August 2003

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.

Aug 29

Hawaiian islands stage smallpox outbreak
A week of preparedness exercises concludes in Hawaii. Over the week, a simulated smallpox outbreak occurred on the Big Island, which spurred requesting an emergency declaration from the president, flying the governor and cabinet members to Civil Defense headquarters, bringing up the National Guard to assist hospitals overrun with fearful individuals, and placing travel restrictions over O'ahu and the Big Island. The exercises pointed out questions that need to be thought through in advance and it gave state leaders an idea of the magnitude of the coordination effort needed in a terrorist attack, stated the governor.

Aug 27

Smallpox vaccine producer finishes US doses
Acambis, the British pharmaceutical firm under contract with the US government to provide smallpox vaccine for possible emergency use, announces that it has produced, filled, and tested the 155 million doses ordered and has delivered over half to the US stockpile. The remaining doses will be delivered in the next few weeks once labeling discussions with the FDA have been completed.

Aug 26

Protective garb, equipment for Baltimore police
Baltimore officials announce that they are spending a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security on protective suits, masks, and breathing equipment for their city's police officers. They claim to be one of the first police departments where all members will have the extra tools needed to be prepared for a terrorist attack involving biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. The equipment is compatible with that used by city firefighters, affording flexibility in the case of an emergency.

Rural areas not immune to bioterrorism, says HHS official
Claude Allen, deputy secretary of HHS, says in the keynote address at a forum on rural healthcare in Casper, Wyoming, that a rural rather than urban area could be the site of the next terrorist attack and that funding should go to rural communities to prepare. Such communities are vulnerable, particularly to bioterrorism, he said, because of limited public health infrastructure and fewer healthcare providers and volunteers. Proximity to missile silos or chemical stockpiles puts some areas at risk, he said, and complacency because of the belief that terrorism is an urban problem add to the problem.

Lawsuit filed against biological/nuclear weapons research labs at Livermore, Los Alamos
Environmental groups file a lawsuit to block construction of new installations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, and its companion lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, that are to house research on bioweapons and nuclear weapons. Building is planned to begin in December, with operations beginning next June. The environmental groups believe the buildings would be targets for bioterrorism and would expose workers and potentially the public to lethal toxins. They are asking that alternatives be sought, including moving the facilities to less populated areas (the Livermore lab is in the San Francisco Bay Area), and that a thorough environmental study be done.

Hatfill files lawsuit
Steven Hatfill, the bioweapons expert determined by the government to be a "person of interest" in the 2001 anthrax attack investigation, files a civil lawsuit in Federal District Court in Washington, DC, according to a New York Times article. The suit accuses Attorney General John Ashcroft and other Justice Department officials of violating his constitutional rights. Hatfill's suit claims the focus on him has made him "not only unemployed, but as a practical matter unemployable" and that the FBI's physical and electronic surveillance of him and his home constitutes undue harrassment. (See previous items on Dr. Hatfill in Bioterrorism Watch, particularly June 2002, September 2002, October 2002, and December 2002.)

Aug 25

CDC wants states' input on smallpox vaccination needs
The CDC is seeking information from the states on how many additional healthcare providers and first-responders need to receive smallpox vaccinations in order to meet minimum requirements for an emergency response, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's an attempt to build preparedness from the bottom up this time instead of the top down," the article quotes Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the University of Minnesota's CIDRAP, publisher of this Web site, as saying. CDC's effort is hoped to bolster the federal smallpox vaccination program, which has fallen far short of expectations in terms of number of people vaccinated.

Aug 24

Iraqi drones not for WMD delivery, analysts say
Weapons experts in Baghdad conclude that abandoned Iraqi drones claimed by the Bush administration before the war to be vehicles for delivering biological and chemical weapons were not designed for this use and instead were unarmed reconnaissance drones. This opinion agrees with that of Air Force intelligence analysts, whose prewar views differed from those of the CIA and DIA upon which the administration's claims were based.

Aug 23

Expired smallpox vaccine destroyed
State health departments have destroyed an estimated 61,000 doses of expired smallpox vaccine, reports the Boston Globe, substantially more than the 38,000 doses that have been administered to healthcare providers. The vaccine expires 90 days after it has been reconstituted from the freeze-dried state in which it is supplied. CDC shipped over 290,000 doses to states for the federal vaccination program. The agency says destruction of the 61,000 doses has no appreciable impact on the stockpiled supply of vaccine available for an emergency—15 million doses that, if diluted, would create up to 75 million.

Aug 21

Grant to Louisiana researchers may result in biosensors and more for soldiers
Louisiana researchers receive $1.5 million in funding for work on products to benefit US military personnel. Among potential advances are portable sensors that could detect biological and chemical weapons and better pain management techniques. The groups collaborating in the research are the University of New Orleans' Advanced Materials Research Institute, Louisiana State University's Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, and the LSU Health Sciences Center's Neuroscience Center of Excellence. The interdisciplinary team will make use of expertise from each of the collaborators in such areas as nanomaterials, biotechnology, and microfabrication and will cross disciplines from biology and medicine to engineering.

Aug 20

First-responders not satisfied with current equipment, says study
Emergency workers who would be first on the scene in a terrorist attack do not feel they have adequate protective clothing and equipment, according to a study released by the RAND Corp. Among the 190 people in 60 localities interviewed were police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers, and other first-reponders. The Department of Homeland Security claims to be receptive to making improvements. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Aug 19

New drug for prevention and treatment of anthrax hits fast track
Fast Track Product designation for ABthrax, a novel new drug for the prevention and treatment of anthrax infection, is announced by Human Genome Sciences, Inc., developer of the agent. The designation applies to products chosen by the Food and Drug Administration as having the potential to address serious unmet medical needs. Phase 1 placebo-controlled dose-escalation clinical trials have begun in healthy adult volunteers. Intramuscular and intravenous administration as well as different doses will be evaluated as to safety and tolerability. Craig Rosen, PhD, President of Research and Development at Human Genome Sciences, said "We believe that ABthrax has the potential to provide significant protection against anthrax infection and increase survival if given as a post-exposure treatment. ABthrax also may prevent and treat infections by antibiotic-resistant strains of anthrax." (See also CIDRAP News story.)

Worker absence tracking could detect bioterrorism early, say Nebraska players
Tracking worker absences in key industries is proposed as one method for early detection of disease outbreaks, including bioterrorism diseases. Union Pacific Corp., the United States' largest railroad covering the western two thirds of the country already uses a computer tracking system to monitor availability of crews. The system weeds out expected absences, such as the spikes that occur when the school year starts and during deer hunting season. The University of Nebraska is teaming up with United Pacific, headquartered in Omaha, to further develop the system so absence from disease can be detected "almost before it is happening," says Steven Hinrichs, head of the university's Center of Biosecurity. The system would have an advantage over proposed systems to track doctor visits and/or pharmaceutical purchases in that it would show trends earlier, and it could be applied to other industries. A federal grant is being pursued.

Indian company claims to have safer, cheaper anthrax vaccine
Panacea Biotech, an Indian company, says it is conducting trials for an anthrax vaccine that is safer and cheaper than the vaccine currently used. Animal trials are nearing completion, says Panacea, and the company hopes to begin human trials in December and have the product ready for market by spring 2004. Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, the vaccine currently used, requires six injections costing about $4 each. The new vaccine would be given as a single shot; specific cost has not been announced. Panacea claims the new preparation has no traces of toxic proteins, unlike the current vaccine, whose traces of toxins can cause such complications as skin conditions, breathing difficulties, fever, and nausea.

Proposed Boston BS-4 lab meets community opposition
A proposed $1.6 billion biodefense laboratory at Boston University (BU) Medical Center that would involve research on such deadly agents as Ebola and smallpox is meeting increasing community resistance, according to a story in the Boston Globe. Opponents say BU has not done an adequate job of informing the surrounding community about the plans. As part of its application to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced last February, BU had to demonstrate community acceptance of the lab; opponents say organized community groups were never contacted. Among protestors' concerns is the transport of hazardous agents through Boston neighborhoods. BU is one of six known institutions applying to house the lab, which will be a Biosafety Level 4 facility, meaning it meets security requirements to work with the world's most dangerous pathogens.

Aug 18

Plague outbreak in Nevada starts off military exercise
An exercise called Determined Promise '03, designed to test US Northern Command's ability to respond to multiple domestic emergencies simultaneously, begins with a supposed outbreak of pneumonic plague in Clark County, Nevada, which houses 70% of the state's population. Among the other emergencies to occur during the 10-day exercise are a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, an airborne terrorist threat in Alaska, and derailment in Kentucky of a train carrying munitions. Fifteen federal agencies and 2,000 individuals are participating, at a cost of $2 million. Northern Command is responsible for military operations inside the United States.

Aug 17

A safer smallpox vaccine?
ACAM1000, a vaccine developed by Acambis, Inc., provides a safer alternative to Dryvax, the currently used smallpox vaccine, according to a report published online today in Nature Medicine. The new vaccine, which Acambis claims is less likely to cause encephalitis, is grown in tissue culture, while Dryvax was grown in calves, which is no longer acceptable. It is about to enter phase III trials. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Aug 12

Development of antibodies to bioterror agents funded by NIAID
Diversa Corporation, a "leader in applying proprietray genomic technologies for the rapid discovery and optimization of novel products from genes and gene pathways," according to a company press release, has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to aid their work in identifying new targets associated with anthrax and plague virulence and to develop diagnostic and therapeutic antibodies against anthrax. They are collaborating with the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the University of North Dakota in this work. The grant covers a 2 1/2–year period; NIAID has recommended $3.7 million of total funding.

Aug 11

Classified or public—group seeks records on Texas biosafety work
Records of bioresearch safety programs at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, are being illegally withheld from the public, says the Sunshine Project, an international group opposing biological weapons proliferation. The group is trying to obtain minutes from UTMB's Institutional Biosafety Committee, which sets and tracks safety standards in the institution's biological research programs, reports an article in the Houston Chronicle. The records, explains UTMB spokesman Dr. C. J. Peters, are protected by medical privacy laws, the Homeland Security Act, and the USA Patriot Act, the latter two because of the institution's work with organisms among the government's list of prime biological warfare agents. The Sunshine Project says by not releasing their records the UTMB is keeping secret information that should be public, such as measures being taken to protect the community. The Texas attorney general's office is looking into the matter.

Aug 8

Computerized early warning system for Federal report claims evidence of Iraq–al-Qaeda collaboration
A White House report is released stating that Iraq supplied material and training for chemical and biological warfare to al-Qaeda. The information comes from an imprisoned al-Qaeda operative. The unnamed source said Osama bin Laden sought help from Iraq when he decided his group could not produce the weapons on its own in Afghanistan. According to the report, a senior al-Qaeda associate came to Iraq in December 2002 along with two dozen associates; they are claimed to have stayed for months, planning terrorist attacks and holding training. The report also says Saddam Hussein's regime provided assistance to other terrorist groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command, Hamas, and the Palestine Islamic Jihad.

DIA engineers believe Iraqi trailors were for weather-related work
Two trailers found in Iraq this spring (see June 25 item), claimed by the Bush administration to be evidence of a mobile biological weapons program there, were more likely used to produce hydrogen for weather balloons, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) engineering experts believe, according to a New York Times story. The engineers' findings apparently were not taken into account before the CIA and DIA released a white paper May 28 stating that the trailers were used for making biological arms and, in fact, the engineers had not yet finished their investigative work on the trailers at that time. The two intelligence agencies are so far standing behind their previous position.

Aug 7

Second mail facility to be fumigated
Officials announce that the Hamilton, New Jersy, mail center that was sealed in October 2001 because of anthrax-bearing letters processed there will begin cleanup in November. It will be the second mail-processing plant in the country to be fumigated, following the Brentwood facility near Washington, DC, which finished cleanup in March. Cost of the Hamilton work is expected to run about $55 million.

Aug 6

Cleveland PO to have permanent biohazard detection equipment
The main post office in Cleveland will be the first in the country to have a permanent biohazard detection system, the subject of testing at 15 trial sites around the country since July 14. Reasons that Cleveland has been chosen include it's single-level facility and the fact that the building already has been hard-wired to output more electricity, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The facility has about 2,500 employees and handles about 5.5 million pieces of mail daily. The equipment works by sampling air squeezed from envelopes as they go through collating and stamp-canceling machines. The system should be installed by November, and all 282 post office distribution centers in the country should have systems by early 2004.

Tucson drill has lessons for nation
Tucson Fire Department Deputy Chief Les Caid published an article in Public Management Magazine and the Journal of Emergency Medical Systems called "Bioterrorism Drill in Tucson: Lessons Learned" based on a November 23, 2002, drill held in that city. That drill was the first in the United States to do a large-scale test of a community's ability to receive and dispense federall ysupplied emeregency medicine in a bioterrorist attack, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The biggest lesson learned, said Caid, was the importance of shared knowledge and successful interagency relationships.

GAO report says hospitals not prepared for bioterrorist attack
The General Accounting Office releases a report, "Most Urban Hospitals Have Emergency Plans but Lack Certain Capacities for Bioterrorism Response," in which it states that hospitals have made progress toward preparedness but few have carried out drills or exercises simulating a bioterrorist attack. Also lacking at many hospitals is equipment, such as ventilators, to manage a large serge in the number of patients being treated. The report was based on a survey of 2,041 urban hospitals, of which 73% responded.

Cost estimates for alternative responses to bioterroism attack
Risk Management Solutions (RMS), leading provider of products and services for management of catastrophic risk worldwide, revealed their estimates of the economic costs of alternative responses to a hypothetical bioterrorism attack in Chicago, an extension of the TOPOFF exercise conducted in May. RMS says the cost could run as high as $25 billion if the response involved widespread closings of businesses and schools. The cost estimate goes down to $1.7 to $5.5 billion for the alternative response of rapid delivery of antibiotics to the general population. Further reports from RMS are expected in September.

Aug 5

HPA goals include emergency preparedness
Britain's new Health Protection Agency (HPA), formed in April, announces its 5-year plan. The agency was organized to address the current problem of emerging health threats. HPA Chairman William Stewart outlined 12 main goals of the organization. Included was strengthening preparations for quick response to health emergencies through development of specific countermeasures and training staff in their mplementation. Two exercises, one based on a smallpox release and one on SARS, have already been conducted.

Aug 4

Fish—possible tool for detecting bioterrist attack on water
Zebrafish are being examined as a possible aid in detecting toxins placed in US drinking water by terrorists. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin‑Milwaukee's Center for Water Security have found away to genetically modify the fish to glow when they encounter various types and levels of organisms or chemicals. Scientists at Duke University and the Office of Naval Research are doing related work.

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