October 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.

Oct 31

FDA seeks public comment on plan to test smallpox vaccine in children
The Food and Drug Administration asks for public comments on its proposal to use live vaccinia virus to inoculate toddlers and preschoolers against smallpox. In preparation for a study to test a childrens smallpox vaccine, researchers are raising safety and ethics issues, since the children could infect others and have a slight risk of suffering a life-threatening reaction to the vaccine. In the proposed trial, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati Childrens Hospital would inoculate forty 2- to 5-year olds with the vaccine. This is an unusual time, its an unusual need, and I think the risks are not totally insignificant, says researcher Dr. Joel Ward of UCLA.

Maryland official named executive of American Public Health Association
Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Georges Benjamin has been chosen from 70 candidates to be executive director of the 50,000-member American Public Health Association, according to a report in the group's newsletter. He will assume the position in January 2003. Benjamin was appointed as the state's deputy secretary for public health services in 1995. He has also served as chairman of community health at D.C. General Hospital and as Washington's acting commissioner of public health. Before that, he worked as an emergency medical physician at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md.

Mass vaccination exercise went smoothly
Officials say the first day of a 2-day influenza and pneumonia vaccination clinic in Hendersonville, N.C.designed to test Henderson Countys ability to respond to a bioterrorism attackwent smoothly. Healthcare workers gave 6,000 shots the first day. This is an excellent dry run for how to handle a possible incident, says Martha Salyers, team leader for the Western North Carolina Regional Bioterrorism Response Team. The test required 80 volunteers.

Oct 30

Company wins Pentagon grant to engineer antibodies to botulinum toxin
Hematech LLC, Sioux Falls, S.D., announces it will receive a $3.3 million federal grant to investigate whether cloned cows could produce human polyclonal antibodies to botulinum toxin as a defense against bioterrorism. The company was awarded the contract through Dynport Vaccine Co., a Department of Defense contractor, under the Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program. The company says its technique involves inserting human antibody genes into fibroblast cells from cow fetuses and then producing cloned cattle from the modified cells. An article describing the method was published in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology, the company reports.

Oct 29

Bloodhound use in Hatfill investigation called into question
Two major police bloodhound associations and others in the field reject the equipment and techniques used by the three California bloodhound handlers and dogs investigating Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, according to a Baltimore Sun report. The controversy over the bureau's use of the bloodhounds suggests an indiscriminate approach to employing outside forensic help, the report says. FBI agent Rex Stockham, who selected the handlers and dogs, acknowledges he has no experience using bloodhounds but claims criticism comes from prejudice, not evidence. Jerry Nichols, a Colorado police officer and president of the Law Enforcement Bloodhound Association, says, "These are people we have credibility problems with. I'm extremely skeptical. I don't believe these dogs really do what they claim to do." Other handlers interviewed by the Sun express similar doubts, saying the Californians push the limits of bloodhound use, taking scent from shell casings, firearms, fragments of exploded bombs, and the decontaminated anthrax letters.

US accused of working on unconventional weapons that may violate treaties
Scientists from both sides of the Atlantic assert that the United States is developing new weapons that could violate international treaties on biological and chemical warfare, according to a report in the Evening Standard, a London newspaper. In a paper to be published next month in the journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Malcolm Dando, professor of international security at the University of Bradford, and Mark Wheelis, a lecturer in microbiology at the University of California, accuse the US of hypocrisy in developing the weapons while proposing war against Iraq for breaking international treaties. The scientists assert that the Pentagon is working on a copy of a Soviet cluster bomb for dispersing biological agents, a new strain of antibiotic-resistant anthrax, and a weapon similar to the narcotic gas the Russian military used to end a hostage crisis at a Moscow theater recently. "There can be disagreement over whether what the US is doing represents violations of treaties," says Wheelis. "But what is happening is at least so close to the borderline as to be destabilizing."

US soldiers to receive some controversial drugs used in Gulf War, report says
American soldiers facing the prospect of military action against Iraq will receive some of the same controversial drugs that were given to soldiers during the Gulf War, though the Pentagon says it will follow better practices in administering them, according to a report on the Web site Wired News. The Pentagon assures Congress and military personnel that it will use only FDA-approved drugs, follow FDA dosage and administration guidelines, and keep good records. Critics contend that Gulf War soldiers received doses of unapproved compounds that caused chronic and sometimes fatal ailments. They say the Pentagon's standard operating procedures and attitudes about drug administration violate good medical practice. "There are required protocols for meeting the standard of proper medical practice, and the Pentagon is not meeting them," says Dr. Garth Nicolson, president of the Institute for Molecular Medicine and an Albert Schweitzer Award-winning biochemist.

Oct 28

Britain seeks to buy more smallpox vaccine
The British government is seeking to buy more smallpox vaccine in preparation for vaccinating the whole population should a biological attack occur. In a move toward more openness about their strategy, the Department of Health has placed an advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities, inviting bids for more supplies. Health officials, qoted in The Guardian newspaper, say, "The department wants to be as open as possible about its purchase of vaccines and to follow as closely as possible their normal route of procurement. This will allow us to get further supplies of the vaccine from the widest possible numbers of suppliers without compromising national security."

Some experts doubt theory that a lone scientist committed anthrax attacks
The Washington Post reports that some scientists and biological weapons experts doubt the FBI's theory that a single disgruntled American scientist prepared and mailed anthrax letters. They say that such a sophisticated process requires major scientific knowledge, technical skill, access to expensive equipment, and safety knowledge that most people lack. "In my opinion, there are maybe four or five people in the whole country who might be able to make this stuff, and I'm one of them," says Richard O. Spertzel, chief biological inspector for the UN Special Commission from 1994 to 1998. "And even with a good lab and staff to help run it, it might take me a year to come up with a product as good." Spertzel and other experts interviewed by the Post recommend that investigators reexamine the possibility of state-sponsored terrorism or spores stolen from a secret lab.

Barak says Iraq has anthrax weapons but poor delivery systems
Saddam Hussein attempted to weaponize anthrax and other deadly toxins such as botulinum but has inadequate means to deliver them, according to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barak tells the Associated Press, "We know that they are working on a variety of biological agents as well as chemical [ones]." He adds that it makes no sense for Iraq to use the weapons, since doing so would confirm suspicions that Saddam has been violating UN resolutions for years. Barak also says Israel is better prepared to deal with an Iraqi attack than in the Gulf war, when Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at his country.

Oct 27

Nebraska is called a leader in preparing for possible smallpox attack
Nebraska has moved a long way toward resolving the many practical details of responding to a terrorist attack with smallpox, according to a Washington Post report. Richard Raymond, the state's chief medical officer, is credited with putting Nebraska in the forefront of an unprecedented national effort to prepare for biological attack. He has assembled a 170-member public health strike force to investigate possible smallpox cases and set up clinics. The strike force includes 10 helicopter pilots, two Sudanese interpreters, and a Salvadoran immigrant who saw smallpox cases when he practiced medicine 35 years ago. The air ambulance service will rush patients and supplies across the 77,000-square-mile state. The Sudanese interpreters, plus Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Native American Indian leaders, will help overcome cultural barriers. Using new federal money, the state also has hired eight more county health directors, upgraded laboratories, and bought computers and fax machines for the state's 85 hospitals.

British troops may get new plague vaccine in case of war with Iraq
Because of fear that Saddam Hussein has developed a super-strain of plague, British troops will be inoculated with an experimental plague vaccine should there be a war with Iraq, according to the newspaper Scotland on Sunday. The Ministry of Defense confirms that scientists from a secret research center at Porton Down have created a new vaccine, which they expect to be licensed for use within a few weeks. The National Gulf War Veterans & Families Association is warning that the new drug is being rushed into use. "We were actually given a plague vaccine in 1990, and even if this is a completely different drug, I would advise soldiers to avoid it," says spokesman Jim Moore. Government officials insist that the new vaccine is both effective and essential. One official confirms that it is "a reasonable assumption" that troops sent to Iraq would be offered the new protection.

European Union countries hold joint biodefense training exercise
Emergency workers from Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Sweden join 800 French workers to practice for responding to terror attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. The 2-day Eurotox 2002 exercises in southern France feature three disaster scenarios to help raise European Union rescuers' awareness of the complexities involved in a biological or chemical attack. The first scenario involves a simulated explosion of a radioactive bomb at a crowded movie theater. The second simulates a toxic ammonia leak at an indoor swimming pool. A third exercise simulates an attack in which a small plane spews toxic chemicals over a crowd of 2,000 in a sports stadium. At the European level, challenges to responding to bioterrorist attacks include providing quick access to national stocks of vaccines and to hospital and emergency services. Sweden's Jonas Hoist, one of 60 EU observers at the training, says there is still a long way to go to achieve good coordination.

Oct 25

US food, water, energy systems remain vulnerable to attack, report says
Government attempts to protect the country's seaports, energy systems, and food and water supplies are deficient and need urgent attention, according to a report by a panel of former government officials. The report says the need for action is made even more urgent by the possibility of war with Iraq and the risk that Saddam Hussein could try to use weapons of mass destruction in the United States. According to the task force, chaired by former Sens. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., and Gary Hart, D-Colo., the nation's 650,000 local and state police "operate in a virtual intelligence vacuum," without access to the State Department's terrorist watch list. Additionally, oil refineries and distribution systems, the food and agriculture industry, and water supplies are all subject to sabotage, biological attack, or contamination.

Interpol raises budget 23% to fight terrorism
Reuters reports that police chiefs from around the world agreed this week to raise Interpol's budget by 23.4% in an effort to fight terrorism. The international crime-fighting organization has been working since Sep 11, 2001, to strengthen global coordination of its members. The budget decision came at Interpol's annual meeting in Cameroon. The group also endorsed Interpol's new global Internet communications system, designed to encourage cooperation among international law enforcement officials. Other actions at the meeting included the admission of two new members, Afghanistan and East Timor, to bring the total membership to 181.

WHO says security OK at Russian lab where smallpox virus is stored
The World Health Organization says that Russia has put satisfactory security measures in place at a laboratory in Siberia that houses one of the world's two remaining stocks of smallpox virus. A team of international experts recently reached their conclusion after completing an inspection of the smallpox research laboratory at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, according to the WHO. "The inspection team was pleased to note that all previous recommendations on procedures and safety had been addressed," WHO officials say. The team will make a follow-up visit once current renovations on a building dedicated to smallpox research are complete.

North Korean statement about weapons prompts US call for inspections
US officials say it will take inspections to determine whether North Korea's statement about having "more powerful" weapons is a misunderstanding or a reference to biological weapons or advanced nuclear bombs. In an effort to disarm North Korea, the United States is demanding that the country eliminate its nuclear weapons program. North Korea says America must drop its "hostile policy." Officials say the country wants a "nonaggression treaty" with the United States, but insist that North Korea is entitled to possess nuclear weapons as long as it feels threatened by US nuclear weapons. Despite the "more powerful" remark, defense and intelligence officials say there is no public evidence that North Korea has anything stronger than one or two relatively crude nuclear bombs.

Pakistani suspected of supplying anthrax to militants won't be sent to US
Dr Amir Aziz, a Pakistani physician who is suspected of supplying anthrax to Islamic militants, will not be extradited to the United States, Pakistani officials say. Pakistani doctors, lawyers, and teachers are demanding the release of Aziz, who is being detained by Pakistani intelligence agents and the FBI. His arrest is sparking anger over the role of FBI officials in Pakistan. "There is no question of extradition," Javed Iqbal Cheema, chairman of the interior ministry's National Crisis Cell, tells Reuters.

Malaysian medical group urges physicians to be alert for bioterrorism
The Malaysian Medical Association warns local physicians to watch for unexplained illnesses, deaths, and the growing threat of bioterrorism in Malaysia. Health officials also must acquire knowledge of disease surveillance and respond to unusual clusters of diseases, symptoms or presentations, according to MMA President Dr. N. Athimulam. The association plans to hold a national symposium on the threat of bioterrorism, and Athimulam says the association, in collaboration with the United Nations and the World Health Organization, supports the establishment of an international consortium to monitor the threat of biological weapons.

Oct 24

Bush administration reviewing remedies for smallpox vaccine liability
The Bush administration is reviewing two possible ways to deal with the liability issues associated with the risk of serious adverse reactions to the smallpox vaccine, according to an Associated Press report. One option is to set up a fund for people who develop serious medical problems. A second approach would protect nurses and others who administer the shots from lawsuits without setting aside money for compensation. The issue must be resolved before the government begins vaccinating people, administration officials say. "A number of health care workers and volunteers would simply not be willing to give the vaccine without some sort of liability protection," says Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Iranian troops train to respond to biological attack
Five hundred members of the Basij Islamic militia in the central Iranian city of Arak have completed drills in preparation for a possible biological attack, according to the Kayhan newspaper. "On the second day of the drills which started Wednesday, the mock enemy used biological weapons and the Basij forces located the affected areas and set up decontamination baths," says General Mohsen Gholshanzadeh of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iranian authorities insist that their armed forces are well prepared for "any eventuality," though Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani has cautioned the United States to respect the "red line" of the Islamic republic's border with Iraq.

Flu shot clinic could become model for mass vaccination for smallpox
A Hendersonville, N.C., flu shot clinic might become a model if the United States must vaccinate masses of people against smallpox, according to the Ashville (N.C.) Citizen-Times. County and hospital officials plan to vaccinate 15,000 people in a 2-day clinic conducted by the Henderson County Health Department and Pardee and Park Ridge hospitals. A CDC representative will participate in the event by feeding real-time data into a computer for analysis. "We want to see how long it takes people to get through the process," CDC spokeswoman Susan McClure says. Tom Bridges, director of the county health department, says he hopes it will take 15 minutes or less per person.

Oct 23

UN weapons inspectors will seek to question Iraqi experts
United Nations weapons inspectors returning to Iraq will hunt for weapons of mass destruction and the people who create them, according to a Christian Science Monitor report. Saddam Hussein's microbiologists, chemical engineers, and nuclear physicists, many of whom were educated in the United States, could reveal much about Iraqi weapons development. Says David Kay, the UN's former head nuclear weapons inspector, "Facilities you can destroy. But Saddam has the money to repurchase the best equipment. The one thing they don't have in abundance is the embedded human capital." Khidir Hamza, who defected to the US, received his master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in nuclear physics from Florida State University. He once directed Saddam's nuclear weapons program. "Most of the nuclear era's earlier programs, the core personnel, were US-trained," he says.

NIH chief says security needs due to biodefense research generate tension
Elias Zerhouni, the new head of the National Institutes of Health, concedes that the NIH's expanded role in biodefense research is placing strains on the agency. In particular, it has upset the balance between the agency's traditional openness and the increased concern for security. This includes higher levels of secrecy on the agency's Bethesda campus, which previously functioned more like an academic facility than a government agency or military compound. Zerhouni supports limiting the distribution of some biomedical research material, including certain infectious agents, to keep them out of the wrong hands, but is uncomfortable restricting publication of "dual use" scientific information that could advance medical science but might be used by terrorists. "My personal bias is that information is something that advances the field," Zerhouni says. "You don't want to discourage the best and the brightest. The great majority of people are out to do good."

Oct 22

GAO report says anthrax shots triggered exodus from military reserves
Skilled pilots and crews in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are leaving or have left military service partly because of the Pentagon's mandatory anthrax vaccination policy, according to a survey by the General Accounting Office. A mail survey from the GAO went to 1,253 randomly selected guard and reserve troops in 2000 and triggered 843 responses. The survey showed that between September 1998 and September 2000, about 16% of guard and reserve pilots and air crew moved to inactive status, left the military, or transferred to another unit to avoid or delay receiving anthrax shots. About 37% of the troops surveyed had received one or more anthrax shots by September 2000, and 85% of those reported having an adverse reaction, much higher than the 30% rate claimed by the manufacturer, according to the GAO report.

Bloodhounds are producing evidence against Hatfill, news report says
Authorities are employing a team of trained bloodhounds to build what they describe as a "growing circumstantial evidence case" against former government scientist Steven Hatfill in connection with last year's anthrax attacks, according to an ABC News report. Each of the three dogs was previously given the scent extracted from anthrax letters mailed last fall, and each independently led handlers to Hatfill's apartment in Maryland, the report says. One of the bloodhounds led handlers directly to Hatfill. "I think they're getting close," says Jerry Hauer, an expert on biological and chemical terrorism and director of public health preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services. "I think at the end of the day, the FBI will find the person."

Pakistanis protest detention of physician suspected of supplying anthrax to Al Qaida
Pakistani Islamist party members express anger over the detention of Dr. Amir Aziz by Pakistani intelligence and FBI agents. Agents suspect that Aziz supplied anthrax to Al Qaida and Taliban militants. Newly elected parliamentarians from the religious Muttahida Majlis-Amal alliance are objecting to the detention. "It is a violation of human rights and doctors' rights," says Liaqat Baluch, the MMA's nominee for speaker of the national assembly. The doctor's brothers, Imran and Kamran Aziz, say Dr. Aziz traveled to Afghanistan during the time of Taliban rule, but only to help rebuild a medical college. They reject a newspaper report that he went there to treat Taliban and Al Qaida members, including Osama bin Laden, during last year's US bombing campaign.

New biosecurity journal starts with article on how Iraq might use bioweapons
When and how Iraq could use biological weapons against the United States or others is the subject of a report in a new journal, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science. The article's author is Avigdor Haselkorn, who wrote a book on Iraq's weapons programs. "Avigdor Haselkorn presents a scholarly analysis on the potential implications of the Iraqi bioweapons program that bears careful consideration in both military and civilian communities," say the journal's editors, Tara O'Toole, MD, MPH, and Thomas Inglesby, MD, both of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies. The new journal is a quarterly published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Oct 21

China sets new rules on military exports, including biotechnology products
China has imposed new rules concerning export of military goods and services, including chemical and biological technology. The guidelines take effect Nov 15. The plan calls for exporters of military goods to submit reports on their activities. Major export projects will require approval by the Chinese cabinet and the Central Military Commission, according to a Web site report by the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily. The new weapons policy comes in response to Bush administration sanctions of Chinese companies accused of transferring sensitive technology to the Middle East. The policy adds to a series of steps announced by Beijing after lobbying by Washington to control the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Pakistani physician suspected of supplying anthrax to Islamic militants
Pakistani police and US FBI agents arrest Dr. Amir Aziz near Lahore, accusing him of supplying anthrax to Islamic militant groups. A brother, Imran Aziz, tells Reuters that police and two foreigners identified by police as FBI agents first questioned the doctor at his home. "He has been accused of providing anthrax to militant groups," Imran Aziz says. A colleague at the Ghurki Trust Hospital near Lahore says police, again accompanied by foreign agents, came to the hospital today and took Aziz into custody for further questioning. Colleagues say Dr. Aziz has been interrogated on several occasions in the last four or five months, though local police deny knowing anything about the doctor or having made any arrest. A US embassy spokesman in Islamabad denies knowledge of the incident.

Patient with severe pustules prompts closure of emergency room
Officials at St. John's Hospital in Leavenworth, Kan., seal off their emergency department after admitting a patient with "severe" pustules on his face. The decision is made by emergency department doctors who examined the man. At a press conference, Gregg Madsen, a St. John's administrator, assures people that only the ER is affected by the quarantine, according to a report by KMBC, a Kansas City television station. "In light of today's climate, this was an appropriate and prudent thing to do," Madsen says. Though the patient is probably suffering only from a severe case of adult chicken pox, material from the pustules is being examined by the Topeka Health Department, Madsen says.

A year later, Washington postal workers still worry about anthrax
Workers from the Brentwood mail center in Washington, DC, and their supporters gather for a remembrance of last year's anthrax attacks, which killed two of their colleagues. "We are still on the front lines," Brentwood clerk Dena Briscoe says in a service at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington. "We have concerns about our health, our safety, and our future." Briscoe is president of Brentwood Exposed, a support group of current and former Brentwood employees that sponsored the service in memory of Thomas Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen. The Brentwood plant remains closed as a series of tests are completed. A full fumigation is likely to begin within weeks, according to Postal Service spokeswoman Deborah Yackley.

Oct 19

Report says FDA has stopped use of old anthrax vaccine doses for safety reasons
The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered a halt to use of older doses of the US anthrax vaccine, saying that the vaccine is riskier than once thought, according to a report in the Hartford Courant. The story says the agency determined that vaccine made by the state of Michigan at a Lansing plant before BioPort Corp. bought the plant in 1998 should not be used. Further, the story says the vaccine was never properly licensed because the FDA allegedly didn't sufficiently scrutinize the trial data used by Merck, a pharmaceutial manufacturer, when it applied for licensing. Recently the FDA admitted to two Connecticut Air Force Reserve pilots that a promised manufacturer review never took place, according to the story. Maj. Russell Dingle and Maj. Thomas Rempfer had jointly filed a citizen petition with the FDA and a federal lawsuit against the manufacturer, saying that the vaccine never received proper testing. Rempfer and Dingle say the Defense Department should pardon hundreds of service members who were punished for refusing to take the vaccine.

Bankrupty case poses security threat at former Russian bioweapons plant
A court ruling allowing bankruptcy proceedings creates the possibility that terrorists will get their hands on biological agents from a former Russian defense plant, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Loss of funds and mismanagement charges against the Obolensk Research Center for Applied Microbiology have concerned US officials since the mid-1990s. The center's biological storehouse now threatens international security. If the bankruptcy case succeeds, "then where do you think all the laid-off scientists will go?" asks Victor Gusev, deputy general director at Obolensk. "They will most likely go to one of the so-called axis-of-evil countries. All they need is one month and they could make biological weapons for anybody." The United States has spent $1.2 million installing an electronic security system at Obolensk and at least $1 million to augment salaries of the 300 Russian scientists to keep them from working for hostile nations.

Oct 18

ACIP members oppose offering smallpox vaccine to public, report says
A Washington Post report says members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voice little or no support for making smallpox vaccine available to the public. Committee members interviewed by the newspaper overwhelmingly oppose such a move. "I think it's a mistake," says Paul A. Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "I think we don't help the public if we say, 'You can be immunized. It's up to you.'" Committee Chairman John F. Modlin, a professor at Dartmouth Medical School, says, "My personal view . . . is that that is not the appropriate thing at this time." If people suffer complications from smallpox vaccine after choosing to take it, "trust me, they'll blame us," says Bonnie M. Word, a New Jersey pediatrician in private practice.

National Academies criticize administration over scientific censorship
The Bush administration is going too far in limiting publication of some scientific research it believes could help terrorists, according to officials of the National Academies of Science and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. The administration currently restricts publication of federally financed research considered "sensitive but unclassified," a term that the presidents of the academies say is poorly defined. "Experience shows that vague criteria of this kind generate deep uncertainties among both scientists and officials responsible for enforcing regulations," they say in a "Statement on Science and Security in an Age of Terrorism." The statement follows a recent clash with the Bush administration over publication of the National Academy of Sciences' report on agricultural bioterrorism. "That's one example," says E. William Colglazier, executive director of the National Academy of Sciences. "There are others." The statement says the restrictions threaten to "stifle scientific creativity and weaken national security."

US troops training for commando raids against Iraqi weapons sites, report says
A CNN report says that about 1,500 US troops are training in Jordan for possible secret missions to attack Iraqi weapons sites, should the United States take military action. Sources say US troops are preparing to go behind enemy lines to seize Iraq's suspected chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons sites, according to a senior official. Elite troops will try to destroy dozens of SCUD missiles that the United States believes Iraq is hiding, and then attempt to disrupt activity inside Iraq by cutting off power, blocking roads, and sabotaging equipment, according to the report.

Anthrax-tainted items from NBC offices to be burned
State environmental regulators agree to let a Virginia company burn carpeting, furniture, paper, and other materials that were contaminated by anthrax spores in NBC's New York City headquarters last year. American Waste Industries plans to decontaminate the materials with a chlorine solution so that they will pose no health risk, according to company president Robert L. Earl. Approximately 60 cubic yards of waste will be burned in January.

Oct 17

ACIP suggests which hospital workers should get smallpox shots
The federal government's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices amends its June 2002 recommendations on smallpox immunization for healthcare workers in an effort to ensure that the healthcare system will have enough immunized people to deal with a smallpox outbreak. At a press briefing, ACIP Chair John F. Modlin, MD, says the committee is calling for immunizing emergency department and intensive care unit staff members, infectious disease physicians, respiratory therapists, dermatologists, and others who could be assigned to smallpox care teams in hospitals. The panel estimates that the number vaccinated could be an average of roughly 100 for each of the 5,100 acute-care hospitals in the nation, or a total of about 510,000. The panel also concluded that healthcare workers will not need to take time off after being vaccinated, because the risk of transmitting vaccinia virus to patients is considered very low if the inoculation site is covered, Modlin says. Further, the committee said healthcare workers should not be vaccinated if they are pregnant, have a history of atopic dermatitis, or have HIVall conditions that can lead to serious vaccine-related complications.

Senate confirms McClellan as FDA director
The US Senate approves Dr. Mark McClellan, President Bush's nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration. McClellan is a physician economist who serves as an adviser on health policy. "Dr. McClellan has the training, the experience and the stature to serve as the head of the country's most important public health regulatory agency," says Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. With 10,000 employees and the responsibility to regulate medical treatments, food, and cosmetics, the FDA has not had a commissioner since Bush took office. The president expects McClellan to work toward protecting the nation from bioterrorism, speed patient access to novel therapies, and make those therapies safer.

Research focuses on use of antibodies as smallpox treatment
Current tests on laboratory animals should reveal whether injections of artificial antibodies given after a bioterror attack could suppress a smallpox epidemic, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Harvard University scientists have found an antibody that attacks a specific spot on the surface of smallpox virus and destroys the germ, says Fauci. Unlike a vaccination to prevent disease, the antibodies would be administered after a person becomes infected, Fauci says at a 3-day "research festival" of government scientists. He calls the antibody research "one of the most exciting things happening" in the National Institutes of Health's response to the Sep 11 events and anthrax attacks. According to Fauci, Ellis Reinherz, an immunologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard, screened the smallpox genome to find a gene that could be disrupted by the specially designed antibodies. (AJC)

New Manhattan store sells emergency preparedness gear
A new store called Safer America, stocked with emergency-preparedness gear such as radiation detectors, biohazard suits, and potassium iodide pills, opens a few blocks from the World Trade Center site in New York City. The idea originated with former bond trader Frederic Samama and terrorism expert Harvey Kushner. Samama says he tried to purchase a gas mask last spring to keep at his Manhattan apartment but couldn't find a good one. Samama and Kushner plan to open two more Manhattan stores.

Oct 16

Contact vaccinia risk was low in 1960s but could be greater today
In the 1960s, the rate of vaccinia virus transmission from people newly vaccinated against smallpox to nonimmunized people was low, but the rate could be higher today because of medical differences between populations then and now, according to a new analysis by smallpox experts. American studies done in the 1960s indicate an overall rate of contact vaccinia of 2 to 6 cases per 100,000 first-time smallpox vaccinations, according to the report published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. Eczema vaccinatum (EV), the most common serious complication of smallpox vaccination, occurred at a rate of about 1 to 2 per 100,000 primary vaccinations, the report says. EV involves spreading vaccinial skin lesions in people who have eczema or a history of eczema, usually atopic dermatitis. The report says that data from the 1960s show that contact vaccinia required close contact, was unusual outside the home, and rarely occurred as a result of a hospital-related contact. But the risk could be higher today because atopic dermatitis and immune system disorders are more common than they were in the 1960s. The authors say the risk of contact vaccinia can be limited by careful screening, counseling, and monitoring of patients for adverse reactions.

Trial will test whether previously vaccinated people still have smallpox immunity
Several hospitals across the country are recruiting a total 900 people who were vaccinated against smallpox decades ago to test whether or not the vaccine still offers any protection, according to a HealthScout News report. Doctors suspect the previous vaccinations have worn off but may still prevent these people from needing full doses. "We already know what an optimal dose is. We're asking what we can get away with," says Dr. Steven Black, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, Calif. Researchers hope they can multiply the number of available doses by diluting the vaccine. In the trial, people will be vaccinated with either Dryvax vaccine from the long-standing federal stockpile or with a an Aventis Pasteur vaccine that the company donated to the government.

Kuwait reluctantly prepares for potential attack by Iraq
Kuwait is reluctantly preparing for a potential invasion from Iraq should the US wage war against Saddam Hussein. Though few are hurrying to buy gas masks or heed government instructions to prepare in-home shelters, the country is engaging in exercises designed to protect them from biological and chemical weapons. Kuwait is trying to distance itself politically from the dispute between Iraq and the US, yet Kuwait City is only about a 9-hour drive from Baghdad, and many worry that Saddam could quickly attack.

Oct 15

IOM report recommends anthrax vaccine testing in children, elderly
A newly released report by an Institute of Medicine committee recommends that anthrax vaccine testing now underway with adults should be expanded to include testing on children, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases. "If a serious anthrax outbreak were to occur, we would need to be able to provide the vaccine to older people as well as children," says Rockefeller University's Emil Gotschlich, one of the report's authors. "We should have some experience as to how this should be done." The report says that the vaccine "could be improved upon," but the authors accept the recent conclusion of another IOM committee that the current vaccine is reasonably safe. The CDC is currently conducting a trial in 1,560 adults to determine whether the six-dose vaccine regimen could be reduced by injecting it into muscle instead of under the skin.

Risk of vaccinia virus transmission from smallpox vaccinees called low
The risk that people newly vaccinated against smallpox will transmit the vaccinia virus to others is low, according to a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "The available data from the 1950s and 1960s show that there is a risk of & transfer from a primary vacinee to an unimmunized individual in contact with the vaccinee, but the risk is not large," the article states. In the 1960s, the rate of transmission ranged from 2 to 6 for every 100,000 primary vaccinations. Studies show that this transmission requires close contact that rarely occurs outside the home. However, the risk of contact vaccinia could be higher today because immune system disorders are more common and atopic dermatitis may be more common as well. The article concludes, "An orderly, systematic approach along with careful screening to identify potential . . . susceptible individuals and household contacts, and close monitoring for adverse effects are essential to reduce the risk of transmission."

Some at CDC still feel shame over handling of anthrax attack in Washington
Many employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admit still feeling shame about last year's anthrax illnesses and deaths among postal workers, according to a report in Newsday. The CDC was not involved in the first moments of the Capitol Hill anthrax incident on Oct 15, 2001, when an anthrax-laden letter was opened in the office of Sen. Tom Daschle. When the agency finally became involved, staffers had little or no experience with anthrax. Today the CDC still lives with the anger caused by its actions last fall. Some CDC workers told Newsday that the agency might have had a stronger response to the episode if its scientists had seen the anthrax powder firsthand. Dr. Julie Gerberding, an infectious disease expert who recently was named CDC director, makes no excuses, saying the agency erred and has spent the past 12 months learning from its mistakes. "We still have a long way to go," Gerberding says. Though the agency and the local public health departments it assists know that genuine change has taken place, "the public expects us to perform," Gerberding says.

Computer simulation says anthrax release over Denver could kill 500,000
A computer simulation suggests that more than half a million people could die from an airborne anthrax attack over Denver. Researchers at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., simulated various terrorism scenarios with software from the Defense Department. If 440 pounds of powdered anthrax was released over downtown Denver, 447,000 to 591,000 people could die, according to the simulation using federal Defense Threat Reduction Agency data and National Weather Service information. But the model makes several unrealistic assumptions, including that no one would evacuate the affected area and that no one would seek medical help.

Oct 14

Missouri health officials launch Internet-based emergency communication system
Missouri health officials introduce a statewide, Internet-based communication system linking the state's hospitals, metropolitan emergency services providers, local public health agencies, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The network, known as the EMSystem, can communicate during an emergency to help manage casualties. It also functions using satellite-based Internet telecommunications in the event that telecommunications lines are damaged or overloaded in an emergency. Users need only standard computer capabilities and Internet access to connect to the system. The Missouri Health Department is providing $219,000 to give the state's hospitals and other users access to the program. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is funding initial satellite backup capabilities for the system.

Germany orders 11 million doses of smallpox vaccine
Germany has ordered 11 million doses of smallpox vaccine in preparation for a potential bioterrorist attack, German Health Ministry spokeswoman Annelies Ilona Klug tells Reuters Health. The German government currently has about 24 million doses of the vaccine. Health officials will purchase the 11 million doses from the pharmaceutical firm Bavarian-Nordic of Copenhagen, Denmark, for 26.8 million euros. The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted an unnamed Health Ministry spokeswoman as saying the government wants eventually to have smallpox vaccine available for all 82 million Germans. The newspaper also reports that in September the German army ordered 1 million doses of a "pre-vaccination" for smallpox. The German government has no plans for mass smallpox immunizations in the absence of any smallpox outbreak.

Survey indicates most workers want more training on safe handling of mail
A recent workplace survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes indicates that more than half of all workers would feel more secure if they had more training on secure mail handling and that 49% want more secure mail facilities. "Traditionally, not enough attention has been paid to the corporate mail center," says Sheryl Battles, vice president of external affairs for Pitney Bowes. In fact, the survey shows that more traditional workplace security procedures are less important to respondents than mail security is. Fewer than 2% of respondents say that having more armed security officers at work would increase their sense of security, and fewer than 1% indicated that having more surveillance equipment at work would make them feel safer.

Oct 13

Walkout at USDA's Plum Island lab sparks security concern
A recent walkout by maintenance workers at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center has raised concern that replacement workers may lack proper training and could pose a security risk. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman last month, asserted that some of the replacement workers may not have undergone proper background checks or drug screenings. She says the island laboratory "stores many agents that could be used in bioterrorism if they fell into the wrong hands." Workers walked out Aug 13 after rejecting an offer from LB&B Associates Inc. of Baltimore, which operates the center on a government contract. LB&B's 76 Plum Island workers provide support services, including operation and maintenance of the power plant, buildings and grounds, waste disposal, and marine fleet.

Division in Bush administration said to be delaying decisions on smallpox
Intense debate within the Bush administration over smallpox vaccination has delayed important decisions in the nation's biodefense program for months, according to a New York Times report. While some officials, such as Vice President Dick Cheney, favor mass vaccination even in the absence of a bioterrorist attack, others, including President Bush, are more cautious and concerned about the vaccine's side effects. Despite the delay, the nation's emergency plans are moving ahead: The CDC gave the states a blueprint for setting up mass vaccination clinics Sep 23, and the Pentagon is making plans to vaccinate a half million troops. Washington is also quietly encouraging allies to prepare for the threat of smallpox.

Oct 12

Up to half a million US troops likely to get smallpox shots, report says
Military and civilian experts have advised Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that up to half a million US troops should be vaccinated against smallpox, according to a New York Times report based on comments from unnamed officials. Rumsfeld has not yet approved the recommendation, but he almost certainly will, the report says. The vaccine will probably be given to 350,000 to 500,000 troops who are likely to be deployed to the Middle East. Vaccinations will not start until the Food and Drug Administration licenses the vaccine, which is expected to happen in November. Rumsfeld is also directing aides to assist allies, including those in the Middle East, in acquiring enough smallpox vaccine to protect their citizens should a bioterror attack occur, says a senior military official. If the Pentagon goes ahead with the vaccination program, it may mark the beginning of a smallpox immunization campaign that will reach the public later.

Oct 11

Iraq backs away from agreement on weapons inspections
Iraq has backed away from last week's agreements over renewed UN inspections, according to diplomats. Responding to a letter from Hans Blix, the leader of the UN weapons inspection team, Iraq continues to insist on further discussions of the most basic arrangements. Though Iraqi diplomats say they are in "100 percent accordance" with the inspections, American officials say the latest Iraqi rebuff proves that President Saddam Hussein will not cooperate with a search for his weapons. According to Blix, the new negotiations proposed by Iraq appear to be leading to the kind of squabbles that slowed inspectors in the past. The Oct 10 letter from Saddam's adviser, Amir Hammudi al-Saadi, came in response to a letter 2 days earlier from Blix and Mohamed El Baradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which manages nuclear inspections.

Hawaiians were sprayed with bacteria in 1965 weapons test
Health officials say that open-air biological and chemical weapons tests conducted by the US military in the 1960s pose no threat to the population or the environment. Though the Pentagon admits that thousands of Hawaiian and Alaskan citizens probably did not know they were sprayed with a relatively mild bacteria meant to simulate germ weapons, island mayor Harry Kim wants further testing to see that no residual agents remain. One of the tests, called "Big Tom," involved spraying Bacillis globigii, a bacterial relative of anthrax, by plane over Oahu in May and June 1965. At that time the germ was thought to be harmless, but researchers later discovered that it caused infections in people with weak immune systems. Two other tests in Hawaii, named "Pine Ridge" and "Tall Timber," involved the use of a chemical code-named BZ, a compound of benzilic acid that causes stupor, hallucinations, and confusion.

Debate continues: Recommend smallpox shots, or just offer them?
Health officials are continuing to debate whether to advise the public to get smallpox shots or to just make the vaccine available and let people decide for themselves whether to take it. CDC Director Julie Gerberding and other officials want to provide clear recommendations, though their advice could change as they learn more about reactions to the vaccine. "It's difficult for people to make a decision without specific guidance," Gerberding tells the Associated Press. But deciding what guidance to offer is difficult in view of the risk of serious side effects from the vaccine. "The issue is not the size or scope of the communications effort. It's about finding the communications message," says Dr. Michael Osterholm, a bioterrorism expert who advises federal health officials, and director of CIDRAP, publisher of this Web site.

First phase of Texas disease-warning network completed
Avnet Enterprise Solutions, an Arizona information-technology company, announces completion of the first phase of the Texas Health Alert Network, which warns health officials of possible infectious disease outbreaks or bioterrorism attacks. Designed for the Texas Association of Local Health Officials, the system improves information distribution and helps health officials track and respond quickly to infectious disease outbreaks or chemical, radiological, and biological attacks. The first phase of the project involved connecting 64 public health agencies around the state. Lee Land, executive director of the Texas association, says the group plans to include other public health offices, schools, hospitals, clinics, libraries, institutions of higher education, and emergency-response agencies in the network.

Oct 10

US weapons inspectors invited into Iraq
Iraq invites Iraq invites the United States to send its officials to examine Iraqi sites suspected of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. Speaking at a news conference, Abdul Tawab Mullah Hawaish, deputy prime minister responsible for Iraq's weapons programs, claims, "As I am responsible for the Iraqi weapons programs, I confirm here that we have no weapons of mass destruction, and we have no intention to produce them." But, "If the Americans commit a new foolish action against Iraq, we will teach them an unforgettable lesson," Hawaish adds.

Findings may explain eczema patients' vulnerability to smallpox vaccination complications
A study from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver published in today's New England Journal of Medicine indicates that some eczema patients seem to lack the ability to produce natural chemicals that fight bacterial infections. Lead researcher Dr. Donald Leung says, "It is important to understand why people with this common skin condition are so susceptible to skin infections, especially in the light of recent widespread concerns that they can develop severe infections after receiving a smallpox vaccination." He goes on to explain that "These findings indicate that atopic dermatitis patients have an impaired immune response that prevents them from producing adequate amounts of antimicrobial peptides in their skin."

Assessment of US physical infrastructure nearing completion
Officials from the Bush administration say they have nearly completed a "super critical list" of probable terrorist targets that, if struck, would cause grave damage in terms of loss of life, money, and national and public confidence. White House officials say it is one of the most comprehensive assessments ever done of the nation's physical infrastructure, including its food and water supplies, telecommunications systems, energy facilities, and transportation networks. A team led by Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will complete its report and make recommendations to the government and private sector for tightening security. The final report is due later this year, he says, though the public will not be informed of the most sensitive findings.

Oct 9

Toxic weapons testing on US forces during Cold War more widespread than previously known
The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health is briefed in closed session on newly declassified Pentagon reports that the United States conducted wider testing than previously disclosed of chemical and biological weapons on its forces during Cold Warera military exercises. The reports describe how exercises used deadly substances like VX and sarin on American soil and in Canada and Britain to test the vulnerability of American forces to unconventional attack. The tests were not aimed at studying the weapons' effects on human health but rather at determining how the weapons would be affected by climate, environment, and other combat conditions. Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R.-N.J., demanded yesterday that assistance be made available to any veteran whose health was affected by the testing. Pentagon officials say there is no indication that the lethal chemical agents dispersed into the general population.

Smallpox-attack planning under way in Britain
The British government is doing "intensive planning for possible bioterrorist attack," says Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson. Plans to contain a limited smallpox outbreak are under examination, as is vaccination "on a mass population basis," he adds. His announcement confirms a report in the London Evening Standard last month that the government would begin making preparations for a potential smallpox outbreak. A Department of Health spokeswoman also confirms that the government is considering vaccinating the entire population. She offers no information about vaccine supplies, although in August the government had already ordered 20 million doses.

Lawsuit considered by Florida anthrax victim's widow
Maureen Stevens, widow of Robert Stevens, the first of five people to die of inhalation anthrax in last year's mail attacks, investigates a potential wrongful-death claim against the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Md. The claim would find the Army negligent due to lax security at the USAMRIID labs that allowed a killer to obtain a sample of the Ames strain of anthrax. Stevens is ineligible for financial aid to victims of Sep 11. "Maureen is on an island out there," says Robert Shuler, a West Palm Beach attorney who represents Stevens. "The president hasn't helped her, the Congress hasn't helped her, and the FBI hasn't told her anything about why her husband died. Army spokesman Chuck Dasey offers no comment on the merits of the proposed claim but says important questions remain about whether the anthrax used in the attacks came from USAMRIID.

UN requests increased intelligence assistant for Iraq inspections
Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix requests increased US intelligence assistance for UN inspectors preparing to return to Iraq. Substantial intelligence support is "crucial for the success of the inspections," according to US and UN diplomats. In a letter to Gen. Amir H. Al-Saadi, a senior advisor to Saddam Hussein, Blix says he may need clearance for American U2 and French Mirage surveillance aircraft. He also advises Iraq that the United Nations plans to use advanced sensors, surveillance cameras, and communications equipment including satellite telephones. His request for new intelligence assistance highlights the UN inspection team's dependence of foreign intelligence, particularly from the United States, to guarantee reliable inspections of Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs.

Oct 8

CIA says attacking Iraq may make Saddam more, not less, aggressive with weapons
New information assessing Saddam Hussein's response to a US attack suggests that he could become more aggressive. A letter signed by deputy CIA director John McLaughlin on behalf of George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, says "Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks" with conventional or chemical or biological weapons against the United States. "Should Saddam conclude that a US-led attack could no longer be deterred, he probably would become much less constrained in adopting terrorist action." The letter notes that Saddam could use either conventional terrorism or weapons of mass destruction as "his last chance to exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him." The letter also cites convincing reports that al Qaeda leaders wanted Iraq to help them acquire weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq trained al Qaeda members in use of poisons and gases and in bomb making.

Suggestive evidence of Iraqi stores of smallpox reviewed
Fear of a biological attack from Iraq continues to mount on the basis of evidence that Saddam Hussein has smallpox stores, although the official US position is that the evidence is not conclusive. "I have no doubt in my mind that Iraq does have the smallpox virus," says Dr. Ken Alibek, a top official in the Soviet biological weapons program before defecting to the United States in 1992. Evidence includes UN inspectors' 1994 discovery of a freeze-dryer labeled "Smallpox" in Arabic at an Iraqi medical complex, according to Jonathan Tucker, a former inspector. The Iraqis claimed they used the equipment to make smallpox vaccine, but a freeze-dryer also could be used to make a weapon-ready form of the smallpox virus, says Tucker. Other evidence includes Iraq's experiments with camelpox, a related virus, and the finding that some Iraqi soldiers captured in the Gulf War had been vaccinated for smallpox.

Oct 7

Congressional inaction stalls distribution of homeland security funds
Congressional preoccupation with Iraq and the November elections is stalling distribution of tens of billions of dollars in federal funds to strengthen homeland security, including money for emergency training and equipment, bioterrorism research, and border security, according to a USA Today report. The funds may be held up until next summer because of budget debates between Congress and the White House. "Cities and first responders have waited long enough and should not have to bear the burden of congressional squabbling," says Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, president of the US Conference of Mayors. Lawmakers have already missed the deadline to complete new spending bills for fiscal 2003, which began Oct 1, and Congress will probably have to pass a temporary spending bill to extend 2002 spending for existing programs. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say they can't start taking grant applications until Congress acts.

AAP favors ring vaccination over mass immunization for smallpox
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a smallpox immunization policy of waiting until an outbreak occurs and responding with ring vaccination, rather than mounting a mass immunization campaign either before or after any smallpox outbreak. Ring vaccination, also known as surveillance and containment, can stop a localized smallpox outbreak while limiting the number of people who could suffer serious side effects from the vaccine, the AAP says in an article in the October issue of Pediatrics. "We're talking about a disease that hasn't existed in the world since the 1970s and a vaccine that we know can cause death," says Dr. Julia McMillan, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine pediatrics professor and co-author of the policy. The CDC's written smallpox response plan emphasizes ring vaccination, but CDC officials recently have signaled that a smallpox outbreak could trigger a mass immunization campaign and that they support offering the vaccine to the public once healthcare workers have been immunized.

Company reports successful animal trial of vaccine for Marburg virus
GenPhar, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in South Carolina, announces that its vaccine for the highly lethal Marburg virus was 100% effective in initial animal trials. In the tests, conducted by the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, vaccinated animals were fully protected against a "very severe challenge with highly concentrated Marburg virus," the company says. "We intend to make this Marburg vaccine available to the Army and the Department of Health and Human Services in a relatively short period of time," says Dr. Joseph Sinkule, GenPhar's vice president for clinical and regulatory affairs. The Marburg virus causes a hemorrhagic fever and is considered a potential tool for bioterrorists.

Hussein pledges to fight US with all available weapons
Saddam Hussein warns the United States that Iraq will counter any invasion with all available weapons. "With whatever weapons we have in our hands, and after depending on God with faith, and because we are on the course of righteousness, we are able to confront any aggressor, from wherever he comes," Baghdad newspapers quote Saddam as saying. According to the newspapers, Saddam offered his warning while discussing a potential US invasion with his military commanders and his two sons, Uday and Qusay.

Oct 6

Emergency physicians seek support for their role in bioterrorism preparedness
A Seattle doctor says physicians and nurses, like firefighters and paramedics, should qualify as "first responders" in the war on terrorism. "We are the new first responders of the 21st century," Dr. Nancy Auer says at the American College of Emergency Physicians' Scientific Assembly in Seattle. Auer and other health professionals say emergency departments deserve the same consideration and financial support as other groups involved in the government's homeland security planning. Auer, who chairs a national task force on bioterrorism formed by the physicians' group, says a terrorist attack would send many injured or sick people to already overcrowded and understaffed emergency rooms throughout the country. "We have to make sure the emphasis is on shoring up our hospitals," she says. Physicians at the conference are considering how emergency departments can prepare for the possibility of terrorist attacks.

Some CDC officials regret slow response to initial anthrax case, report says
Health officials reviewing last year's response to the anthrax mailings say their agencies could have moved faster to protect the mail system had they understood the situation more clearly, according to a Reuters report. Days after a photo editor in Florida became sick with anthrax, some experts at the CDC concluded that the spores must have come through the mail. They pushed their superiors to close the local Boca Raton post office, which handled the letter that carried the anthrax, but top CDC officials chose not to act. The decisions followed much debate, and though some CDC experts believed that mail facilities might be contaminated, few at first believed anthrax spores could leak from sealed envelopes. And nobody suspected that anthrax powder could act like an aerosol, floating long distances in the air.

Oct 5

Hatfill vows to sue various parties for defamation
A spokesman for Dr. Steven Hatfill, whom the FBI calls a "person of interest" in its anthrax investigation, says he will sue for defamation. Speaking at a conference hosted by Accuracy in Media, a nonprofit media watchdog group, the germ warfare scientist said he plans to file several lawsuits against unnamed individuals and organizations, according to his spokesman, Pat Clawson. Hatfill was fired in September from a job with Louisiana State University's National Center for Biomedical Research and Training. He maintains his innocence and says the accusations and media attention he has endured have destroyed his career.

Israeli leaders debate nationwide smallpox vaccination
Israeli officials are debating whether to immunize the entire population against smallpox before the US wages war on Iraq, according to the Boston Globe. One group supports a quick nationwide vaccination program to protect citizens from the possibility of a smallpox attack by Iraq using Scud missiles. But other officials insist that Israel would have time to immunize its population even after a missile attack and that it should not act prematurely. The opposing sides will meet next week to discuss the topic further, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet will make the final decision.

Oct 4

Federal officials support eventually offering smallpox vaccine to everyone
Top federal health officials say for the first time that they support offering voluntary smallpox vaccination to the public, but only after millions of healthcare workers are immunized and a vaccine is licensed for general use. "Right now our thinking is in favor of making the vaccine available to the general public after we have ensured that we can adequately" immunize healthcare professionals, CDC Director Julie Gerberding says at a press briefing reported in the New York Times. Gerberding and other officials say one option under consideration is to offer vaccination to about 500,000 healthcare workers who would be most likely to be exposed to smallpox if it reemerged, and then to expand the program to all healthcare and emergency workers, estimated at 10 million. Later, perhaps in early 2004, the vaccine could be offered to the public. The statements signal a major change in thinking since June, when a federal advisory committee recommended smallpox vaccination only for healthcare and emergency workers assigned to bioterrorism response teams, a group then estimated at 10,000 to 20,000. The decision on how to proceed with smallpox vaccination currently rests with President Bush. Also at the briefing, Jerome Hauer, assistant secretary for public health preparedness, says the Department of Health and Human Services will provide 1 million doses of smallpox to the Defense Department within a month.

Two companies get contracts to develop three-dose anthrax vaccine
Two companies are awarded federal contracts to further develop and test a genetically engineered anthrax vaccine designed to provide protection with only three doses. California-based VaxGen Inc. and Britain's Avecia receive contracts totaling $22.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services for the effort. The current anthrax vaccine is effective but requires six shots over 18 months, with annual boosters thereafter, and minor side effects are fairly common. "There is an urgent need to devise more effective measures to protect US citizens from the harmful effects of anthrax spores used as instruments of terror," HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson says in announcing the contracts. Scientists at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., developed the science behind the new vaccine. HHS's eventual goal is to have a stockpile of 25 million doses of anthrax vaccine.

Financier gives $2.5 million to group aiming to stop unconventional weapons
Warren E. Buffet contributes $2.5 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a group founded by Ted Turner and former Senator Sam Nunn to reduce the threat of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Buffet, America's second wealthiest man, says he hopes his contribution to the Washington-based NTI will "encourage other businessmen to get involved" in confronting a challenge that "boggles the mind." The group was founded nearly 2 years ago with a pledge of stock that Turner held in AOL Time Warner that was then worth about $250 million. But because of the recent stock market decline, the organization has experienced a financial setback, and "Warren Buffett's commitment is even more important than it would normally be at this stage," Nunn says.

Oct 3

Henderson doubts it's possible to prove Iraq is free of bioweapons
A federal bioterrorism scientific adviser says that weapons inspectors preparing to return to Iraq would find it virtually impossible to prove that the country is free of bioweapons. Dr D.A. Henderson of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies says scientific advances made since last fall's anthrax mailings in the US have provided little new information that would give weapons inspectors an advantage over their predecessors who tried to discern the scale of Saddam Hussein's bioweapons program. Previous inspectors worked with a limited number of biological tools to assist them, and most of the current information about Iraq's weapons programs comes from defectors and papers discovered by investigators. In the past, on-site inspectors could rarely collect potential biological samples. Addressing a bioterrorism session of the World Medical Association, Henderson says, "There's nothing significantly different now."

Officials call increase in public health spending unprecedented
Federal officials speaking at a Washington, DC, conference on bioterrorism say years of public health complacency and underfunding have been replaced by an unprecedented campaign to defend the country against possible bioterrorism. Spending on public health programs will reach $1.7 billion next year, up from $50 million just three years ago, officials say. "I don't think there is any precedent" to such a rapid increase in spending on federal health programs, says Dr. James M. Hughes, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases. Anthrax and smallpox remain priorities among federal officials, although they say Ebola and plague also present serious concerns. The comments come at a joint meeting of the World Medical Association and American Medical Association focusing on bioterrorism and biological weapons.

Tennessee picks firms to evaluate hospitals' bioterrorism preparedness
The Tennessee Department of Health chooses a team of management consultants to assess bioterrorism preparedness for more than 160 Tennessee hospitals and medical facilities. General Physics Corporation and ZA Consulting, LLC, a national healthcare consulting organization, will complete the assessment and develop six regional bioterrorism preparedness plans. They will then recommend corrective action and conduct tabletop exercises to verify the recommended course of action. The assessment will include evaluating the preparedness level for non-terrorism events such as outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Oct 2

Iraq denies British charges about weapons program
Iraq denies British charges that it is developing weapons of mass destruction. A 29-page rebuttal given to reporters in Baghdad asserts that British claims are "a series of lies and empty propaganda which are totally inconsistent with the facts and reports by the [UN] Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency teams." Insisting that the country cooperated with previous inspections by the UN team, the Iraqi document also says UN monitoring and periodic inspections since 1998 by the International Atomic Energy Agency have proved that its nuclear program has been contained. "It seems that those who prepared Blair's report seek to mislead the world, simply because the production process requirements and complicated services are not available," Iraq says of the British allegation that it has mobile biological weapons laboratories.

Australia awaits shipment of 50,000 doses of smallpox vaccine
Australia is awaiting shipment of smallpox vaccine to be used in the event of a terrorist attack, according to a government health official. The federal Health Department says it has ordered 50,000 doses of the vaccine from French manufacturer Aventis Pasteur. The government expects to order additional doses to arrive early next year. Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Richard Smallwood says the country has no plans for mass civilian vaccinations. Australia purchased the vaccine under a $6.2 million (US dollars) program to stockpile antibiotics, vaccines, antiviral drugs, chemical antidotes, and diagnostic tests.

Healthcare consortium gets grant to develop bioterrorism surveillance system
The CDC announces it is awarding a $1.2 million grant to a consortium of managed care organizations to create a pilot program to monitor millions of patient records for signs of a bioterrorist attack. The group, called the Harvard Consortium, plans to develop a computer operating system to connect information from various medical systems and health departments to provide early warning of diseases caused by a bioterrorist event. "If successful, the platform will serve as a model for a national syndromic surveillance system," the CDC says in a news release. The consortium includes the Minnesota-based HealthPartners Research Foundation, Kaiser Permanente of Colorado, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, the American Association of Health Plans, and Optum. The group will develop a system modeled after one created by HealthPartners and the Minnesota Department of Health. The first phase will produce a bioterrorism surveillance program to cover 20 million people in 50 states.

EPA orders companies to stop marketing products billed as anthrax killers
The Environmental Protection Agency orders two US companies to stop marketing products described as providing protection against anthrax. Aerotech Laboratories, Inc, Phoenix, Ariz., and American Security and Control, Inc., Falls Church, Va., both marketed their unregistered pesticides over the Internet. Aerotech sold Modec Decon Formulation in a "Bioterrorism Response Kit," with a label claiming the product "Decontaminates & Mitigates Chemical & Biological Weapons Agents." American Security sold Easy DECON Spray, touted as a "personal incident anthrax and biological and chemical decontamination sprayer." The EPA stop-sale order included two other unregistered products advertised by American Security on the Internet: the "Anthrax and Biological Decontamination System" and the "Anthrax and other Biologicals Decontaminant Killer Solution." The company inaccurately claimed the pesticide had received EPA approval, the agency says.

Oct 1

British military personnel to receive anthrax shots
An expanded anthrax immunization program for British military forces includes thousands of personnel from the Royal Navy, Army, and Air Force who are part of the country's Joint Rapid Reaction Forces. The Ministry of Defense says that 46%, or as many as 14,000, of the high-readiness personnel have accepted the offer to receive anthrax vaccination. The group includes four brigades, 20 warships, and about 110 combat aircraft.

Iraqi bioweapons program received US help 20 years ago
Government records show that Iraq's bioweapons program received significant support from the United States, according to a New York Times report. Two decades ago the CDC sent samples directly to several Iraqi sites that UN weapons inspectors say were part of Saddam Hussein's biological weapons program, according to CDC and congressional records from the early 1990s. Iraq ordered the samples, alleging they were necessary for medical research. The CDC and a biological sample company, the American Type Culture Collection, sent strains of germs Iraq used to make weapons, including anthrax, the bacteria to make botulinum toxin, and germs that cause gas gangrene, the records indicate. Iraq also received samples of pathogens such as the West Nile virus. The exports were legal at the time and approved under a program administered by the Commerce Department. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he was unaware of the transactions, but would search the records for evidence.

US forces not well prepared to face chemical, biological weapons
A House panel hears testimony about inadequate training and protective gear available to US troops facing possible chemical or biological attack. Investigators from the General Accounting Office and the Pentagon's inspector general say that the military is short of some important protective gear, struggles to keep track of what it has, and has not adequately trained many troop units to work in a contaminated environment. "The survival of our service members and military operations in a chemical or biological environment may be at risk," says Raymond Decker of the GAO to a House Government Reform National Security subcommittee.

Simulated foot-and-mouth disease outbreak reaches 30 states
An imaginary bioterrorist attack featuring foot-and-mouth disease spread from three states to more than 30 states within 2 weeks in a simulation, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The simulation, called "Crimson Sky" and held Sep 30, was the first in a series of six exercises to test the response capabilities of the USDA and more than a dozen federal agencies. The Defense Department, CIA, White House Office of Homeland Security, and congressional and farm industry representatives took part in the simulation. It took participants 2 weeks to contain the foot-and-mouth disease, which is one of the most feared livestock diseases because it can spread fast enough to cause major disruptions in production and trade. Officials say the mock attack illustrates the need to develop a national strategy clearly defining agency responsibilities for dealing with such an event.

Audit report faults FBI's work on assessing terrorist threat
The Justice Department's inspector general releases an audit of the FBI's counterrorism program revealing that the bureau has yet to develop a comprehensive written assessment of the terrorist threat in the United States. Although the FBI drafted a threat report after the Sep 11 attacks, it did not evaluate the probability of future attacks, potential targets, or methods terrorists might use, says the report by Inspector General Glenn Fine. Additionally, the FBI has never adequately assessed the threat of a chemical or biological attack, according to the report. The audit further states that no single individual was accountable for managing the bureau assessment, and some officials believe the FBI lacks the analytical capability or resources to complete such a broad threat assessment.

Western forces help Kuwait prepare for possible Iraqi biological attack
US, German, and Czech military personnel stationed in Kuwait conducted a 2-day exercise to help Kuwait deal with a possible biological or chemical attack, the US embassy announces. Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Khaled al-Sabah plans to conduct a similar exercise with his military personnel later in the week. The drill was in response to concern about possible Iraqi retaliation against Kuwait in the event of a US strike on Baghdad. "If called upon, coalition forces are well prepared to help Kuwait deal with the effects of a chemical or biological incident," US Ambassador Richard Jones says in a Times of India report. Most of the approximately 10,000 US troops stationed in Kuwait are deployed at Camp Doha, north of the capital.

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