April 2004

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.

Apr 30

Anthrax-detection system rollout in POs delayed
National rollout of the Biohazard Detection System (BDS) for detection of anthrax in mail facilities has been delayed by the US Postal Service because of "nondeterminate" results on several machines. BDS continuously monitors the air around the machines that cancel stamped mail. Rollout of the systems began in March, and about six centers on the East Coast have from 3 to 6 machines in place each. By the end of the 2-year rollout, 283 major mail processing and distribution centers are scheduled to have the systems. A USPS spokesperson said the system gets high marks and that it is hoped the delay will be short-lived.

Apr 29

USPS tries to dismiss class-action anthrax suit
The US Postal Service petitions a federal court to dismiss the$100 million class-action suit filed last fall on behalf of 2,300 postal workers who claim the Brentwood, New Jersey, Processing and Distribution Center was kept open for several days after officials knew of its contamination with anthrax, endangering their health (see Oct 15 item). Postal Service attorney Joseph Sher said the claim should be handled through Workers' Compensation program. Many workers at the facility became ill and two died.

Anthrax widow's lawsuit delayed
The $50 million lawsuit filed last fall (see Sep 28, 2003, item) against the federal government by the widow of Robert Stevens, the American Media editor who was the first victim in the 2001 anthrax attack, is delayed by West Palm Beach, Fla., Federal Judge Daniel Hurley. The government had filed early this year (see Jan 28 item) for a delay in the case, claiming that they were at a crucial stage in the anthrax investigation and that the case would jeopardize that work.

Apr 28

Anthrax survivors experience lingering problems
People infected with anthrax during the 2001 mail-associated outbreak continued to have physical and psychological problems 1 year after their initial illness, according to a study published in the Apr 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Fifteen of 16 adult survivors were evaluated by means of clinical interview, a medical review-of-systems, standardized self-administered questionnaires, and medical-record review. Health complaints included respiratory tract problems, fatigue, joint symptoms, cognitive impairment, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsiveness, and hostility. Eight (53%) of the survivors had not returned to work. The 2001 attack infected 22 people, five of whom died.

New bioterrorism directive announced
A presidential bioterrorism directive signed last week is announced jointly by the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Defense. Called Biodefense for the 21st Century, it set out strategy for bioterrorist attack by outlining 59 instructions for government agencies on matters ranging from communications to quarantine. (See CIDRAP News story.)

UN Security Council passes nonproliferation resolution
The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution to curb proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Under the resolution, the 191 UN member nations are required to outlaw the sale of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons and the materials and technology to make them to "non-state actors," or terrorists. Sponsored by The United States, France, Romania, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the resolution underwent months of discussion and three revisions.

Apr 26

Doppler radar may detect bio-chem attack
The Doppler radar stations operated by the Federal Avian Administration near airports to detect shear may in the future serve as early warning systems for airborn biological and chemical attacks, according to a CBSNews story. Funded to the tune of $15 million, the program, dubbed the Homeland Defense Chemical Biological Umbrella, is being developed by Army researchers and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Supposedly computer programs will be able to differentiate between typical air and weather patterns around aircraft and chemical/biological agent release. They will also be able to track movement of such a release. A few stations are scheduled to be operational by the end of the year.

Apr 27

Progress toward DNA-based smallpox vaccine
Researchers from the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) announce progress toward a DNA-based vaccine for smallpox. Their study, appearing in the May issue of the Journal of Virology, tested a subunit vaccine consisting of four vaccinia virus genes (L1R, A27L, A33R, B5R) in monkeys. The vaccinated animals were protected against severe disease when challenged with a potentially lethal dose of monkeypox virus, a close relative of smallpox virus. Animals vaccinated with a single gene (L1R) developed severe disease but survived. The goal is to develope a vaccine against smallpox that is as effective as but safer than the currently used vaccine, which uses live vaccinia virus.

Apr 23

Texas trains its health workers for bioterror attack
Almost 20,000 Texas health providers start a 13-hour training program in bioterrorism preparedness at five University of Texas institutions, reports the Houston Chronicle. About 2,500 workers have already had the training, which involves protocols for responding to various kinds of attack, reporting procedures, and hands-on practice in simulated disasters. The program was developed in collaboration with the American Medical Association and is federally funded.

Apr 22

UK parliament gets threat of anthrax/ricin attack
British House of Commons members are told during debate on funding for a permanent security shield between their chambers and the public gallery of a "specific threat" by al-Qaeda to strike the House using ricin or anthrax. Peter Hain, leader of the House, said his information had come from MI5 Director General Elizabeth Manningham-Buller. A temporary glass shield had already been installed before this information became known. The House voted to allot $2.3 million to install a permanent, airtight shield.

US-EU agreement strengthens sea-transport security
The United States and the European Union sign an agreement expanding on the US Container Security Initiative launched in January 2002 to improve security at seaports so that ships are not used to transport terrorists or the weapons. Under the new agreement, 11 foreign ports join the nine now participating in allowing US customs inspectors to screen cargo being shipped to the United States, reports the New York Times. Conversely, US ports will allow inspectors from the participating countries to be stationed here and screen cargo going to their ports.

Crop-dusters still focus of concern
More than 3,000 pilots and owners of agricultural aircraft have had background checks and been interviewed by the FBI in about the past year, according to information submitted to the Sept. 11 commission. The initiative is in response to concern that terrorists could use crop-dusters to spread chemical or biological agents. The program is known as Agricultural Aviation Threat Project and is part of a larger FBI effort called Operation Tripwire, which aims at identifying potential terrorist sleeper cells and any pre-attack preparations, reports the Associated Press. No arrests have been made as a result of the initiative. Crop-dusters have been grounded nationwide twice, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Anthrax vaccine phase II trial begins
The University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Vaccine Research announces that it has initiated a phase II trial of VaxGen's rPA102 anthrax vaccine. Also participating in the trial will be 11 other centers around the country; 480 volunteers (40 at each center) will be sought to receive the new synthetic protein vaccine, which is given in two shots 4 weeks apart rather the much longer regimen required for the currently used vaccine. People receiving the vaccine will be monitored for 1 year for side effects and for arousal of immunity. It is hoped that the trial will be fully underway by the end of May.

New BSL-3 food lab opens
A new biosafety level 3 laboratory of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) opens in Athens, Ga. The $1.65 million facility, housed in the USDA's Russell Research Center, will "identify, detect, and look for new pathogens and new threats," according to a spokesperson.

Apr 21

Report says Britain's preparedness flawed
Britain's Royal Society receives results of an investigation saying the country's preparedness for chemical or biological attack has serious flaws. The report was written by experts in medicine, chemistry, and biology, plus public health specialists and epidemiologists. The group took written evidence, conducted interviews, and made site visits during their year-long research, and they were given secret plans for dealing with a chemical attack and allowed to talk with experts at top-secret weapons research facility Porton Down. Recommendations of the report included better training for first-responders, more use of cutting-edge detection technology, more work on planning for cleanup of biological agents, and better equipment for airport and port security.

Apr 20

Security found to be  lax at labs dealing with dangerous agents
The 11 university laboratories that receive federal funding to do research on "select agents," organisms that pose the greatest threat to public health, have been lax on security, says a Department of Health and Human Services inspector general in a summary report of inspections conducted in 2002 and 2003. Areas of concern include access to labs and accurate inventories of materials in the labs. The report says the facilities have begun correcting the problems, but this has not yet been verified.

Apr 19

Atmospheric survey begins around Pentagon
Pentagon Shield, an atmospheric survey to test how airborne chemical and biological agents would flow around and into the Pentagon, begins. Various weather sensors are testing temperature and wind direction and speed in and around the entire 593-acre complex and adjacent property. A 30-foot unmanned blimp will measure winds nights and weekends. Results of the survey, which is to last until May 15, are expected to improve computer modeling of the atmospheric conditions around the Pentagon and to be used to improve surveillance systems at other facilities.

Apr 15

Antibody-based sensors to detect biological agents
British scientists at the UK's Defense, Science and Technology Laboratory have developed sensors that can identify biological agents in real time, says a report in Biotech Week. The sensors' capability is based on built-in antibodies, the defenses produced naturally in animals and humans when attacked by microbes. The scientists say they have found a cheaper and faster way to produce the antibodies: "persuading" bacteria themselves to produce them, which allows their production in simple fermentors rather than in animals.

No ill effects of smallpox vaccination in group of HIV-positive recipients
Ten HIV-positive military personnel receiving smallpox vaccinations showed no adverse effects, reports a study in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Their HIV status was not known at the time of immunization. None of the 10 had full-blown AIDS; three had not been vaccinated for smallpox before. These findings are important in that immunocompromised persons, who would be at great risk in the event of a smallpox outbreak, have been excluded from smallpox vaccination programs because of risk from the vaccine itself. It may be that in the event of an actual outbreak, the benefits of this population's receiving vaccine could outweigh the risks. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Apr 14

Attenuated smallpox vaccine meets with good results in animals
VaxGen, a California biopharmaceutical company, announces promising results from two studies of their attenuated smallpox vaccine candidate LC116m8. The studies found the agent to be as effective as Dryvax, the currently licensed vaccine, in protecting mice and rabbits against a lethal poxvirus challenge.

Apr 13

Smallpox vaccine clinical trial stopped
Clinical trials of ACAM2000, a cell-culture smallpox vaccine of which the US government has ordered 209 million doses, are halted by the vaccine's British manufacturer, Acambis, because of at least three cases of myopericarditis in volunteers receiving either ACAM2000 or Dryvax, the currently licensed vaccine. The company will study the 1,132 study subjects who have received vaccine already but will not continue to enroll volunteers. (See Apr 13 CIDRAP News story.)

Boston scientists rail against new lab
Nearly 150 scientists have signed a letter being delivered today to Boston lawmakers protesting the planned building of a biosafety level 4 lab, which means it will house research on such bioterrorism agents as anthrax, smallpox, plague, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. The new lab, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is in an area more densely populated than that where similar laboratories are housed. The letter writers are concerned about safety issues as well as whether classified research will be carried out. They plan to take their objections to a Boston City Council meeting Apr 20. Boston University Medical Center was chosen last fall as the site for the lab (see Oct 1, 2003, CIDRAP News story.)

Apr 9

NACCHO finds few public health agencies have made significant preparedness improvements
Project Public Health Ready has reported that only 11 of the more than 3,000 public health agencies in the United States have been recognized for significant improvements in their ability to respond to public health emergencies such as a bioterrorist attack, according to a Global Security Newswire article. Criteria used for evaluation were preparedness planning, individual worker competence, and demonstration of readiness through drills and exercises. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) runs the project with support from the CDC and Columbia University Center for Public Health. NACCHO Executive Director Patrick Libbey stated that the project "gives local public health agencies a roadmap for meeting a core set of preparedness standards."

Washington man arrested for making ricin
A 37-year-old man, Robert Alberg, is arrested in Kirkland, Wash., for possession of a biological agent or toxin. Alberg, whose family reportedly believes he is autistic, purchased 4.7 pounds of castor seeds, which are used to make ricin, by mail order and had begun to process them into ricin. A recipe for ricin as well as chemicals and a grinder for processing were found in his apartment. Alberg had sent letters and e-mails to family and friends saying he could poison water supplies and that he hoped to die on "Federal Death Row." Ricin is the highly toxic agent recently in the news because of its appearance in February in Sen. Bill Frist's office and in a South Carolina an airport mail facility and the White House office mail room late last year.

Apr 8

BioSense and other high-tech monitoring programs active in US
High-tech methods are in active use in the United States to watch for early warnings of a bioterrorist attack, reports a Chicago Tribune article. BioSense, a CDC program, monitors enormous databases that record sales of over-the-counter drugs and symptoms reported in emergency departments that could be related to release of bioterrorist agents, such as fever, rash, diarrhea, and nausea, to determine whether any clusters or patterns are occurring. The system is planned to expand to include such other indicators as school absenses and spikes in doctors' office visits. Illinois is among the first states to participate, having launched a new $10 million electronic surveillance system, says the Tribune. The 2005 federal budget includes $130 million for the BioSense program, according to the story, plus doubled funding for BioWatch, a program for monitoring the air in 31 cities. Scientists are also at work on handheld devices that can detect viruses and bacteria.

Apr 6

Iraqi trailors still being investigated as possible bioweapons labs
Charles Duelfer, the chief US weapons inspector in Iraq who took over in January from David Kay, says at a news conference in Australia that inspectors are still examining the two Iraqi trailors initially thought to be biological weapons labs but later thought to be production facilities for hydrogen used in weather balloons (see Aug 8 item). Duelfer is expected to issue a report in several months on his determination on the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Pennsylvania area chosen for preparedness testing program
Pennsylvania officials announce that the Lehigh Valley will be the testing ground for a pilot program on bioterrorism preparedness that may become a model for communities across the country. The program, called the Health and Security for the 21st Century Project, is to begin in 2005 and will last 3 years. The area was chosen because of its proximity to several populous areas—Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and New York. Funding for the work will come from the CDC, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and private contributions.

Apr 5

Connecticut, New Jersey to be next TOPOFF sites
The third round of TOPOFF, a series of exercises to test preparedness for terrorist attacks, is announced by the Department of Homeland security. The mock attacks are scheduled for next April in Connecticut and New Jersey. Simultaneous drills will be held in the United Kingdom, according to a CBSNews story. The first installment of TOPOFF was held in May 2000 in Denver and New Hampshire, and the second was held in May 2002 in Seattle and Chicago.

Thompson asked to justify smallpox readiness claims
Rep. Tom Turner (D-Texas), ranking member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, asks in a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson that he justify his claim made at a January press conference that "a vast majority" of states had the ability to immunize their populations against smallpox within 10 days in the event of a terrorist attack. Turner also asked for scientific evidence that the 10-day benchmark is justified as a measure of smallpox preparedness. Thompson has not yet responded.

Missouri extends its smallpox vaccination program
Missouri emergency workers are being asked to get smallpox vaccinations, as the state procedes beyond phase 1 of the vaccination program in which healthcare workers were asked to volunteer for the shots. In that first phase, 1,300 medical personnel received vaccinations. The state has about 48,000 first-responders, such as firefighters and police officers, and no goal has been announced for how many the state hopes to reach. A few other states are also widening their programs, and some, such as Kansas, are attempting instead to invigorate their campaigns for vaccination of healtcare workers.

Apr 1

Canada short on preparedness
A study released by a Canadian Senate committee says that Canada is not prepared for a biological attack. The report of the Standing Committee on National Security and Defense points out that while the country has vaccines for several potential bioterrorist weapons, it has an emergency plan in place only for smallpox.

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