officials from around the country. The panel will help lay the groundwork for creation of a Cabinet-level department for domestic security. In addition, homeland security adviser Tom Ridge meets with members of the House and finds broad support for the administrations goal of a single new security agency. The meeting in the House chamber is the administration's first effort to sell the plan directly to Congress. Several members express concerns about how the reorganization would affect weapons plants or national laboratories in their districts, while others raise doubts about whether the new agency could operate independently of the FBI and the CIA.

June 11

Many at San Antonio forum support status quo on smallpox vaccination
Many attending a San Antonio forum on smallpox vaccination policy say the government should maintain its current policy against widespread inoculations because the vaccine can cause adverse reactions. About 20 participants, mostly healthcare professionals, urge changing the current policy, emphasizing the need to make vaccine available to emergency responders, healthcare workers, and public safety employees. "Some pre-existing immunity would be extremely helpful in containing any outbreak in our communities," says Jan Patterson, a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center and infection control director for two local hospital systems. The general population should be educated and screened for risk of adverse reaction, then offered the option of being vaccinated as well, Patterson and others say. The forum is the last of four sponsored by the CDC.

New bioterrorism law creates much work for FDA
The Food and Drug Administration must complete three major new regulations by the end of 2003 under the new bioterrorism act to be signed into law by President Bush June 12, according to the National Food Processors Association. Kelly Johnston, NFPA executive vice president for government affairs and communications, says the new law is "the largest expansion of food related enforcement authorities in the history of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act."

Poll: 77% of public favor nationwide smallpox vaccination
A study co-sponsored by the Gallup Organization and the University of Oklahoma Department of Psychiatry indicates that 77% of Americans favor requiring smallpox vaccinations for all US residents. Additionally, nearly four in five, or 78%, are willing to give up certain freedoms to gain security. The telephone survey of 2,519 US adults conducted in April and May included oversamples in three metropolitan areas most recently affected by acts of terrorism: New York City, Washington, DC, and Oklahoma City. Other survey findings indicate that 30% of Americans favor making it easier for legal authorities to access private communications such as mail, e-mail, and telephone conversations; and 71% favor requiring national identification cards.

June 10

Brentwood post office to be fumigated by Aug 6
US Postal Service officials say that Washingtons Brentwood processing center, contaminated by last fall's anthrax mailings, will be fumigated by Aug 6. Local business owners complain that they have received little information about the timing, progress, and dangers of the anthrax cleanup. Postal officials and chemical engineers blame delays in the cleanup on the buildings large size (200,000 square feet). Some private-sector scientists say filling a building that large with chlorine dioxide fog is extremely dangerous. The Postal Service has secured contracts totaling more than $2.4 million with Kentucky-based Ashland Inc. and Texas-based Sabre Oxidation Technologies to conduct the fumigation. During the past several months the two companies have made Brentwood airtight in preparation for fumigation. Postal Service spokeswoman Deborah Yackley says the fumigation will take about 48 hours, though a firm date has not been decided.

American arrested on accusation of plotting attack with 'dirty bomb'
The government announces the arrest of an American accused of plotting with al-Qaida terrorists to detonate a dirty bomb, which uses conventional explosives to spread radioactive material. Washington was a possible target of the alleged scheme, which was only in the planning stages, authorities say. Jose Padilla, 31, also known as Abdullah al Muhajir, was arrested May 8 after arriving at Chicago's OHare Airport on a flight from Pakistan. Under Secretary of State John Bolton says Padilla was carrying plans for the attack when he was picked up. Officials say the CIA and FBI helped foil the alleged plan, and FBI agents waited for Padilla as his plane arrived. Authorities say they believe he had returned to conduct reconnaissance for al-Qaida. Padilla is in military custody.

Canada may follow US on smallpox vaccination policy
Some Canadians could be vaccinated against smallpox by 2003, if a US committee of experts recommends making the vaccine available to the public. Three senior Health Canada officials expect to attend meetings Jun 19 and 20 at the CDC and believe the meetings will result in open access to the restricted vaccine. We dont see them pushing for a mass immunization, like before 1972, says a Canadian official close to the issue. But its possible you may see health care workers, police, emergency crews, and others getting it. And we would likely follow suit. Although the threat of a smallpox attack has not caught the attention of the Canadian public, Canada has set aside 380,000 doses of smallpox vaccine since Sep 11.

Rumsfeld insists Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says that Iraq has already prepared chemical weapons for attack and is developing nuclear and biological arms. He rejects President Saddam Husseins denials by telling hundreds of American sailors and marines that Hussein is a world-class liar. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry, in a statement timed with Rumsfelds visit to the Persian Gulf, said on Sunday that Husseins government had not possessed weapons of mass destruction since 1991, and was not now developing biological, chemical, or nuclear arms. But Rumsfeld says, They have them, and they continue to develop them, and they have weaponized chemical weapons. Theyve had an active program to develop nuclear weapons. Its also clear that they are actively developing biological weapons."

June 9

Researcher sees potential for terrorist use of monkeypox
Mark Buller, a biologist researching smallpox vaccines at St. Louis University, expresses concern that the monkeypox virus could get into the hands of terrorists, according to United Press International. Monkeypox, unlike camelpox, causes mortality in humans, and the incidence of human infection is on the rise in central and western Africa, says Buller. Additionally, Russian experts worked with the virus in the Soviet Unions biological weapons program. Monkeypox is not as contagious as smallpox, but whether it could be or has been modified to be more virulent is unknown. Ken Alibek, a former deputy chief of the Soviet biological weapons program who now lives in the United States, says he has no idea whether monkeypox had ever leaked out of the Soviet program. But from the 1970s until the 1990s, he says, "It was not a problem to get any of the orthopox viruses," and many countries had access to them if they wanted them.

Scottish hospitals, paramedics getting biodefense equipment
Hospitals and paramedics in Scotland are receiving mobile decontamination units and hundreds of special suits to protect them from chemical or biological weapons. The move comes as fears mount that al-Qaida terrorists could use biological weapons in the war against the United States and its allies. Across Britain, 10,000 suits have been ordered. A Scottish Executive spokeswoman tells the Scotsman, The procurement of the equipment was a UK-wide exercise. . . . Priority in deployment is being given to frontline services such as the Ambulance Service. Health boards that have been allocated protective suits include Argyll, Clyde, Greater Glasgow, Grampian, and Highlands.

June 7

Homeland Security Department would take over bioterrorism-related work
President Bush's proposal to consolidate homeland security programs in a new Cabinet department apparently would take sizable bioterrorism-related programs away from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The CDC currently has primary federal responsibility for detecting and responding to bioterrrorist attacks, while the NIH administers research on vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for bioterrorism-related diseases. One of the four agencies in the proposed Department of Homeland Security would deal with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) countermeasures, according to the White House. The department also would take over some US Department of Agriculture activities to protect agriculture and the food supply from sabotage. A report on the White House Web site states, "The Department [of Homeland Security] would unify our defenses against human, animal, and plant diseases that could be used as terrorist weapons." A White House chart indicates that about $2 billion worth of civilian biodefense research would be transferred from Health and Human Services to the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2003.

Homeland Security Department proposal gets favorable reviews in Congress
The plan to form a new Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security gains favorable reviews on Capitol Hill, though some lawmakers question how the plan would work in the event of a biological attack. Sen. Judd Gregg, N.H., the senior Republican on the Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, calls the proposal an excellent idea overall, though he thinks the new agency is unlikely to be able to coordinate all of the complex measures the government must undertake to prepare for and respond to a biological attack. He questions how a new homeland security department would handle medically complex issues like vaccine distribution and use, currently the responsibility of the CDC. Its complicated and youre probably not going to solve it all with this agency, Gregg says.

Possible shift of animal disease lab to new department raises community concern
The proposal to shift control of the US Department of Agriculture's Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York to a new Homeland Security Department arouses concern among area residents. The possible shift raises questions as to whether the labs mission might be broadened from preventing animal diseases to studying other toxins that terrorists could use against humans, increasing the health risk for community residents. If this gets switched over to the Homeland Security Office, its going to continue to heighten the fears of the local community as to whats going on research-wise, says Debbie OKane, executive director of the North Fork, N.Y., Environment Council. It also might make it more vulnerable as a terrorist target. Security at Plum Island will be increased because of a $23 million federal homeland security grant announced last week. The money will allow the USDA to improve security throughout its laboratories.

NATO includes former Soviet-bloc countries in terrorism discussion
NATO defense members meeting in Belgium extend their discussion on counter-terrorism to include their eastern neighbors, seeking greater cooperation with 27 mostly former Soviet-bloc nations, which join in a second day of talks. It is our task to ensure that the partnership continues to make its contribution to Euro-Atlantic security in a rapidly changing world, NATO Secretary General-George Robertson tells the group. NATO is hoping to improve its partnership for peace program with such nations by increasing their role in a wider campaign against terrorism. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria are expected to receive invitations to become full NATO members in November.

Group suspects top officials had advance knowledge of anthrax attacks
Judicial Watch, a conservative group, is suing the Bush administration for access to documents about last falls anthrax attacks, asserting that top officials might have known about the attack before it occurred. Judicial Watch represents US postal workers at Washingtons Brentwood post office. Larry Klayman, chairman of Judicial Watch, says administration officials said last fall that some White House staff members started taking the antibiotic Cipro on Sep 11, weeks before the anthrax attacks. We believe that the White House knew or had reason to know that an anthrax attack was imminent or underway, Klayman says. We want to know what the government knew and when they knew it." White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe denies the allegations. He says he does not know why staffers received Cipro but assumes it was a precautionary measure in the early hours of Sep 11 before the situation could be fully assessed.

June 6

Thompson announces $747 million in bioterrorism preparedness grants
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces the distribution of $747 million in federal grants to states for bioterrorism preparedness. The funds are being distributed following an HHS review of public health preparedness plans developed by the states, territories, and the cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. "This is the first time that federal, state and local governments have come together on a unified plan to strengthen our public health system and better prepare to respond to a terrorism attack," Thompson says. With approval of their plans, states, territories, and cities receive the remaining 80 percent of their share of more than $1 billion in bioterrorism preparedness grants made available under a biodefense bill signed last January. The money will be used to improve disease surveillance, expand public health laboratory and communication capacities, and enhance hospital preparedness. Thompson says he has fully approved the preparedness plans of New York City, Chicago, and 24 states He has approved in part the plans of Los Angeles and 24 states; some of their funds will be withheld until the plans are fully approved. Thompson credits state leaders for creating their plans in such a short time and promises HHS will support implementation of their plans with technical assistance and expertise.

Bush proposes new Cabinet department to oversee homeland security
President Bush proposes a new Cabinet-level department to take responsibility for homeland security. The proposed Department of Homeland Security would draw from eight existing Cabinet agencies and dozens of other offices. There is currently no single organization with operational responsibility that could communicate with the American people in a clear, concise and consistent voice, the White House says. If Congress accepts his initiative, the new department exclusively would communicate with Americans about a chemical or biological attack instead of numerous federal agencies plus the surgeon general, and a host of state and local agencies.

Proposed Homeland Security Department would absorb eight agencies
Bush administration briefing documents say that agencies to be shifted in their entirety to the proposed new Department of Homeland Security include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service (including the Border Patrol), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Secret Service. Offices of some other agencies would also be absorbed, such as the Commerce Departments Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, the National Domestic Preparedness Office, and the National Infrastructure Protection Center.

Epidemiologists at San Francisco forum call mass smallpox vaccination too risky
A group of epidemiologists advising the federal government on its vaccination policies says that a return to mass smallpox vaccinations is unwise unless an outbreak of the disease occurs or a bioterrorism attack with the virus is confirmed. Speaking at a CDC-sponsored forum in San Francisco, the group says the vaccine carries so many risks it should be used with restraint. The forum is one of four the CDC is holding across the country to gather comments from health officials and the public about smallpox vaccination policy. Health officials at the forum say the risks of smallpox vaccination are five times greater now than in the 1960s, because millions more people are living with immune deficiencies now. If routine smallpox vaccination were reintroduced today, the number of resulting deaths could be as high as five for every million adults inoculated.

New York forum on smallpox vaccination draws light crowd
Other than about 150 public health officials, few attend a CDC-sponsored forum on smallpox vaccination at New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital. The meeting is one of four public forums being held around the country to discuss how widely to vaccinate against smallpox. Officials surmise that it is hard to draw a crowd to discuss a disease that hasnt existed since 1980. Of those who attend, most suggest that the vaccine not be made available to the public because the risk of complications from the vaccine outweighs the danger of an outbreak. But many say vaccination should be offered to hospital workers who could come into contact with smallpox patients in the event of an outbreak. Attendees also express skepticism regarding the governments ring vaccination strategy to contain an outbreak.

CDC says deaths of eight Washington postal workers unrelated to anthrax
Eight workers at Washingtons Brentwood postal facility have died since last fall, but none of the deaths were related to the anthrax attacks that killed two other workers at the facility in the fall, according to the CDC. Family members worried that there was a link between the deaths. CDC investigated and found that four workers died of heart disease, two died of cancer, and one died of a stroke. Autopsy results are awaited on the last person, but preliminary evidence suggests that person too died of heart disease. If you look at mortality over the last 4 years, there has been no abnormality, says Azeezal Jaffer, Postal Service vice president.

CDC confirms cutaneous anthrax case reported previously in lab worker
Blood serum tests have confirmed the suspected case of cutaneous anthrax in a Texas laboratory worker that was first reported in early April, according to the CDC. Although the clinical signs indicated anthrax, the CDC previously classified the case as suspected because a swab from the man's lesion was tested in the same lab where the man worked, and the swab could have been contaminated by anthrax present in the lab, which was investigating environmental samples gathered during last fall's anthrax outbreak. The man apparently contracted the disease by handling anthrax-containing vials with bare hands. The vials had been sprayed with isopropyl alcohol instead of the recommended bleach solution. The worker recovered after receiving antibiotic treatment.

FDA official says pace of new drug development has slowed
Dr. John Jenkins, director of the US Food and Drug Administrations Office of New Drugs, defends the FDA from criticism that the agency has been slow in approving experimental medicines. Jenkins tells a pharmaceutical conference hosted by the investment firm UBS Warburg in New York that companies have submitted fewer new molecular entities, or treatments not based on existing drugs, than in the past. Pharmaceutical companies submitted 29 such compounds to his agency in 2001, compared with about 50 in 1995. Other reasons drug have been failing to win approval of their products, Jenkins says, include poor marketing applications, inadequate clinical trials, failure to demonstrate efficacy, lingering safety concerns, manufacturing hurdles, and premature application filings.

Postal Service tests anthrax-detection devices
The US Postal Service is testing anthrax-detection equipment with plans to install it in all of its more than 400 mail-sorting facilities by next year. The equipment is designed to detect the DNA of the anthrax bacterium in order to blunt any future bioterrorist attacks through the mail. A $3.7-million trial underway at several offices on the East Coast will test a detector produced by Northrop Grumman, an aerospace contractor based in Baltimore. A similar device designed by Lockheed Martin has not yet entered field tests. The system that is selected will be installed nationwide and paid for, in part, by $200 million in emergency funds that Congress set aside last fall for the project.

Defense ministers say NATO must retool to face threat of terrorism
European allies express support for plans to give NATO more flexible, rapid-reaction forces to project power to regions harboring terrorists. NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels also agree it is urgent to move against extremists' possible use of weapons of mass destruction. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld tells fellow ministers the allies must not wait for absolute proof of an impending terrorist attack before acting to stop it. The French defense minister says that new threats of terrorism mean NATO change is a necessity. Recent conflicts showed that our forces need to be more flexible, more mobile, and we have to make them less vulnerable to chemical or biological attacks, says Michele Alliot-Marie. The defense ministers may consider changes to NATOs high command structure, set up at the height of the Cold War and divided between the European headquarters based near Mons in southern Belgium and the Atlantic command in Norfolk, Va.

June 5

Poll suggests 60% of Americans would want smallpox vaccine if available
A poll says three of five Americans would choose to be vaccinated against smallpox if they could, even though the vaccine has potentially serious side effects and a bioterrorist attack is unlikely, according to Dr. Robert Blendon of the Harvard School of Public Health. More than four our of five people say they would want to be vaccinated if a case of the disease were discovered. One in 10 would refuse vaccination no matter how great the threat. The poll results run counter to current CDC policy, which calls for no widespread vaccination in the absence of an outbreak. Peoples willingness to be vaccinated when there hasnt been a single case is a bit of a surprise, Blendon says. It shows the anxiety people feel about the bioterrorism threat. The poll of 3,011 people was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted by phone in mid-May.

Senate to get bill to promote work on tools to fight bioterrorism
The US Senate anticipates receiving a bill that offers broad incentives to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that agree to supply the government with tools to fight bioterrorism. The bill will offer companies a wide range of tax breaks, patent extensions, and price guarantees to develop treatments, diagnostics, or vaccines for government use in the event of a biological attack. The program would also expand the governments efforts to work with industry to protect the country from bioterrorist attacks. It would further enable the Office of Homeland Security to strike deals with manufacturers, making it possible for them to research and develop products that may not have a broader market. The proposal would also allow for uneroded full-term patents, says Charles Ludlam, an aide to the bills sponsor, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.

US has good reason to suspect Cuban bioweapons work, official insists
An intelligence official tells a Senate subcommittee the State Department has a sound basis for believing that Cuba is developing biological weapons, though the Bush administration doubts that Fidel Castros government is pursuing a major biowarfare program. Cuba has an offensive capability in germ warfare that appears designed for deterrence, says Carl W. Ford Jr., assistant secretary for intelligence and research. He calls the administrations evidence indirect and describes Cubas activities not as a program but as a more modest effort. The administration has no positive proof that Cuba has a program, Ford tells the Senate Foreign Relations Committees Western Hemisphere subcommittee. He testifies in response to skepticism on Capitol Hill about the State Departments assertion that Cuba is working on biological weapons.

Pennsylvania provides funds for new biodefense lab and surveillance system
Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker delivers nearly $7 million to the Allegheny County Health Department and the University of Pittsburgh for health projects to prepare the state for a possible terrorism attack. More than $900,000 will go to help build a new health department laboratory to deal with the threat of bioterrorism. More than $6 million will go to the University of Pittsburgh to develop and test a new biosurveillance system with capability for early detection of symptoms that may indicate a bioterrorism incident. The university will team with Carnegie Mellon University and Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services to collect data from existing information systems in hospitals, poison-control centers, pharmacies, and other facilities, and to analyze the data with the state Department of Health for patterns indicating infectious-disease outbreaks.

Nevada group says emergency powers bill should protect individual rights
A small group of citizens in Carson City, Nev., urges the Legislative Committee on Health not to take away citizens constitutional rights when drafting a bill to increase the state's health emergency powers. I do not trust the governments. I have seen too much abuse, Patricia Saye of Las Vegas says. Protect me from those who want to protect me. Committee Chairman Sen. Ray Rawson, R-LasVegas, assures the group there will be adequate protections in any proposed legislation that permits government officials to deal with bioterrorism threats. Saye and others recommend that children not be separated from their families in cases of isolation or quarantine and that the government be required to pay adequate compensation for any property it seizes. The group contends that the legislature should be involved in handling emergencies, rather than relying solely on the governor.

June 4

Bush says Senate's counter-terrorism bill is too costly
President Bush says the Senates $31 billion counter-terrorism bill is too expensive, yet lawmakers are proposing even more money for farmers and struggling states. The bill exceeds the $27.1 billion proposal Bush sent Congress in March. Its chief author, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., says the White House sought too little for efforts to combat bioterrorism and strengthen security at nuclear plants, water systems, and other vulnerable sites. No longer is the enemy only on a faraway distant foreign shore, Byrd says. The question for all the leaders of this government is, can we adapt? If current budget talks yield an agreement, the measure may set an overall spending level for 2003.

Washington, DC, officials reinforce mayor's quarantine authority
Washington, DC, officials reinforce the mayors authority to order detentions, quarantines, and medical examinations. Its an update of a law passed in response to the old flu epidemic of 1918, says Peter G. Laporte, director of the DC Emergency Management Agency. Quarantine is a fact of life these days when you think of a biovent. The law applies when ordering individuals to hold in place for their own protection to prevent an outbreak from spreading in the district or surrounding states, Laporte says. This bill makes it a lot easier to evacuate victims and potential victims, says Robert A. Malson, president of the DC Hospital Association, which represents local private and nonprofit hospitals. The organization is negotiating with the local hotel association to use rooms as treatment facilities in an emergency. The district and all 50 states are required to evaluate and update their emergency management plans in order to quality for federal biodefense grants.

Vaccines in short supply for 8 of 11 preventable childhood diseases
Across the country, a shortage of American-made vaccines is disrupting the normal schedule of inoculations for 8 of the 11 preventable childhood diseases. Though no outbreaks have been attributed to the inconsistent supplies, and enough vaccine has been available for the crucial first doses, experts say the shortages are sobering. They underscore the shrinking number of companies making vaccines and the complex legal and financial issues that may be holding up supplies. Weve got a complex system of regulations that has served us well but now may be serving as barriers, says Dr. Louis Z. Cooper, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Experts convened by the CDC the National Vaccine Advisory Committee are preparing recommendations that include: better stockpiles, a national authority to oversee vaccine development, and financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to stay in the market.

Mayo researchers announce rapid test for smallpox
Mayo Clinic researchers announce they have developed a smallpox test that identifies the virus in people in as little as 2 hours. Speed would obviously be important to recognize cases of smallpox . . . in the event of a bioterrorism event so the infection could be contained, says Thomas Smith, director of the clinics virus lab in the division of clinical microbiology. Conventional technology takes 1 to 3 days to confirm the virus in specimens from patients. The new test uses a device called the LightCycler, made by Roche Applied Science of Indianapolis, which is also used in a rapid anthrax test that Mayo announced last fall. Minnesota State Epidemiologist Harry Hull says the new test is promising but needs more testing to confirm its value. He also says that a good physician should be able to diagnose smallpox by its signs and symptoms.

June 3

FDA says blood centers must file fatality reports by e-mail
To speed up its response to potential public health threats, the Food and Drug Administration notifies blood collection and transfusion centers that fatality reports must be sent by e-mail rather than phone, fax, or express mail. Federal regulations say that all fatalities related to blood collection and transfusion must be reported as soon as possible to the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The initial report should contain a brief description of the events leading up to the fatality so that the agency can evaluate the potential public health significance of the event. The FDA says these reports should also include the time and date of the incident as well as contact information and the suspected cause of death to aid the agency with its investigation. Centers should then submit a 7-day follow up report providing any new findings or relevant information. A full copy of the FDA draft guidance will be published in the June 4 issue of the Federal Register.

UN weapons inspectors preparing for possible return to Iraq
United Nations weapons inspectors are preparing for a possible return to Iraq by studying satellite photos, observing possible sites to visit, and developing a list of disarmament issues that Baghdad must still answer, the UN inspection agency says in a report. The quarterly report to the UN Security Council by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix indicates that the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission is getting ready for business ahead of a new round of talks with Iraq next month aimed at returning the inspectors. Under council resolutions, sanctions imposed after Iraqs 1990 invasion of Kuwait cannot be lifted until UN inspectors certify that the countrys nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons have been destroyed.

June 2

CDC to dedicate one of two maximum-containment labs to smallpox research
Later this month, Army virologist Peter Jahrling will enter one of the countrys highest security laboratories and begin injecting monkeys with smallpox. His goal is to create a way to examine whether new medications could work against smallpox and if new tests could detect it more rapidly. The CDC also plans to dedicate one of its two maximum-containment laboratories to smallpox-only research like Jahrlings. This step diminishes the CDCs capability to investigate outbreaks of lethal diseases such as Ebola virus, and is a step the agency takes somewhat reluctantly. But the move will speed the effort to create protection beyond the vaccine, which is currently the only proven defense against the disease. There are tangible products with real-world applications. Its not a lot of blue-sky, what-if research, says Dr James LeDuc of the CDC.

Lessons of chemical attacks on Iraqi Kurds have been ignored, writers say
The lessons of Saddan Hussein's chemical attacks on Kurdish people in Iraq in 1987 and 1988 have received too little attention in the West, according to two commentators writing in the Washington Post. The Iraqi regime attacked scores of Kurdish towns in northern Iraq with nerve agents, mustard gas, and possibly biological and radiological weapons, say Christine Gosden, a British professor of genetics, and Mike Amitay, executive director of the Washington Kurdish Institute. One attack killed 5,000 peopole and injured tens of thousands. Gosden and Amitay contend that the United States and the international community have failed to address the consequences of the attacks and the implications for domestic preparedness. Four fundamental questions should have been answered in the aftermath of the attacks: What agents were used? What are the most effective means of monitoring the environment and people to remove threats from persistent weapons agents? What are the most effective means of researching immediate and long-term effects of different agents? And what are the most effective means of developing effective therapies for victims?

June 1

Anthrax antitoxin reported to be effective in rats
University of Texas researchers report that they have developed an experimental anthrax antidote that protects rats injected with the bacteriums toxin. The researchers say they have genetically engineered a mouse protein that offers an anthrax toxin a more attractive docking site than its usual target of healthy blood cells. This looks like the most promising antitoxin under development, says Dr Robert Liddington, who studies the poisons molecular structure at the Burnham Institute in San Diego. Certainly, if I had late-stage anthrax Id pump some of these antibodies into my body. The research focuses on the late stage of inhalational anthrax, which currently is beyond treatment and often fatal. The researchers caution that their work, funded by the US Department of Defense since 1997, is still years away from human tests.

Vaccine expert counsels careful approach to smallpox vaccination policy
In a Washington Post commentary article, Ruth J. Katz, a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, counsels a careful, thoughtful approach to decisions about who should receive smallpox vaccination and when. She notes that the current effort to update the smallpox vaccination recommendations by the end of this month represents an acceleration of an earlier plan that called for completing the policy review this fall. "As we expedite our work, we must be vigilant about doing it right," writes Katz, associate dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. Because the public "is likely to interpret efforts to broaden access to the smallpox vaccine as sign of an increased threat," the public needs to have confidence that any changes in the policy are well-founded. If, in expediting the policy review, the Bush administration "is only seeking to show that it is 'tough on smallpox' and prepared for anything in the struggle against terrorism, health experts, elected officials and the American public should protest the hijacking of a carefully formulated policymaking process," Katz asserts. She concludes, "In the absence of a clear and present danger, we can surely take the time to exercise care and be thoughtful."

For other months' installments, go to the Bioterrorism Watch index page