December 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.

Dec 31

Iraq may be hiding scientists from UN inspectors
US intelligence officials tell The Washington Times that Iraq is hiding two scientists, one of them a biological weapons expert, in presidential palaces to avoid their being questioned by UN arms inspectors. The officials also say there are signs that chemical and biological weapons materials have been moved to secret underground storage areas.

Dec 30

FDA addresses potential harm of blood donations from smallpox vaccinees
Recommendations on blood donation after smallpox vaccination are issued by the FDA as the government prepares to begin vaccination of millions of healthcare workers. Specifically, the agency says vaccinees should not donate blood until 3 weeks after vaccination or until the scab has fallen off spontaneously, whichever happens first, and vaccinees with experiencing complications should not donate blood until 14 days after resolution. Additionally, if a blood center discovers that any blood was donated inside of these time-limits, the blood should be destroyed or used only for research or products not for humans, and centers inadvertently administering blood not meeting the criteria should consider record-tracing and notification of the recipient's physician.

British consider police-sanctioned cordons as bioterrorism countermeasure
As part of long-term planning for potential chemical or biological attack, the British Cabinet is considering giving police power to set up and enforce cordons around areas of London and other cities if needed. Under the proposal, police would also have the power to evacuate cities and keep people from entering or leaving. Opposition groups quickly responded by calling such measures "draconian" and unworkable, stating that they should be allowed only in extreme circumstances and then only with a time limit.

Dec 28

Iraqi scientists' names provided for questioning, interviews proceed
Iraq gives UN weapons inspectors the names of more than 500 Iraqi scientists who have worked on the country's weapons programs, says UN spokesman Hiro Ueki at a news briefing in Baghdad. Ueki says chief weapons inspector Hans Blix had demanded the list, and inspectors began this week interviewing scientists in hopes of learning more about Iraq's past and current programs. The United States is demanding that the inspectors be able to remove the scientists from Iraq to ensure their safety during the interviews, but Baghdad says there is no need for any scientist to leave the country.

North Korea may possess wide array of weapons
The growing conflict between the United States and North Korea provokes fears that North Korea possesses an array of potential threats that could escalate the tension even more. "This game can be done in so many ways," says Kim Tae Woo, an arms control expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul. "They can threaten to resume test-firing missiles, and then they could follow through with those threats. They could put their military forces on higher alerts." The country houses 600 to 750 missiles capable of hitting South Korea and Japan with nuclear and conventional weapons. It also possesses rocket launchers capable of carrying conventional artillery, as well as chemical and biological weapons. North Korea's military emphasizes the use of chemical and biological agents, including deadly sarin gas, anthrax, and smallpox, say South Korean and US defense experts. North Korea holds large-scale chemical warfare exercises each year, according to Woo.

Improvements in Iraqi biological weapons since 1991 likely
Iraq has improved its biological weapons capabilities since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, say government officials. Saddam Hussein's government has likely developed mobile germ-warfare labs and methods of creating dried bacteria to produce deadlier and longer-lasting weapons, US officials and former weapons inspectors say. "The most frightening thing is Iraq's biological program," says David Kay, a former chief weapons inspector for the United Nations. "Even in my inspection days, it was the program we knew the least about." Inspectors eventually learned that after the 1995 defection of Saddam's son-in-law, who ran the germ-weapons program, Iraq acknowledged producing thousands of gallons of deadly germs and toxins and loading some of them in bombs, missile warheads, and rockets. Consequently, the omissions in Iraq's recent weapons declaration strongly point to the possibility that Iraq has retained at least some of its biological weapons, say US officials and former inspectors.

Dec 25

Syria refutes Sharon's claim of weapons transfer
Syria refutes charges by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Iraq may be transferring chemical and biological weapons to Syria, saying that the Sharon's finger-pointing intends to divert attention from Israel's weapons store. "This accusation against Syria is ridiculous because Syria signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and called all Arab states to make the Middle East clear of weapons of mass destruction whether nuclear, chemical or biological weapons," says a foreign ministry spokesman in a statement faxed to the Associated Press in Damascus. Although Sharon tells an Israel television station that he has information indicating that Saddam Hussein is secretly transferring weapons, the prime minister says he cannot fully verify the transfers. The Syrian spokesman says that Sharon's charge was "untrue and aims, at the same time, to divert attention from the nuclear, chemical, and biological arsenal that Israel possesses."

Scientific advances could inadvertently spur biological weapons, say Hopkins researchers
Scientific progress in biotechnology, genetics, and medicine capable of improving life can also destroy life through the development of biological weapons, warn researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public. The January 2003 edition of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism includes an analysis and admonition by the scientists to the world's governments and scientific community to create a method of checks and balances to prevent the misuse of scientific discoveries and technology. Dr. Gigi Kwik, a fellow with the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, says that aerosol technology, microbiology, and genetics are areas of particular concern. For example, the same technology used to develop inhaled insulin to treat diabetes could be used to introduce anthrax into the airways. The authors also note that last year, Australian researchers inadvertently created a lethal form of mousepox by adding a single gene to the virus.

Retired healthcare workers to be recruited for homeland security
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) kicks off its Medical Reserve Corps units that will recruit retired doctors, nurses, and technicians to participate in homeland security initiatives. Based on 42 grants totaling $2 million to county health departments, hospitals, and community groups, the units are an outgrowth of the Citizen Corps created after 9/11. HHS spokesman Craig Stevens says the department has sought $10 million for the medical program in 2003. "If we get that, that's going to open the door to 200 communities," he says. The Medical Reserve Corps will train retirees to back up the regulars in the event of a disaster. That could mean administering vaccines, providing counseling, and doing triage work to assess how quickly victims receive care. The Corps units "are a good opportunity," says Wheeler Daniels, 64, a retired orthopedic surgeon in Billings, Mont. "A lot of doctors are getting out of medicine at an earlier age and still have a lot to offer."

Dec 24

Smallpox vaccination program may siphon $$ from other health programs
The federal government's program to vaccinate 10.5 million healthcare and emergency personnel against smallpox will cost between $600 million and $1 billion and drain resources from struggling local and state public health programs, reports a story in the Washington Post. The expansive immunization plan amounts to "the ultimate unfounded federal mandate," says George Hardy, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "We can't afford to do this at the expense of all other preparedness." Though city and state officials are planning to inoculate some 450,000 medical professionals, few anticipated President Bush's approval of a much broader proposal that includes every remaining healthcare worker and first-responder. "We urge that the program be kept at minimal levels and grow only as rapidly as threat assessments demand, so as not to disrupt other basic community health protections or cause unnecessary harm," says Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

European scientists develop test for smallpox vaccine effectiveness
Researchers in France and Germany develop a laboratory test for the effectiveness of smallpox vaccines that could be used for the Bush administration's inoculation plan. The study, appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, can determine if a given smallpox vaccine can prompt protection against the disease in humans, according to the scientists. The test also could determine whether defenses against smallpox actually develop in a person following vaccination, they say. Dr. Bernard Moss of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says the research is important because no scientist has ever identified in the human immune system the types of responses needed to protect against smallpox. "This finding will be very useful," says Moss.

Once-daily Cipro to be introduced
The pending introduction of a once-a-day Cipro antibiotic treatment could help patients complete a course of therapy without contributing to the problem of increased antibiotic resistance. Cipro, manufactured by Bayer, was prescribed to more than 2,000 Brentwood postal workers to prevent and treat anthrax inhalation following last year's attack. The new version, Cipro XR (extended release) contains 500 mg of ciprofloxacin, twice as large a dose as each pill in the twice-daily formulation. But patients in clinical trials report identical side effects, including headache and nausea, for both formulation. Complaints of side effects have often been cited as a reason for poor compliance among patients, including the Brentwood postal workers in Northeast Washington. A Bayer spokesman says Cipro XR will likely cost more than conventional Cipro, which currently sells for about $3.50 per tablet.

Israel's limited vaccination policy based on perception of low threat
A perceived low threat of an Iraqi biological attack prompts Israel's decision not to vaccinate the general public against smallpox. Following consultations with Israeli and American security officials, the Israel Health Ministry has concluded that Iraq probably does not have both the smallpox virus and the means to use it in an attack on Israel, according to ministry director Boaz Lev. "In all the models we built and checked, the possibility of a strike . . . if there is any such possibility at all, is very low," he says. But the ministry plans to complete a strategy for handling a public vaccination program in case the situation changes, spokesman Ido Hadari says. The ministry would reconsider its change of plans should there be a smallpox outbreak somewhere in the world or if they learned of new security information about Iraq's capabilities.

Dec 23

Hatfill says FBI is tailing him closely
Biodefense expert Stephen Hatfill says the FBI has stepped up its surveillance of him in its continuing investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Following a search of a Maryland state park, agents began openly following Hatfill around Washington, he tells United Press International in an interview. Beginning Dec 17, after the FBI searched Gambrill State Park, Hatfill was subjected to day-and-night surveillance by agents in unmarked vans and cars. He says the agents nearly ran into his car on Washington's beltway as he drove to meet a friend and pick up a container of homemade soup. "The cars were on my bumper," Hatfill says. He says he has no idea why the FBI has increased its surveillance. Pat Clawson, a former television news reporter who has been assisting Hatfill, says he believes the surveillance is so noticeable and offensive that it amounts to harassment.

Scientists propose smallpox shots for all who were vaccinated as children
Scientists propose a smallpox prevention and response strategy that differs substantially from the one being used by the Bush administration. The proposal comes from researchers at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The preventive elements of the plan include voluntary vaccination of all hospital workers who don't have medical conditions that impair their immunity to the vaccinia virus and voluntary vaccination of all healthy people who were vaccinated before smallpox was eradicated (and thus are considered likely to be safe from severe side effects). For responding to a smallpox outbreak, the authors recommend isolating all confirmed case-patients in hospitals and vaccinating anyone who has household contact with a smallpox patient. The strategy, based on a computer model of a county of 800 people, simulates how people behave in epidemics, says the Brookings Institution's Joshua Epstein. The Bush administration is not recommending smallpox shots for the public now, but has promised to try to make them available within a few months to those who want them.

US to share more intelligence on Iraq with UN inspectors
The Bush administration has agreed to share more intelligence on suspected Iraqi weapons sites with UN inspectors, provided the information is handled securely, according to an Associated Press report. Some of the material comes from the Central Intelligence Agency and ranges from hard intelligence such as that detected by US overflights to conversations. Information is being shared with the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Overall, the pace is picking up, according to a US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Bush administration hopes to convince skeptical members of the UN Security Council that Iraq is neither disarming nor revealing its chemical and biological weapons or its programs to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

Dec 22

Iraq says UN inspectors can question scientists privately
Iraqi officials say UN inspectors will be allowed to interview Iraqi scientists without government officials present, and CIA agents can visit suspected weapons sites. But the Iraqi government rejects US demands to take Iraqi scientists abroad for interviews and will provide no more documents to fill in the "gaps" discovered by UN inspectors in a 12,000-page weapons program declaration. Saddam Hussein's advisor, Gen. Amir Saadi, says at a news conference, "We don't have any more documentation. But we are ready . . . to work and cooperate with" the inspectors. The statements follow the Bush administration's contention that Iraq is in "material breach" of UN resolutions requiring full disclosure of its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Dec 21

Bush receives smallpox shot
President Bush receives a smallpox vaccination and experiences no immediate ill effects. Bush announced Dec 13 that US troops operating in high-risk parts of the world would receive the vaccine and promised that he too would receive the inoculation. The president is vaccinated by a senior immunization technician from Walter Reed Army Medical Center with presidential physician Richard Tubb supervising. Aferward, Bush spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo says, "He feel fine and there are no side effects."

Dec 20

Many being excused from or declining smallpox vaccinations; public understanding runs low
Following the first week of inoculations, more than one in three military personnel are being excused from the mandatory smallpox vaccination shots because of medical complications, and in Israel, more than half of 42,000 health and emergency workers offered the vaccine have declined for medical and other reasons. Simultaneously, a poll finds that the public's understanding of smallpox remains low despite media coverage and discussion about the disease. "It's staggering," says Robert J. Blendon, director of the survey at the Harvard School of Public Health. In Israel, about half the doctors have declined to get the vaccination, says Dr. Yehuda L. Danon, a pediatrician at Tel Aviv University who is running the program. He adds that hospital staff decline the shots as well when the chief physician refuses. "The medical personnel [are] the most difficult to educate. The ignorance is really unbelievable," Danon tells a panel convened by the Institute of Medicine.

Canada examines its chemical/biological weapons past
The Canadian government begins a search of its own past program to build chemical and biological weapons. As part of the Warfare Agent Disposal Project, the Department of National Defense plans to commission a review of documents dating as far back as 1900 to learn about sites where agents such as mustard gas and anthrax were disposed of during Canada's pioneering work on such weapons. The study may also include interviews with veterans of Canada's biochemical warfare initiatives. If sites still exist, officials say they will assess the risks to the environment and human health and clean them up if necessary.

Power failure at Plum Island lab raises safety concerns
Safety concerns resurface following a 3-hour power failure at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center last weekend. The high-security government laboratory is being run partly by replacement workers during a 5-month strike. The loss of power and failure of all three backup generators is raising fears that the infectious pathogen containment could have been seriously compromised at the laboratory. Scientists familiar with the center say that since the diseases studied on the island do not, for the most part, affect humans, the risk to workers and residents of nearby North Fork on Long Island is small. The US Department of Agriculture runs the center, where highly infectious animal diseases are studied

Dec 19

UN inspectors react negatively to Iraqi arms declaration
Dissatisfied UN inspectors describe Iraq's arms declaration as filled with inconsistencies and lacking information about key questions concerning its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs. In a briefing, chief inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, verify initial US and British assessments that the declaration essentially repeats information from past reports. "An opportunity was missed in the declaration to give a lot of evidence," says Blix. "They can still provide it, and I hope they provide it to us orally, but it would have been better if it had been in the declaration." Blix notes that Iraq continues to insist it has no weapons "and that none have been designed, procured, produced, or stored," since the last inspection regime ended four years ago

Wooded area near Hatfill's former home is searched for anthrax clues
Continuing its work to solve last year's anthrax attack, the FBI completes its search of a wooded area outside Frederick, Md., according to Chris Murray, FBI spokesman from the Washington field office. The search that began last Friday focused on information from a tipster that suggested lab equipment might have been disposed of in a nearby pond, say law enforcement officers. Murray offers no information about whether they recovered any evidence. The search took place near the former home of scientist Dr. Steven Hatfill, who formerly worked at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick. Although Hatfill has repeatedly denied any involvement in the anthrax attack, the Justice Department continues to refer to him as a "person of interest" in the case.

IOM meeting attendees urge slowdown of smallpox vaccination program
Health groups attending a meeting of an Institute of Medicine express concern about the federal government's program to offer smallpox vaccinations to their members early next year. The groups also urge officials to slow down the program. "Our message, based on the classic admonition 'First, do no harm' is straightforward," says Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials: "Slow down and stay small." The American Nurses Association agrees with the necessity to vaccinate registered nurses and other health personnel in preparation for a potential smallpox attack. "But we would urge a more measured and deliberate process that will help ensure that the program is implemented appropriately and that the screening for those at risk [for side effects] is thorough," says Cheryl Peterson, senior policy analyst for the group.

Journal articles on preexposure smallpox vaccination share cautious tone
Doctors and scientists publish a series of articles warning that the public should not be vaccinated unless a smallpox attack appears imminent. Five articles to be published in the Jan 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine generally express cautious acceptance of the administration's plan to begin vaccinating healthcare and emergency workers. The experts do not advocate mass vaccination when the risk of an attack appears to be low. One article reveals the public's ignorance or confusion about the disease and the vaccine. Another reports the difficulties encountered by doctors at a Cleveland hospital when a patient appeared with symptoms resembling smallpox. Other articles asked how many people would be infected in possible attacks and how likely newly vaccinated people are to infect others with vaccinia. Each of the unsolicited articles was submitted independently, says Dr. Edward W. Campion, senior deputy editor.

Germany furthers plans for potential smallpox vaccination program
German federal and state governments agree to share the costs of inoculating the country's entire population of some 82 million people against smallpox should a bioterror attack involving the virus occur. The decision to buy an additional 65 million doses of smallpox vaccine emerged from a meeting between German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the prime ministers of German state governments, says Annelies Ilona Klug, Health and Social Ministry spokeswoman. The German government currently has about 24 million doses of smallpox vaccine and expects shipments of another 11 million doses ordered earlier in the fall. The additional doses will cost around 117 million euros. Klug says the decision to buy an additional 65 million doses is a "precaution," not a response to a specific threat, and the government has no plans to begin vaccinating any citizens.

Dec 18

At least two large hospitals won't give smallpox shots to staff
Two well-known teaching hospitals have rejected President Bush's recommended program by choosing not to vaccinate their employees against smallpox, the Washington Post reports. Officials at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital and Virginia Commonwealth University say that the risk of dangerous vaccine side effects and accidental transmission of the vaccinia virus to patients outweigh the improbable threat of a terrorist release of the virus. Three other large medical centers, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Emory Medical Center in Atlanta, and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, also are considering not inoculating their staffs. "I don't like to cause disease," says Carlos del Rio, Grady Memorial's chief of medicine, describing his fear that a hospital worker could accidentally spread live vaccinia to a patient with a weakened immune system. CDC Director Julie Gerberding says, "This is a voluntary program. We understand not all hospitals will choose to participate."

Cost for anthrax cleanup will total hundreds of millions
The cleanup from last year's anthrax attack will cost hundreds of millions of dollars before the work is done in 2004 or later, say government officials quoted by the Baltimore Sun. This week, cleaning of Washington's Brentwood mail-sorting facility and the start of an 18-month rehabilitation of the State Department's mail facility in Sterling, Va., demonstrate the enormous costs involved. "The economic costs are huge," says Dorothy A. Canter, chief scientist for bioterrorism issues at the Environmental Protection Agency. "It's in the hundreds of millions of dollars for the cleanup alone." The Postal Service says work at the Brentwood center and at another in Hamilton Township, N.J., will cost "in excess of $100 million." Decontaminating the Hart Senate Office Building and other Capitol Hill offices cost the EPA and its contractors about $42 million, according to EPA figures.

Bush administration says Iraqi declaration on weapons is incomplete
President Bush will likely offer a formal statement that Iraq has violated the UN resolution calling for disclosure of all its weapons of mass destruction, administration officials say. "We have learned much about the declaration, although the review is not complete," says White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "The president is concerned about omissions in the declaration and about problems in the declaration." Additionally, British foreign secretary Jack Straw calls Saddam Hussein's assertion that he has no weapons of mass destruction an "obvious falsehood."

Four arrested in Paris on suspicion of planning chemical attack
The arrest of four terrorist suspects in Paris uncovers information about a plot to launch a chemical attack in Europe and possibly Britain. French authorities say the four possessed chemical materials and a special protection suit for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. Officials say they found two flasks, one with a label that said it contained iron perchloride, a corrosive chemical that gives off dangerous fumes when combined with mercury. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says the four have connections to terrorist suspects currently detained in Britain. The British government recently received warnings of increased intelligence information suggesting that Al-Qaida terrorists are slipping into Britain and plotting a chemical or biological attack there.

Dec 17

VaxGen to seek US license for attenuated smallpox vaccine
VaxGen, Inc., a California biotechnology company, announces it will seek a US license for a Japanese-developed attenuated smallpox vaccine that is said to be safer than Dryvax, the licensed vaccine in the US stockpile. The company hopes to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing the vaccine, called LC16 Kaketsuken, in 2004. The Japanese vaccine was tested in 50,000 Japanese children in the 1970s and caused no serious side effects and fewer cases of fever and redness at the inoculation site than conventional vaccines. The vaccine produced a pock, the sign of an immune response, in more than 95% of recipients. But experts note that LC16, which was approved in Japan in 1980, does not have a track record against the disease itself because it was developed after smallpox was eradicated. Dr. Lance K. Gordon, an immunologist and the chief executive of VaxGen, says he has tried to generate interest in the Japanese vaccine for four years.

UN inspectors search sites at Baghdad University
The United Nations reports that UN inspectors, acting on information in Iraq's weapons declaration, searched several sites on the Baghdad University campus. Reporters say at least eight inspectors entered several labs in the medical and biotechnological departments. Spending about 3 hours at the university, UN experts inspected the entire building that houses the university's Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, according to a UN statement. The inspectors described the institute as a biotechnology and genetic engineering research and training center and a "new site included in the recent Iraqi declarations."

Protecting troops from smallpox vaccine complications is challenge for military
In carrying out plans to inoculate half a million troops against smallpox, the government faces the challenge of balancing the need for discipline and efficiency against its duty to protect vulnerable personnel from dangers associated with the vaccine, a New York Times report says. Those with risk factors for serious complications from the vaccine will not be immunized, but they could be deployed anywhere, including regions where smallpox could be used as a weapon, the Department of Defense said in a memorandum dated Dec 13. David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, says individual commanders will make deployment decisions. Should unvaccinated troops be in areas where an attack is launched, they will be vaccinated in the field, because the risk of the disease would outweigh the risk of the vaccine, says James Turner, a Defense Department spokesman. Those who must avoid the vaccine may also cause logistical difficulties, because they must avoid close contact with individuals who have been recently vaccinated.

Newspaper report says FBI searched area near Steven Hatfill's home
USA Today reports that FBI agents returned Dec 13 to search an area near the former home of scientist Steven Hatfill, the man described as a "person of interest" in last year's anthrax attacks. About 100 agents combed a woodland clearing and pond for evidence. "We do know that the FBI is not looking for anthrax and anthrax spores, but they are seeking evidentiary items related to the anthrax investigation," says Frederick City Hall spokeswoman Nancy Poss after an FBI briefing. Officials aren't saying whether the search in the Catoctin Mountains involves Hatfill, but only that they are conducting "forensic searches." Poss says the FBI has told Mayor Jennifer Dougherty and Police Chief Kim Dine that the investigation, which includes divers, will continue through Dec 18. Two Justice Department officials say the divers searched at least one pond, but they won't say what they were looking for.

Dec 15

Some experts worry that smallpox-shot plan will cause needless harm
In a Washington Post report, health and bioterrorism experts worry that President Bush's decision to offer smallpox vaccine to the American public could result in unnecessary medical complications and divert resources from urgent national security efforts. Even supporters of the president's policy question the wisdom of offering the vaccine to 286 million citizens as early as next spring. The government isn't recommending the vaccine for the public now, but Bush said the administration will try to provide it for those who demand it. "You have a disease that hasn't been seen anywhere in the world in nearly 30 years," says Carlos del Rio, chief of medicine at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. "The risk of the vaccine is higher than the risk of us having a case of smallpox." Randall J. Larsen, retired Air Force colonel and director of the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security, says he worries that if the public gets the vaccine and a child dies of complications, people would later reject the shot in an outbreak situation. Several of Bush's health advisers say they do not know how the president reached his decision to offer the vaccine to those who demand it, and smallpox expert D.A. Henderson says the first time he heard of the idea was the day of Bush's announcement.

Many hospital workers voice reluctance to get smallpox shots
Hospitals may have difficulty persuading staff members to be vaccinated against smallpox, as many healthcare workers express concern about the shot, the Washington Post reports. Mark Hollinger, a trauma center nurse in Washington, DC, says he is reluctant to receive the vaccine until a smallpox case appears. "Unless there is a credible threat," he says, "you are putting people at riskourselves and also our patients." Outside Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, emergency medical technician Lauren Zyrski says she fears the smallpox vaccine as much as another terrorist attack. Ken Pearlman, an emergency room physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, says the public needs more reassurance about the smallpox vaccine because statistics on complications from it may frighten away those who need it. "People all over the country are looking for guidance and direction," he says.

NIAID moves ahead with plans to build biodefense labs
The National Institutes of Health is moving forward with plans to build three or four laboratories for research on deadly microbes, though critics warn that the facilities could raise the odds that deadly viruses will escape. One or two of the biosafety level 4 laboratories, or BSL-4s, would operate through private interests, such as a university-based consortium, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The government would operate the others. The government also plans to fund construction of up to six less-secure BSL-3 laboratories. "This is a recipe for disaster," Eileen Choffnes, a program manager at the National Academy of Sciences Committee for International Security and Arms Control, wrote in a recent article. But NIAID officials say there is a need to better understand potential biological weapons and to develop vaccines and treatments, and all existing BSL-4 labs are being used at full capacity.

Dec 14

Federal officials give more details about smallpox immunization plan
In a telephone press briefing, top federal health officials provide more specifics related to the smallpox vaccination plan announced by President Bush Dec 13. Among the comments by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompons and others:

• Workers who are injured or miss work because of the vaccine are likely to get help from state worker compensation programs.
• Officials expect that about half of the estimated 10 million health and emergency response workers targeted for the second round of vaccinations will refuse the shots.
• Citizens who strongly desire to be vaccinated also may be allowed to get the shot as soon as mid-2003, but they will have to qualify for clinical trials being conducted on the currently unlicensed vaccine. The government is not recommending shots for the public for now.
• The public's interest in getting smallpox shots seems to reflect a lack of awareness of the risks involved. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, says that among his lecture audiences, about 60% of people say they want the vaccine, but that drops to 20% after they see slides of the complications that can occur.
• The government already has 65 million to 70 million doses of the new cell culture-grown vaccine being made by Acambis and Baxter.

Absent an outbreak, smallpox vaccination plan doesn't include children
The government's new smallpox vaccination program does not include children except in the case of a bioterror attack, say federal officials. Because ethical and safety concerns bar children from clinical trials, and the vaccine cannot be licensed for them, children won't qualify, says Anthony Fauci, MD, who oversees vaccine development and bioterrorism programs at the National Institutes of Health. "If Mom comes up to one of the local and state health officials and says, 'I want vaccine for my five-year-old,' currently there doesn't appear to be a mechanism for them to get it," says Fauci. Fearing that civilians lack knowledge of the vaccine's risks, the CDC is planning a one-hour program for those being offered the vaccine. The program will provide detailed information about benefits and risks and how to reduce the chances of side effects.

Dec 13

Bush announces smallpox vaccination plan for military, health workers
In a brief statement, President Bush announces a plan to start giving smallpox shots to military personnel and some other government workers in high-risk areas and to willing frontline healthcare workers. Bush says the government is not recommending the vaccine for the public now but will try to make it available to those who want it. Because he commands the military and the vaccine poses some risks, the president says he will get the shot himself, but his family will not be vaccinated. "As commander-in-chief, I do not believe I can ask others to accept this risk unless I am willing to do the same," he explains. He says there is no evidence that a smallpox attack by terrorists is imminent, "but it is prudent to be prepared for the possibility that terrorists . . . would use this disease as a weapon." An accompanying White House statement says the vaccine could be available sometime in the spring to those in the public who want it. Bush does not specify how many troops or healthcare workers will be vaccinated, but administration officials have put the numbers at about 500,000 military personnel and 450,000 health workers. Shots will be required for the designated military personnel but voluntary for the healthcare workers. Previous announcements also say plans call for a second round of voluntary vaccinations to cover all healthcare and emergency response workers, estimated at up to 10 million.

Smallpox shots mark first immunization effort in name of homeland security
The president's announcement that many Americans will be vaccinated against smallpox marks the first time a US vaccination campaign has been launched not just for disease prevention but to improve "homeland security," says a report in the Washington Post. The Bush administration knows that the policy is raising questions and uncertainty among health professionals. "We're going to learn a lot, and there's going to be some bumps along the way," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson says. Some state health officials and others continue to express reluctance to go ahead with the program, because it involves an enormously complicated process and will create problems that they will have to deal with. The administration is initiating a program to vaccinate about 450,000 hospital workers starting in January, and as many as 10 million police, fire, and paramedic workers by early summer.

Dec 12

Bush plan calls for smallpox shots for troops, health workers now, public in 2004
News organizations report that President Bush will announce tomorrow a plan to begin vaccinating military personnel and frontline healthcare workers against smallpox early next year and to offer the vaccine to the public sometime in 2004. The shots will be mandatory for about 500,000 military personnel and recommended for another half-million working in hospital emergency departments and on smallpox response teams, according to administration officials speaking anonymously. In an interview with Barbara Walters of ABC News, Bush says he wants to give people the opportunity to protect themselves in case a smallpox outbreak occurs. ABC also reports that by 2004, the government will have enough newly manufactured, licensed vaccine to inoculate the entire population. Old vaccine that is not licensed will not be used to vaccinate anyone unless an outbreak occurs, according to the report. Bush stresses that people must consider the risks related to the vaccine. "It's going to be very important for us to make sure there's ample information for people to make a wise decision," he says in the interview segment, which was taped for the program "20/20" but is previewed on ABC's "World News Tonight."

49 states have turned in plans for vaccinating smallpox response teams
Health and Human Services (HHS) Department officials say 49 of the 50 states and four major cities have turned in their plans for pre-event vaccination of smallpox response teams. "We are extremely pleased and quite impressed with the plans that have been submitted to CDC so far," says HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in a news release. "It is obvious the state and local health departments and hospitals have stepped up to the plate under an extremely tight timetable to complete another critical step in our efforts to protect Americans in the event of an intentional release of smallpox." The plans call for the vaccination of about 450,000 public health and healthcare workers, officials say. CDC officials also say all the states and territories and the four cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC) have submitted their plans for rapidly vaccinating the public in response to a smallpox outbreak.

Dec 11

Mayo Clinic seeks volunteers to test old and new smallpox vaccines
As the government prepares for a smallpox vaccination program, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is requesting 120 volunteers for a safety and effectiveness study of two smallpox vaccines. The nationwide study involves adults aged 18 to 29 and will compare a new vaccine with the current one, which was used in the United States until the early 1970s. Dr. Greg Poland, who is directing the Mayo portion of the study, says scientists will evaluate whether the new vaccine produces as many antibodies as the old one. The research team also plans to study the vaccine's side effects.

Dec 10

Newly filed smallpox vaccination plans vary from state to state
CDC officials say most states have met the Dec 9 deadline for submitting plans for vaccinating front-line healthcare workers against smallpox. Nationwide, about a half million public health and healthcare workers are expected to receive the vaccination. An Associated Press survey indicates that the shots may not be evenly distributed across the country. Georgia plans to offer the vaccine to 300 to 500 people, while Michigan would offer it to 5,000 to 7,000. Numbers cited elsewhere include 20,000 in Louisiana, 70,000 in California, 5,000 to 10,000 in Minnesota, and 10,000 in Massachusetts. The CDC plans to review each plan and make sure it is comprehensive. Some officials say the inconsistency among states could even out after vaccinations begin, with some states asking for more vaccine and others having too much. When vaccinations begin, states will have to monitor the number of adverse reactions and send twice-weekly reports to the CDC.

Iraqi listing of arms suppliers could embarrass some countries
The 12,000-page document detailing Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs appears to contain the names of foreign arms suppliers, a fact that could embarrass the countries involved, including UN Security Council members, according to the New York Times. In the report's index, Iraq lists procurements for its nuclear programs along with imported chemical-weapon precursors and foreign technical assistance for chemical weapons programs. "There are lots of pages devoted to procurement information," says Gary Milholling, director of the Washington-based Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, speaking of the report's supplier list. "If they have listed all their suppliers, that is quite important and should be made public. If you expose this network, it means it is harder for them to continue."

Dec 9

NIH hopes to sustain its big boost in biodefense research funds
US health officials hope to sustain increased funds for biodefense research in the next few years, but a tough fiscal climate may make it difficult, according to Government Executive magazine. The White House budget office plans to scrutinize new research funding requests closely for "high payoff" and "maximum efficiency and effectiveness." The National Institutes of Health received $1.75 billion for biodefense-related work in 2003. The agency expects a $421 million decrease in funding from 2003-2006 for facilities such as biosafety level 3 or 4 laboratories, but it hopes to get an offsetting $497 million increase for research for the same period. According to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the fiscal 2003 funding will be divided about equally among drug and vaccine development and testing, basic and clinical research, and construction of four high-level biodefense research centers.

US and Canada could share forces in case of terror attack
US and Canadian troops could cross their countries' shared border in case of a terrorist attack, according to a new agreement between the two nations. "The aim . . . is simple: to save lives," says Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum, speaking of the Planning Group, a joint task force working on contingency plans to defend North America. As an example of why US troops might enter Canada, McCallum said that in case of a biological attack in Vancouver, US forces in Seattle could probably respond more quickly than Canadian forces in Ontario. The agreement calls for US troops in Canada to work under Canadian command and for Canadians in the US to work under American command. The Planning Group will begin by coordinating maritime surveillance and sharing intelligence about potential maritime threats. The group will be headquartered at the North American Aerospace Defense Command near Colorado Springs, Colo., which is run jointly by Canada and the United States to detect missiles and air attacks against North America.

Dec 8

Will healthcare workers agree to get smallpox shots?
States may begin vaccinating up to 500,000 frontline public health and healthcare workers against smallpox as soon as January, but no one knows how many will agree to the voluntary program, notes a report in the Baltimore Sun. Should many refuse to be vaccinated, the entire effort to set up a national first-response force could suffer. "Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of outreach from the government to the people who are going to be asked to be immunized," says Robert McNamara, Temple University Hospital's chair of emergency medicine and past president of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. "There is a lot of concern about getting the vaccine. This [disease] is still a very intangible threat. Unless they can make a strong case, it's going to be difficult to sell."

Iraqi declaration produces no new evidence of destruction of weapons
Iraq's arms declaration to the United Nations, flown today from Baghdad to New York, contains no new evidence to support the country's assertion that it destroyed biological and chemical weapons in the 1990s, according to Gen. Amir Saadi, an advisor to Saddam Hussein. In a 1999 report to the UN Security Council, arms inspectors said the most important unresolved issue with Iraq was the nation's failure to fully account for the biological and chemical weapons it had acknowledged producing. At a Baghdad news conference, Saadi says his government is unable to find any documents about the destruction beyond those it already turned over to the United Nations in the past decade.

Anthrax attacks sparked frenzy of inventions
Last year's anthrax attacks have sparked a frenzy of inventions by sources ranging from basement tinkerers to Fortune 500 companies, according to the Baltimore Sun. The products include synthetic blood, cutting-edge pharmaceuticals, million-dollar mail sorters, and do-it-yourself test kits. The ClearView Mailbox, developed by David O'Neal of Marlton, N.J., resembles a transparent incubator shaped like a log cabin and allows users to sort the enclosed mail using attached rubber gloves. Prime Alert, also called the Hoax Buster, from Spokane-based GenPrime, was originally developed to test dairy products but has been redesigned as a quick test for bioterrorism agents. The Mail Defender, a desktop device from Virginia-based Executive Protection Systems, is said to sterilize mail without making it brittle. Lockheed's BioMailSolutions is supposed to combine high-tech sorting capabilities with detection technologies similar to what weapons inspectors are using in Iraq.

Dec 6

Industrial nations pledge to increase world stockpile of smallpox vaccine
The "Group of Seven" leading industrial nations and Mexico plan to expand the global stockpile of smallpox vaccine in case of a terrorist attack, say health officials from the eight countries. Though they know of no imminent threat of such an attack, the health officials say their countries will work to increase the World Health Organization's reserve of the smallpox vaccine and make plans to respond to a potential attack using the virus. The announcement follows a Ministerial Meeting on Health Security and Bioterrorism held this week in Mexico City. Health officials from participating countries say they will hold a multinational exercise in June to appraise the response plans for international aid and collaboration should a smallpox attack occur.

Group seeks probe of Postal Service handling of anthrax contamination
Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, is urging the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation of the US Postal Service's management of the anthrax contamination that killed two workers in Washington's Brentwood mail processing center last year. The group contends that postal and government officials knew anthrax spores had leaked from a letter sent to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and did nothing to protect workers. "The government does not have the right to injure people, to harm them, and that's what [officials] did through their action and inaction," Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch's chairman, tells the Associated Press. Postal Service spokeswoman Kristin Krathwohl says the agency believes the allegations are "without merit."

Ohio business must refund customers who bought anthrax test kit
A Pennsylvania court has ordered an Ohio-based business to refund consumers who bought anthrax test kits over the Internet, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher. Consumers have until February 13, 2003, to contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection to receive a full refund. "This product was sold to consumers claiming that the test kit was an effective and reliable method to diagnose anthrax or exposure to the deadly bacteria," Fisher says. "In reality, the testing method is inconclusive and the company's lab does not meet federal biosafety standards to positively confirm contamination." The Commonwealth Court order results from a suit that the Bureau of Consumer Protection filed against Toxicology Associates Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, in April 2002. The suit accused the company of violating Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by misrepresenting and/or omitting information about the test kit's accuracy.

Dec 5

US says Iraq has weapons of mass destruction; Iraq says it doesn't
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the administration has solid evidence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, though he declines to identify the evidence. "The president of the United States and the secretary of defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it," Fleischer says. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz tells ABC News, "We don't have weapons of mass destruction. We don't have chemical, biological or nuclear weaponry, but we have equipment which was defined as dual use." The administration assumes that Saddam Hussein hopes to shift the burden of proof to the United States, a senior US official says. Saddam is likely to provide thousands of documents on peripheral issues such as dual use equipment with potential military application, the official says on condition of anonymity.

Startling reactions to smallpox vaccinations in government study
A recent government study of healthy young adults receiving smallpox vaccinations shows startling reactions. Students from Baylor University and clinics in Iowa, Tennessee, and California experienced swollen arms and high temperatures, and several had to be given antibiotics because physicians worried that their blisters meant a bacterial infection. Of 200 subjects who received the vaccine, one third missed at least 1 day of work or school and 75 had high fevers. Even experts like researcher Kathy Edwards, the Vanderbilt University physicians overseeing the study, say the side effects came as a surprise. "I can read all day about it, but seeing it is quite impressive," she says. "The reactions we saw were really quite remarkable." Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, "The reactions we are seeing are totally out of line with today's vaccine experience and absolutely in line with historical experience. . . . In the 30 years since we had routine vaccinations, the public's tolerance level has gone way down."

CDC publishes new guidelines for labs handling dangerous pathogens
The CDC publishes expanded security guidelines for labs that handle dangerous biological pathogens and toxins, or "select agents." The detailed recommendations, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, call for monitoring pathogen storage areas, keeping agents locked up, and restricting access to people authorized to work with the agents. Next week the CDC will publish regulations requiring tighter security at labs that handle select agents, 42 pathogens and toxins that pose the greatest threat to public health. The new rules will require every lab that possesses a select agent to register with the CDC or the Agriculture Department and to undergo an inspection. The rules will also require background checks for people who work with select agents and require all labs to develop a biosecurity plan.

Daughter of Russian virologist may sue newspaper over CIA allegations
The daughter of deceased Russian virologist Nelli Maltseva, angered by a report in the New York Times citing CIA sources who said her mother might have given Iraq a virulent strain of smallpox, is considering suing the newspaper. "I am shocked by that publication," Natalia Maltseva tells the Interfax news agency. "I intend to file a lawsuit against the paper for defiling her memory," she adds. Svetlana Marennikova, an expert in infectious diseases for the World Health Organization who once worked with Dr. Maltseva, also rejects the allegations. Vitaly Zverev, head of the Moscow Research Institute for Viral Preparations, says that Maltseva did not have access to the deadly strains, since her work involved the diagnosis of herpes, measles, and German measles. The Russian scientists believe that political motives prompted the newspaper article.

Dec 4

Healthcare service workers seek reassurances regarding smallpox shots
The Service Employees International Union, the nation's largest union of healthcare workers, wants assurances from the Bush administration that workers who get sick from smallpox vaccinations can take time off and that people will receive thorough health screening before vaccination. "Without better protections, the proposed plan could put hospital patients, caregivers, and the public at risk," the 710,000-member union says in a statement. The union's concerns focus on paid time off for those who feel sick after receiving the vaccination; a simple compensation system that protects people and institutions who administer vaccines from legal liability if patients are injured or killed; proper screening for risk factors such as compromised immune systems; and the right to refuse vaccination without risking any discrimination at work.

Poll: 65% of Americans favor mass smallpox immunization
Nearly two thirds of a sample of 3,000 adult Americans say they would support a mass immunization campaign to reduce the threat of a smallpox attack, and 49% say they would get vaccinated now if the vaccine were offered to them. A Wall Street Journal Online/HarrisInteractive Health Care Poll, released this week, indicates that most Americans support some form of mass immunization of civilians. Forty-two percent of those questioned support vaccinating "everyone as soon as possible," with the exception of those at increased risk from the vaccine, such as pregnant women. Another 18% prefer an immunization campaign confined to key health and emergency workers. Overall, 65% of US adults appear to support some kind of mass vaccination effort.

UN search of Saddam Hussein's palace provokes angry response
An unannounced search of one of President Saddam Hussein's palaces by UN weapons inspectors provokes an angry response. Iraq's Maj. Gen. Hussam Muhammad Amin, leader of the National Monitoring Directorate, which works with inspectors, denies again that the country possesses any banned nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Amin says he believes the real purpose of the palace search was to humiliate Saddam Hussein. The search and subsequent news conference suggest the conflicting pressures building in Baghdad with barely 72 hours remaining before the deadline for Iraq to make a declaration concerning any secret weapons programs.

Dec 3

CIA checking report that Russian may have supplied Iraq with smallpox
The New York Times reports that the CIA is investigating allegations that a Russian virologist who once worked in a Moscow smallpox lab gave Iraq a particularly virulent strain of smallpox. According to officials and foreign scientists, Iraq might have obtained the strain from Nelja N. Maltseva, who worked for more than 30 years at the Research Institute for Viral Preparations in Moscow before her death 2 years ago. The CIA considered the information reliable enough to warrant briefing President Bush, though the informant has not been identified. Maltseva worked at an institute that housed what Russia said was its entire national collection of 120 strains of smallpox, and some experts fear that she may have given Iraq a vaccine-resistant version.

Postal Service rejects anthrax survivor's damage claim
The US Postal Service, while claiming to be "deeply troubled" by the tragic consequences of last year's anthrax attacks, has rejected a damage claim filed by an injured Brentwood Road postal center employee, according to the Washington Post. Leroy Richmond says the Postal Service's action is consistent with the indifference he and other postal workers have encountered since the attack. The Postal Service says it cannot legally compensate Richmond beyond the worker's compensation payments he is drawing. The decision allows Richmond, who is seeking $100 million in damages from the Postal Service, to pursue legal action that he says will attempt to show how government decisions left postal workers exposed to anthrax. Richmond, of Stafford, Va., is an outspoken anthrax survivor who speaks for many black postal employees who felt they were subjected to racially discriminatory medical treatment by federal health agencies and required to work in an unsafe environment for several days after federal officials learned of the possible anthrax contamination at Brentwood.

Dec 2

Los Angeles seeks smallpox vaccine for 20,000 health and safety workers
Los Angeles County is requesting up to 20,000 doses of smallpox vaccine for emergency healthcare workers and some police officers and fire fighters. The California Department of Health Services is also requesting 40,000 to 50,000 doses for areas outside Los Angeles County, says spokesman Ken August. "The immediate goal is to have a significant number of people available in the hospital to treat somebody if they had a problem," says Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. While county officials do not say when they plan to begin vaccinating, the speed with which the CDC has demanded a plan indicates imminent action. Fielding says he has received no information suggesting a threat or risk of a smallpox attack.

Some British healthcare and military personnel to get smallpox shots soon
The United Kingdom is preparing to vaccinate small teams of health care workers and military staff against smallpox, health minister John Hutton tells BBC News. Though he is unaware of any specific threat involving smallpox, he says, "It is sensible and prudent to ensure that the National Health Service can deal with any potential threat." All UK governments are in the process of preparing detailed plans for handling a biological attack. The health teams that will receive vaccinations consist of infectious disease specialists, pediatricians, public health doctors, microbiologists, and virologists. Vaccination should be completed by the end of next month.? (BBC News)

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