February 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.

Feb 26

Standards set for anti-WMD gear
The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate announces adoption of standards for the protective clothing and breathing equipment purchased for use by emergency personnel in chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear incidents. The standards were developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The new norms are intended to help officials in decision-making around what equipment to purchase and to provide guidance for industry in designing protective gear.

USPS appeals to Congress for antiterrorism funding
John Potter, US Postmaster General, appeals to Congress to include $779 million in the next year's budget for ventilation and filtration systems to protect against anthrax and other lethal toxins at the 282 mail-handling facilities in the country. President Bush did not include such equipment in his proposed budget. The Postal Service has already committed to installing the equipment, and if the money for it doesn't come from the federal government, it will have to come from increased postal rates, said Potter.

Feb 25

New labs at Dugway
Four new laboratories at the US Army's Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, are being added this spring to the live-pathogen facility already there. Three of the labs will be Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3), meaning research will be conducted on such agents as anthrax, yellow fever virus, and West Nile virus—agents that can cause lethal infections but for which there are known methods of prophylaxis and/or treatment. The other will be BSL-2. BSL-4 labs, of which there are none at Dugway, handle agents such as hemorrhagic fever viruses for which there is no known cure. The labs are trailer-type modular facilities costing $250,000 to $350,000 each.

Feb 23

Ridge sets new WMD detectors as year-2 goal for DHS
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, speaking at George Washington University on his department's first anniversary, lays out second-year goals for DHS. Among his top priorities in the science and technology area is a new generation of WMD detectors. Such devices would be capable of detecting nuclear materials in shipping containers and vehicles and also of detecting biological and chemical releases in air. The latter, he said, could be "uniquely sensitive enough to redirect air flow to allow evacuation of buildings if a dangerous pathogen is detected."

Ricin letter to White House detailed by FBI
The FBI acknowledges for the first time that a letter containing ricin was sent to the White House in the fall of 2003. The letter was processed Oct 17 in Chattanooga, Tenn., and was received at a facility serving the White House Nov 6; an incorrect zip code may have delayed its delivery. Signed "Fallen Angel," it contained complaints about new trucking regulations that require drivers to rest for certain amounts of time, saying it would "turn D.C. into a ghost town" if the regulations went into effect. No direct evidence ties that letter to the ricin-containing letter received in the office of Sen. Bill Frist (see Feb 2 and 3 items below), but a similar letter with the same signature was discovered at the Greenville, N.C., airport last fall (see Oct 22 item). (See CIDRAP News story.)

Feb 20

Initiative to reduce risk in biotech companies of information misuse
The International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Chemica and Biological Arms Control Institute announce a joint initiative aimed at getting biotechnology companies to reduce the risks that staff or labs could accidentally or intentionally foster bioterrorism through misuse of their biological knowledge. Forums are planned, and companies will be asked to sign a charter certifying actions taken to address the risks.

State officials dispute Ridge on distribution of preparedness funding
State officials counter DHS Secretary Tom Ridge's recent testimony that a "logjam" at the state level has held up distribution of federal funds for state and local preparedness efforts (see Feb 9 item below). The funds have been allocated but not spent, say the state homeland security chiefs, meeting all requirements and deadlines. More education is needed about the funding process, and the money should be spent deliverately, based on an overall strategy, they claim. Also, since the grant-giving is a 2-year process, it is too early to judge the process yet, they say.

Voluntary industry input to DHS on security begins
Today is the day chemical companies, railroads, electric ultilities, and other parts of the US infrastructure can voluntarily begin submitting proprietary data about their vulnerability to terrorist attacks to the Department of Homeland Security. Such information, which is believed to be critical to the synchronization of government and private industry efforts to safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure, would be guaranteed safe from public disclosure. Companies may be motivated to provide this information as a vehicle for public service, but they also may be reluctant because of fears that the government could later require them to spend money improving their security, according to a Washington Post report.

A hepatitis drug for anthrax?
The hepatitis drug adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera) may be effective for treating anthrax, according to research published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The drug, licensed for use in chronic hepatitis B virus infection, has been found to block edema factor, one of the major toxins secreted by Bacillus anthracis, in vitro. Whether this will have clinical application in anthrax remains to be seen. If it does prove effective, it is possible that it could also be useful against other agents, such as Bordetella pertussis, Yersinia pestis (which causes plague), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, according to one of the researchers.

Feb 18

Breakthrough for plague vaccine
A vaccine against bubonic plague is closer to being reality after a breakthrough by scientists at Britain's Ministry of Defense laboratory at Porton Down, according to the London Times. No adverse events have been found in initial clinical tests. The researchers expect to publish their results within a year and predict the vaccine may be available in about the same time frame. They have been working on a vaccine since the 1991 Gulf War. A plague vaccine exists now in Australia but it is not very effective, and an American version of that vaccine was abandoned in 1999. Bubonic plague, of the "Black Death," killed millions of people in the Middle Ages; the pathogen that causes it is considered a potential agent of bioterrorism.

Mail system could distribute antibiotics in a catastrophe
In the event of a bioterrorism-related disease outbreak that overloads the healthcare system, the US Postal Service could be the delivery system used to dispatch antibiotics. The USPS has more than 170 million addresses and delivers and a ready network for distribution. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security are working on coordination of a plan with the USPS. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Feb 17

Company receives grant for work on treating bioterrorism-induced sepsis
A $1 million, 2-year grant is awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to HemoCleanse, Inc., of Lafayette, Ind., to develop a plasmapheresis device to treat victims of bioterrorism. The procedure would modulate the sequence of biochemical inflammatory events that lead to sepsis, providing a window of time for antibiotic treatment to do its work. If the process is effective, it may have applications for patients with sepsis from other causes as well as patients with autoimmune disease.

Feb 16

Anthrax victim files suit
A victim of the anthrax mailings of 2001 files a $12 million suit against the federal government, claiming that officials' negligence in not instituting adequate security and safety measures at his workplace resulted in his illness. The man, David Hose Sr, worked for a firm in Sterling, Va., that handles diplomatic pouches and mail under a contract with the State Department, according to the Associated Press. His exposure to anthrax in letters passing through his workplace, the claims says, caused life-threatening and continuing health problems; he has been unable to work since the incident. 

Feb 14

Iraqi defectors' information may not have been reliable
Most of the allegations about Saddam's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons program made by Iraqi defectors were exaggerated, fabricated, or coached, US intelligence officials now believe. Among their claims was that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories. No convincing evidence of these or other programs has been found. The Iraqi National Congress (INC), a coalition of exile groups with ties to the Pentagon and Vice President Cheney's office, made most of the Iraqi defectors accessible for questioning. The fact that some of those questioned used similar language raised the possibility that they were coached on what to say.

Feb 13

New study shows targeted, not mass, vaccination best for smallpox outbreak
Researchers from Emory University using mathematical modeling to predict the rate of spread say that rapid containment and targeted vaccination rather than mass vaccination is the way to go if a smallpox outbreak occurs. Their model simulated the spread of smallpox in a hypothetical community matching typical US age and household distribution after an attack using aerosolized anthrax. The researchers say that the increased rate of illness and death from mass vaccination would offset the slightly lower rate of illness and death. Observers point out that early containment and targeted vaccination in an outbreak would demand effective early-warning systems and a high level of preparedness on the part of the public health community. Experts and research findings disagree over the effectiveness of mass versus targeted vaccination. The present research, led by Ira Longini, was presented at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle and has been submitted to the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Hawaiian firm receives large bioterrorism grant
A $5.6 million grant from the National Institutes for Health is awarded to Hawaii Biotech for development of a drug to inhibit anthrax lethal toxin. This is on top of a $4.4 million award in May from the Department of Defense for bioterrorism work. If Biotech is successful in finding a way to inhibit anthrax lethal toxin, the inhibitor compounds may be able to treat other bioterrorism agents as well as diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and osteoporosis, the company states.

Feb 12

Two smallpox shot recipients infect others
The CDC releases an update on the smallpox vaccination program in the Feb 13 issue of MMWR that reports on two instances in which military personnel receiving the vaccination secondarily infected others. One of the cases is also reported in the Feb 11 issue of JAMA. In one case infection was passed from a man to his wife and then to their breast-feeding baby; in the other, a man passed it to a wrestling partner who then passed it to another wrestling partner. (See CIDRAP News story about the case in the baby.)

GAO testimony says states still not prepared
Janet Heinrich, the General Accounting Office's (GAO's) top healthcare analyst, testifies that US states and cities have made progress in their preparedness planning for events such as a bioterrorist attack but that further improvement is needed. Areas needing work include disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, and communication systems. Her comments summarized a GAO report released Feb 10.

National assessment of terrorism threat may beat predicted timelines
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says that his department will produce a national assessment of the threat of terrorism within 3 months, far sooner than the 3 to 5 years indicated earlier. The assessment is required by the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. Strategic plans from every state, territory, and the District of Columbia (see Jan 29 and Jan 22 items), important components of the assessment, have been submitted and more than half have been fully or conditionally approved. A key component still outstanding is a consistent method for validation of the raw data provided in the state plans. This issue is to be discussed at a meeting of the Office of Domestic Preparedness and state officials next week in Washington.

Feb 11

EPA scientist questioned in anthrax investigation
FBI investigators working on Amerithrax, the 2001 anthrax case, question an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientist, according to several news reports. They want to determine whether the unnamed man was responsible for an anonymous letter mailed to the FBI just before the anthrax scare warning that another EPA scientist, Ayaad Assaad, was a "religious fanatic" and a potential terrorist. Assaad was questioned by the FBI in October 2001 and cleared of suspicion, and he has not been questioned since. He believes, however, that whoever sent that letter is connected with the attack and was setting him up as a scapegoat. The scientist being questioned now claims no connection to the letter, but he may be subjected to a lie-detector test, according to the Hartford Courant.

Feb 10

Administration plans huge expansion of Public Health Service
Planning is afoot by the Bush Administration to hugely expand the size of the US Public Health Service in an effort to better prepare for national health emergencies such as bioterrorism and new infectious diseases, reports the Boston Globe. The force now stands at about 6,000 officers; the plan calls for 1,000 more each year for an unspecified number of years. The increase would create a reserve of healthcare professionals who could assist in a crisis situation. Federal expenditures for public health preparedness increased from $305 million in 2001 to $4.4 billion in 2003, but, according to Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, "We are trying to catch up from a half a century of neglect." The size of the program and source of funding remain to be determined. As stated by Dr. Irwin Redlener of Columbia University, "The Public Health Service can and should be a much more central player in the development of the country's capacity, especially with respect to bioterrorism preparedness."

Feb 9

Hamilton mail facility cleared of anthrax
The mail distribution facility closed since October 2001 after anthrax powder was found there has been successfully cleaned. Operations there are expected to resume by the end of the year or early 2005. Decontamination of the 282,000–square foot building with chloride dioxide gas began last fall. The cost of the fumigation is estimated at about $80 million.

Majority of terrorism funding hasn't reached recipents
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge tells the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that more than half the money allotted after Sep 11 to state and local agencies for terrorism preparation has not reached the intended recipients as yet, leaving first-responders underfunded and understaffed. Reasons for the holdups have included complaince with state regulations and the lack of administrative mechanisms for distributing such large amounts of money, a committee staffer told the United Press International. Ridge said that in 2004, no funds would be distributed until states had submitted a strategic plan and had it approved, in an effort to make sure monies were being spent wisely.

Feb 6

Food security funding sought by FDA
The FDA is seeking an increase for fiscal year 2005 of $65 million for food security funding. This accounts for more than half of the $108 million total increase being sought by the agency. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Ricin may have been in office for weeks
The ricin found in Sen Bill Frist's office may have been there for weeks, say law enforcement officials. No letter has yet been found that may have contained the ricin. If the ricin had been in the office for a prolonged period, efforts to track its origin may be hampered. The FBI is using DNA analysis of the ricin in Frist's office as well as in two ricin-containing letters discovered in that past couple of months to determine where the castor beans used to make the ricin were grown.

Hatfill wins one, loses one
US District Judge Reggie B. Walton ruled that attorneys for Steven Hatfill, the "person of interest" in the anthrax investigation who has sued the federal government (see Jan 26 item), can proceed in their efforts to determine whether federal officials improperly leaked information about Hatfill that tied him to the anthrax mailings. However, Walton also ruled that the government had 6 more weeks before they had to answer questions or provide government information in the case. The government had asked for a 6-month delay, claiming that divulging information could disrupt the ongoing investigation.

Feb 5

Russell, Hart buildings reopen after ricin discovery
The Russell and Hart Senate office buildings are reopened after their closure for ricin sampling. The Dirksen building, which houses Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s office, remains closed but is scheduled to reopen the 9th. Some people who office in Russell and Hart were upset, claiming the clean-up operation was being rushed when several offices were found to have been untouched.

Feb 4

Ridge says recent actions averteded attack
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says he belives that recent actions stemming from intelligence reports, such as the cancellation of several intercontinental flights and the placement of air marshals on more flights, averted a terrorist attack, reports the New York Times. He acknowledged that the actions did create some tension with foreign governments who were taken by surprise by the actions, and he says a better system for discussions among various governments is now in place.

Feb 3

Ricin confirmed in Senate office
Sen Bill Frist announces as the Senate session opens that the white powder found in his office has been confirmed to be ricin. The Dirksen building housing his office, as well as the Hart and the Russell office buildings remain closed while further sampling is carried out. No poweder has been found outside his office so far, and no one has exhibited signs of illness. (See CIDRAP News story.)

Feb 2

Possible ricin found in Frist's office
White powder suspected on the basis of preliminary testing to be ricin is found in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Further tests are being done at Fort Detrich, Md. Ricin is the deadly poison made from castor beans that has been found in a few other sites (see Oct 22 item and Jan 6, 2003, item).

$441 proposed for food security in FY2005
As part of its FY 2005 budget, the Bush administration's proposes $381 million, which is a $302 million increase, for the US Department of Agriculture to enhance its capabilities to quickly respond to agroterrorism and other threats to the US food supply. On top of this, $60 million for work on mad cow disease was announced last week,, bringing the total to $441 million for improved food security.

Matrix allows individualized pre-crisis planning for hospitals
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announces that researchers there have developed a roadmap for decision making in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other crisis. The tool, called the Pittsburgh Matrix, allows individualized planning for hospitals that takes into account variables such as phase of attack (from pre-release through epidemic stages), hospital capacity, and severity of the pathogen involved. The project is funded through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Integrated Delivery System Research Network.

Feb 1

Bush setting up panel to look at US intelligence
President Bush will establish a bipartisan commission to evaluate US intelligence in general, and in particular the errors that apparently occurred in overestimating the WMD capabilities of Iraq that served as the main justification for going to war. The panel is expected to include about nine members who will be named in the next few days. Comparing the intelligence about Iraq provided to officials with what has been found during subsequent searches is one of the commission's charges. Recent remarks by David Kay, until very recently the chief weapons inspector in Iraq, about inaccurate intelligence have pressed the issue of setting up an inquiry.

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