February 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.

Feb 28

Georgia National Guard, FBI at odds over handling of anthrax scare
Georgias civil defense agencies meet to review the anthrax scare that took place Feb 22 at Fort McPherson. After a suspicious white powder initially tested positive for anthrax, a breakdown in communications among state and federal agencies caused frustration. Georgia National Guard officials say the FBI would not allow a unit trained to detect weapons of mass destruction to examine the substance. Instead, the FBI sent the material to the CDC in Atlanta for laboratory testing. Guard officials say the FBI decision delayed test results by a full day and left nearly 1,000 workers worried about whether they had been exposed to anthrax. With our equipment, we could have given them a 99.9 percent probability result that night instead of waiting 24 hours, says Maj. Jeff Allen, head of the 4^th Weapons of Mass DestructionCivil Support Team based at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta. FBI officials say they acted properly. By the time the National Guard unit arrived, the substance was bagged and tagged as evidence and en route to the CDC, spokesman Jeff Holmes says.

Bill would improve interagency information-sharing for civil defense
Rep. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and other members of the House subcommittee on terrorism and homeland security introduce a bill that would allow greater sharing of information by federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The measure is designed to improve responses to potential catastrophes. Communications gaps caused numerous complaints from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and local officials during the months of assessment following the Sep 11 attacks. Chambliss's bill is called the Homeland Security Information Sharing Act. It calls for a new set of procedures for information sharing among federal and state agencies, timely declassification of information to assist state and local law enforcement agencies, and an increase in the number of such agencies with access to classified security information.

Feb 27

Justice Department subpoenas anthrax samples from labs
The Justice Department is sending subpoenas to microbiology laboratories throughout the United States for samples of the Ames strain of Bacillus anthracis, the type used in last falls anthrax attacks. Some private experts express surprise that subpoenas for the samples are going out more than 4 months after the Ames strain was identified as the one contained in the letters, but federal law enforcement officials defend their approach, saying the agency has been deliberate and thorough in its investigation. The investigation has its own natural course, one official says. Were making progress, even if the pace at times seems slow." Institutions receiving the subpoenas include the University of New Mexico and Louisiana State University, which maintains one of the nations largest anthrax collections.

Two firms to stop making misleading claims about bioterrorism-related products
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announces that the marketers of a home anthrax-detection kit and a dietary supplement touted as a cure for hundreds of diseases have agreed to stop making unproved claims about the products. The cases are part of the FTC's efforts to combat the deceptive promotion of bioterrorism-related products. Neither Vital Living Products Inc., marketer of the anthrax test kit, nor Kris Pletschke, who sold the supplements, admits breaking the law. Pletschke advertised his colloidal silver supplement as capable of treating or curing 650 diseases, including anthrax. He says he plans to appeal, contending the FTC pressured him to agree before he could prepare a defense. Says Howard Beales, the FTCs director of consumer protection, These companies used inaccurate and unfounded claims to sell peace of mind. They tried to cash in on consumer anxiety."

Feb 26

FBI looking at 18 to 20 people in hunt for anthrax attacker
Law enforcement officials say the FBI has identified 18 to 20 people with the means, opportunity, and possible motive to have sent the anthrax-laced letters last fall. Tips from scientists and an analysis by investigators have helped agents identify people capable of making the highly concentrated spores that killed five people and prompted antibiotic treatment for 30,000 others. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer says the FBI. has several suspects in the case, a characterization that law enforcement officials say goes beyond the evidence discovered in the 4-month investigation. It would be inaccurate to say that these people are suspects in the classic sense, one law officer says.

Firm agrees to quit claiming government backing on anthrax product
The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses the head of a California firm of lying about his claim to be working with the federal government to combat anthrax. SEC officials say they have instituted cease-and-desist proceedings against Edward Alexander, president of Proton Laboratories Inc. Proton, a privately held Alameda, Calif., company, claimed to make devices that treat tap water with electrolysis, creating what it called function electrolytic water, and was studying the ability of this product to contain and eliminate potential bioterrorism germs and viruses. Alexander agreed to stop making claims about working with government, but did not admit or deny the SEC allegations. The SEC also accuses him of misleading investors by using the ticker symbol of Knowledge Networks Inc, which signed a letter of intent to acquire Proton.

Survey says many Americans lack confidence in government's security efforts
Scientific American and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) release a survey indicating that more than three-fourths of Americans fear a possible attack with weapons of mass destruction and less than half are confident that the governments current efforts to protect the nation are sufficient. The survey of 1,012 adults also shows that respondents worry about a loss of individual freedoms and that black and Hispanic Americans feel more vulnerable and less confident in the government than whites do. The country at large is much more acutely aware of how vulnerable we are following 9/11, says John Rennie, editor-in-chief of Scientific American. The magazine's will hold the "Summit on Privacy, Security and Safety: Preserving an Open Society in an Age of Terrorism" March 5 and 6 in New York City.

Distributed-computing project identifies 300,000 potential anthrax antidotes
A project using home personal computers (PCs) to search for anthrax cures has analyzed 3.5 billion compounds and identified more than 300,000 as possible antidotes for the deadly anthrax toxin. The research combined the computing power of more than a million PCs tackling the task in small pieces. Each PC performed pattern matching on a potential drug to see if it would bond with the anthrax toxin, then sent the results back over the Internet. The entire process took only 24 days. Its much more substantial than anything that one supercomputer could do, says Colin Evans, Intels director of distributed systems. This assembly of PCs represents more computing power than all the worlds supercomputers put together. The program was sponsored by Intel and distributed-software company United Devices Inc. It originated with the Cancer Research Project, and all participants who were involved will now let their machines be used in the search for a cancer cure.

Feb 25

USDA struggling to inspect imported meat
Recent terrorist attacks have left the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which bears new food safety responsibilities, struggling with how to protect nearly 4 billion pounds of meat imported each year, according to a Washington Post report. The USDA increasingly relies on foreign governments, including states that have repeatedly failed to get the job done, such as Mexico and France. The USDA once based its own inspectors overseas, but now operates under trade agreements and universal standards that seek to make a meat inspection in Mexico or Brazil equivalent to a USDA inspection at home. The agency inspects foreign meatpackers only once every 3 to 5 years, on average. Even when serious flaws are discovered, problems often continue, according to agency records and interviews with dozens of inspectors and food safety experts.

Newspaper says FBI has chief suspect in anthrax attacks
A Washington Times report says the FBI has identified a chief suspect in its investigation of last fall's anthrax attacks. The report says the agency is focusing on a US scientist who formerly worked at a government laboratory where he learned how to make a weapons-grade preparation of anthrax. Law enforcement authorities and biochemical experts familiar with the FBIs 5-month investigation say agents targeted the unidentified scientist after interviewing more than 300 people associated with the governments anthrax program. The suspect was identified from a pool of about 50 researchers known to have the ability to produce weapons-grade anthrax. Sources told the Times that the scientist was twice fired from government jobs and, after the Sep 11 attacks, reportedly made a threat to use anthrax. The FBI has interviewed the scientist several times and searched his house.

Feb 24

Ridge promises better information on security threats
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge tells governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting that the federal government plans to provide better information on security threats. I understand we have to do a better job of information sharing, Ridge says. He acknowledges the difficulties posed by the general terrorism alerts provided in the past and assures governors that a new national alert system to be released in about 2 weeks will provide more information about the seriousness of a threat. The broader goal will be on those hopefully rare occasions when we get information that is of sufficient credibility and corroboration, we will be able to do an assessment and attach a certain level to it, he says. Ridge also tells governors they should take the lead in coordinating security plans for their states and local communities.

Feb 23

Cleaning methods used at Hart building now in use at post offices
It took 3 months and a cost estimated at $20 million to clean the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, where a letter containing anthrax was opened. Numerous technologies including disinfectants, foams, pumped chlorine dioxide gas, and high-powered vacuums were used to clean the building. Now the same technologies are being used to clean up post office buildings, where anthrax-filled letters caused widespread contamination and two deaths. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, nobody can guarantee that the areas are completely clean, and since the CDC does not know how small a dose of spores can cause a case of anthrax, it is possible that workers in the decontaminated buildings remain at risk. The CDC plans to medically monitor as many workers as will cooperate, perhaps for several years.

Powder found at Fort McPherson not anthrax
Laboratory tests on a suspicious white, powdery substance found at Fort McPherson, the Atlanta Army facility, are negative for anthrax despite initial field tests that turned up positive for the bacteria. "The definitive result is that it is not anthrax," says CDC spokeswoman Lisa Swenarski, as reported in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. A suspicious package turned up Friday, say military officials. It remains unclear how the package got into the US Army Reserve Command headquarters building or how long it had been there, despite earlier reports that it had been delivered through the front door. After discovering the package in a fourth-floor closet, officials closed the building while the substance was being tested. Joe Handley, a spokesman for Reserve Command headquarters, says the package resembled a plastic sandwich bag and contained a white powder. Seven people, five civilians who work in the Reserve Command building and two firefighters who responded to the call, were exposed to the substance and were decontaminated on the scene.

Feb 22

Miami inhalational anthrax survivor returns to work
Ernesto Blanco, 74, returns to work at American Media, Inc, Miami, after surviving inhalational anthrax, which killed his coworker Robert Stevens, 63, on Oct 5, 2001. The mail courier, who was hospitalized for 3 weeks, says he will work part-time provided he doesn't get too tired. Blanco delivers mail at AMI's temporary headquarters, where several supermarket tabloids, including the National Enquirer, Star, and Globe are published. He will consider working at his former building again if AMI returns there after the building has been decontaminated.

Foreign mail has to pass through Customs
The US Customs Service is increasing its vigilance in monitoring incoming mail since last fall's anthrax mailings. Foreign mail entering the United States must be cleared by Customs before entering the US Postal Service for delivery. Agency spokesman Dean Boyd says that Customs has been conducting "enhanced operations" at all ports of entry, including mail arrival points. That means more inspections of incoming people, goods, and cargo as well as mail. The increase "certainly does raise privacy questions," says Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Once first class mail enters the US Postal Service system, it cannot be opened without a court order, according to Postal Inspector Dan Mihalko. The law specifically gives Customs agents border search authority to investigate incoming items that it feels may be suspicious.

Governance Institute issues report on bioterrorism planning in hospitals
A Governance Institute white paper reports on the impact of the Sep 11 and anthrax attacks on hospital and healthcare policy. While healthcare organizations throughout the country work to prepare for potential future attacks, financial constraints and limited patient capacity have created apprehension about being overwhelmed by a major bioterrorism event. The report outlines how hospitals are reconfiguring their triage areas, ambulance bays, ventilation systems, and equipment supply to prepare for larger attacks. It also discusses potential forms of a major bioterrorist attack and provides comprehensive advice to hospital executives and trustees for preserving communications and employee composure during such an event. Governance Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Gordon R. Clark tells Financial Times that the white paper is "a critical read for healthcare CEOs, trustees, and anyone else interested in how hospitals will prepare for and respond to a bioterrorism attack."

Feb 21

Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the CDC says he will step down from his post at the end of March. Health officials and authorities on bioterrorism say that Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Bush administration officials have been unhappy with Koplan, believing that he has not done enough to coordinate his agency's work with senior administration officials in Washington. Koplan says he has not been pushed out his job but that the decision is entirely his own. His departure will create another opening at the top level of the Public Health Service, which already has many vacancies.

Feb 19

Was USAMRIID secure during past research on lethal bioweapons?
As the FBI investigates possible military links to last fall's anthrax attacks, new information suggests that the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the nation's premier biological defense laboratory failed at least through the mid 1990s to use strict safeguards against the theft of lethal viruses and bacteria. Descriptions of informal policies and careless accounting procedures appear in Army documents and in interviews with former USAMRIID scientists. Those interviewed for a Washington Post article also expressed concern about the Army's policy of recruiting foreign researchers to work in some of USAMRIID's most secure labs. "It blew me away," says one microbiologist who worked at the lab in the 1980s and early 1990s. "I could have lifted vials of anything and they never would have been missed. There was nothing to stop me." USAMRIID strongly defends its security policies, saying there is no evidence that any hazardous microbes in its care were stolen or misused.

Claim that FBI 'has its man' in anthrax attack incorrect, says FBI
The assertion by a biological and chemical weapons control advocate that the FBI has a prime suspect in last fall's anthrax attacks is incorrect, according to several bureau sources. Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Chemical and Biological Weapons Program, claimed in a Feb 18 lecture at Princeton University that the FBI has interviewed its prime suspect and might be "dragging its feet" in making an arrest because of the prospect of publicity surrounding secret government biological weapons programs. "The FBI is vigorously investigating the mailing of anthrax-laced letters and hoax letters," FBI spokeswoman Tracey Silberling says, according to an article in the Trenton Times. "It is not accurate, however, that the FBI has identified a prime suspect in this case."

Don't forget tularemia as potential weapon of bioterrorism
Bioterror Medical Alert, published by Atlanta-based National Health Information, LLC, cites experts' warnings to health professionals about the perils of tularemia, described by a biodefense think tank as "one of the most infectious pathogenic bacteria known." Despite the intense focus on anthrax and smallpox, many other potential agents represent equally dangerous threats, including tularemia, which "has a greater likelihood to be used than other agents because we know it has already been weaponized," says Gigi Kwik, PhD, with the Johns Hopkins Center of Civilian Biodefense Strategies in Baltimore. Bioterror Medical Alert provides details for doctors on diagnosis and treatment of tularemia. The publication also features an interview with Dennis Hoak, MD, who treated six tularemia cases in an outbreak on Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 2000.

Feb 18

Renewed interest in decontamination research
Research projects launched in response to attacks such as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing are receiving renewed attention. An Associated Press article describes how University of MissouriColumbia researchers are studying a method for quick decontamination following a biological attack. "After Oklahoma City and the Unabomber, we realized the kinds of threats that were out there," says Dr. Kenneth McDonald, an associate research professor in the College of Engineering. "We knew we could use this technology to address bioterrorism. Then the anthrax scare really stimulated this program." McDonald and Dr. Randy Curry lead a team testing a decontamination method that quickly kills several microbes, including anthrax. The process utilizes cleansers and chemicals that kill some microbes within minutes of application. Adding ultraviolet light improves its kill time from 100 to 1,000 times. McDonald and Curry recently briefed the Environmental Protection Agency on their work, which has been funded for three years by the US Marine Corps.

US support for Danish smallpox vaccine trials
The Danish biotechnology firm Bavarian Nordic says that US authorities are sponsoring clinical trials of the firm's smallpox vaccines. "This year we will start up clinical studies of our new smallpox vaccine sponsored by the US," Bavarian Nordic Chief Executive Peter Wulff tells Reuters. The company is close to finishing a clinical phase-I study in Germany. According to Wulff, the US authorities will finance new initial phase-I studies through to final phase III trials.

Security vs free flow of scientific information in field of biodefense a sticky issue
While the FBI continues to investigate a possible link between US biodefense programs and last fall's anthrax attacks, abundant new funding for bioterrorism research is rapidly increasing the number of labs and people with access to lethal pathogens. Some scientists believe that without new limits and regulations, the flood of money and new initiatives could result in unintended consequences. The biodefense research boom could lead to diversions of organisms or expertise for new terrorist attacks, making Americans less safe. "Each one of these labs in essence becomes a full-service shopping center for someone who wants to get hold of a lethal agent for nefarious purposes," says Richard H. Ebright, a Rutgers University chemist, in an article for the Baltimore Sun. He says the number of laboratories approved to work with potential bioterrorist pathogens should be "fewer than five nationally," a great decrease from the scores of labs doing such work now. "It's a sticky problem," says Michael Mair, a molecular biologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies. "The question is how to provide for security while not putting shackles on scientists. Science works best when there's a free flow of ideas."

Feb 17

Feds work to tighten scientific secrecy
The Bush administration is taking wide measures to tighten scientific secrecy in hopes of keeping weapons of mass destruction out of hostile hands. Last month, it began withdrawing from public release more than 6,600 technical documents that highlight the production of germ and chemical weapons. Additionally, it is drafting a new information security policy that officials say will result in the withdrawal of more documents. It is also asking scientific societies to limit what they publish in research reports and has requested the Washington-based American Society of Microbiology, the world's largest group of germ professionals, to limit potentially dangerous information in the 11 journals it publishes. Although the administration has sought to clamp down on the flow of information on several fronts since Sep 11, critics of the newest constraints say that extreme steps proposed could make it impossible for scientists to assess and replicate the work of their colleagues, eroding the foundations of American science.

Fauci says diluted smallpox vaccine looks promising
The United States has 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine, and tests are under way to see if diluting them can help stretch the supply, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). As reported by Reuters, Fauci tells a news conference at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston that initial tests indicate the diluted vaccine is effective. The government will report on the study's complete results soon. "I can tell you that the study was very successfulit had a very high 'take' rate," Fauci says, meaning the site of the inoculation blistered up, suggesting that it provided some immunity. NIAID is sponsoring the research.

Goal of biological attacks: terror, not casualties
David Franz, former head of the Army's biological research program, says at the AAAS annual meeting that agents of terrorism need only to frighten large numbers of people to be effective. For example, the mailborne anthrax attacks last fall killed only five people but frightened millions. Franz, president of the biological defense division of the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, says that if terror, not casualties, is the goal, any number of lesser microbesfrom those causing hepatitis and foodborne illnesses to those reponsible for foot-and-mouth disease, which only infects farm animalsbecome potential weapons of mass disruption. The new reality also means that large quantities of a substance no longer are necessary to create widespread havoc.

Feb 15

Public and private sectors see flurry of smallpox vaccine activity
Researchers at academic institutions and private companies are racing to develop new and safer smallpox vaccines that could be used to vaccinate the entire population. Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company in Columbia, Md., is working on a next-generation smallpox vaccine that uses a dead or "inactivated" virus that company officials believe could be administered safely to everyone, reports the Washington Post. While animal studies suggest promising results, the vaccine has yet to be tested in humans. Meanwhile, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and several private companies are using various techniques to develop new smallpox vaccines. The NIH is particularly interested in developing vaccines that could be given to immune-compromised people, says Carol Heilman, director of the division of microbiology and infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

EPA funds work on environmental threats to civilian facilities
Tetra Tech of Pasadena, Cal., announces it has received a $28 million, five-year contract to support the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Technology Innovation Office (TIO). Tetra Tech will perform training and technology transfer services that address environmental threats. The EPA is currently coordinating responses to suspected contamination of civilian facilities with biological contaminants such as anthrax. TIO will lead EPA's effort to collect and disseminate information about technologies and other resources available to detect and decontaminate biological agents.

Feb 13

Indianapolis hospitals urged to coordinate on disaster planning
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson urges 85 doctors and representatives of the citys 14 major hospitals and other medical facilities to develop a coordinated plan for dealing with catastrophes. Under current conditions, say many health officials, it would take less than a terrorist attack to put the citys medical system into a crisis. Staffing levels are so tight in todays competitive environment that a major influenza epidemic could overwhelm city hospitals. People in this business are very creative, and we would probably pull through it, says Dr Michael Olinger, an emergency medicine specialist at Wishard Memorial Hospital. But, he warns, It would be a spur-of-the-moment decision-making process. Olinger says coordination among hospitals is so weak now that if some city hospitals burned down, hospital officials wouldnt have a plan for transferring or diverting patients. The group is identifying sites to use for temporary medical facilities and standardizing emergency treatment procedures.

Alibek to do biodefense research at George Mason University center
George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Va., announces it is creating a research center to host scientists Ken Alibek and Charles Bailey, who once worked on biological weapons and antidotes for opposite sides. Alibek developed biological weapons for the Soviet Union, while Bailey developed defenses against such weapons for the US Army. The Center for Biodefense, which will be based at GMU's Prince William County campus, will focus on developing treatments for diseases such as anthrax and smallpox and will study public health preparations for bioterrorist incidents. It is our vision that this center . . . will ultimately lessen the threat of biological warfare and reduce the threat of biological agents," says GMU President Alan G. Merten. The center will join forces with Alibek and Baileys existing research firm, Hadron Advanced Biosystems Inc., which already works under contract for the federal government.

Feb 11

CDC late in learning of Canadian studies on danger of mailborne anthrax
The CDC did not learn of months-old Canadian findings about the behavior of mailborne bacterial spores until weeks after last fall's anthrax attacks, a Washington Post article says. Canadian researchers did a series of experiments last spring involving simulated anthrax threat letters. The research was the only rigorous scientific effort to evaluate the risks posed by the sending of anthrax spores through the mail. The studies, which used spores of harmless bacteria, showed that such an attack would be far more dangerous than anyone previously believed. By the time an envelope with anthrax spores was opened in the offices of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in October, more than two dozen federal employees knew of the Canadian studies, but the CDC did not. Several bioterrorism and civil defense experts had the information, but the CDC did not learn of the studies until early November.

Vaccine makers and federal officials seek ways to prevent vaccine shortages
Vaccine makers and federal officials begin a 2-day meeting in Washington with hopes of finding ways to prevent vaccine shortages. "The vaccine supply can't be taken for granted," says Walter Orenstein, director of the CDC's National Immunization Program. Orenstein notes that the past year has seen supply problems with 8 of the 11 vaccines for childhood diseases. Manufacturing problems have beset 10 of the 11. Orenstein says there is no single reason for the supply problems, but manufacturing difficulties were a major factor.

Emergency communication system for health agencies attracts interest
An emergency communication system called ReddiNet (Rapid Emergency Digital Data Information Network) is attracting interest because of the federal government's plans to give $1.1 billion to hospitals and state and local health agencies to bolster emergency preparedness. ReddiNet utilizes both the Internet and digital packet-radio technology that will continue to function even when a community's primary infrastructure components fail. Communities are connected for fast action during incidents of terrorism, natural disasters, multiple-injury incidents, and epidemics. ReddiNet is marketed by the not-for-profit Healthcare Association of Southern California.

British develop genetically modified forms of bioterrorism pathogens for defense
The Independent reports that scientists working on Britain's biological warfare program have developed genetically modified forms of pathogens such as bubonic plague and smallpox. Research at Porton Down in Wiltshire also involves genetically modifying a smallpox virus with anthrax genes and "gangrene bug genes" to produce new vaccines. Porton Down officials say that human trials of powerful, genetically modified anthrax and bubonic plague vaccines are being conducted this year, using volunteers hired by a biomedical company. British ministers say that Porton Down's research is purely defensive and is intended to develop more effective vaccines, antibiotics, and detection methods for troops and, potentially, civilians. The research is also designed to anticipate genetically modified bioweapons that could be designed by hostile countries and terrorists.

New York center to support public health agencies in bioterrorism response
A consortium of New York state medical institutions announces the establishment of a center to support regional public health agencies in their response to attacks with biological weapons. Created by the Amdec Foundation, the new Center on Bioterrorism represents 39 medical schools, hospitals, and health research institutions in a consortium called the Academic Medicine Development Company, founded in 1997 to promote biomedical research. "This is a great opportunity to bring New York's research community to the planning table for emergency preparedness," says Dr. Neal L. Cohen, executive director of the center. Cohen served as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's health commissioner for the past 4 years. The center's budget and staffing are still in the planning stages.

Seven European countries agree to cooperate for biodefense
The Financial Times reports that representatives of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, and Ukraine have agreed on a joint effort to prepare for the threat of bioterrorism. A group composed of two experts from each country will work to create a fast strategy and closer cooperation for the diagnosis and treatment of those affected by biological weapons attacks.

Report says medical firms stand to profit from campaign against bioterrorism
A report from a company that conducts healthcare research says that hospitals, diagnostics manufacturers, and drug developers stand to gain from the Bush administration's multibillion-dollar program to counter bioterrorism. "Theta's Guide to Bioterror Defense," published by Theta Reports, says that $1.7 billion is earmarked for medical research and $940 million is directed toward hospitals. The study says that detection, treatment, and prevention products will have an early commercial advantage. The report details currently available products and those in the pipeline to detect, prevent, and treat these threats. The study covers a variety of health threats including smallpox, anthrax, plague, sarin, radioactive bombs, hydrogen cyanide, botulism, and others.

Feb 10

Death of woman at New Jersey convention triggers suspicion of anthrax attack
A 45-year-old woman attending a business convention in Cherry Hill, N.J., dies of aggressive bacterial pneumonia, and seven others attending the same convention are hospitalized with a flu-like respiratory illness. In addition, health officials quarantine the 400-room Cherry Hill Hilton for 8 hours, fearing that Joanne Hemstreet of Kingston, Mass., contracted anthrax, Legionnaire's disease, or meningitis. About 80 conventioneers are examined at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals, and seven are admitted with flu-like symptoms. Others who came into contact with Hemstreet are treated with antibiotics as a precaution against meningitis. Late in the day, after intensive investigation including an autopsy, laboratory tests, and interviews with the sick, officials virtually rule out anthrax and other highly infectious bacteria and say the danger to others seems minimal. Dr. David Condoluci, chief of infectious diseases for Kennedy Health System, says, "We are fairly confident this was not an intentional exposure."

Feb 7

Biodefense expert says CDC, NIH must retool to use new funds properly
Tara O'Toole, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies in Baltimore, tells Global Security Newswire that the CDC and the National Institutes of Health must revamp the way they do business if they hope to utilize properly the record sums being poured into their bioterrorism programs. According to O'Toole, both the CDC and the NIH must greatly improve their communications with outside physicians and scientists. She criticizes the CDC for an "absolutely terrible" response to the anthrax attacks last fall.

Biotech firms frustrated over bureaucratic obstacles to helping in biodefense
The Washington Post reports that many biotechnology companies, eager to help enhance the nation's defenses against bioterrorism, encounter frustrating obstacles and lack of information when they try to work with government agencies. For example, Judith A. Britz, president and chief executive officer of Cylex Inc., Columbia, Md., maker of technology for use in diagnosing anthrax and testing vaccines for anthrax, smallpox, and other agents, says her company has had little success in efforts to gain a government research grant, contract, or collaboration agreement. "There has to be a recognition that the private sector has a lot of knowledge that could be rapidly mobilized into products that could be used in biodefense," Britz says. "In my opinion, this is low-urgency business as usual."

Wisconsin legislators offer bill to update public health laws for bioterrorism threat
Wisconsin legislators are introducing a bill to update state public health laws to deal with the threat of bioterrorism. "We need to be concerned about the business of protecting ourselves," says State Sen. Peggy Rosenzweig, R-Wauwatosa. "People have been lulled into thinking it's back to business as usual." Rosenzweig and Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, authored legislation that would address issues such as improved disease reporting by doctors and disposal of corpses. The enhanced reporting requirements are intended to work as an early warning system. The bill expands the reporting requirement to other health professionals such as dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists.

Feb 6

Senate staff members complain of symptoms from handling irradiated mail
US Senate officers reveal that 73 Senate employees have reported health problems including headaches, eye irritation, and skin rash after handling irradiated mail. The complaints prompt the government to issue a cautionary advisory to 180,000 federal workers. The disclosure of the number of complaints comes in response to a query by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, and takes place in a closed meeting held by a task force investigating health concerns arising from the anthrax cleanup in the Hart Senate Office Building. Some senators wonder if chemicals used to decontaminate the Hart building are causing their staff members' symptoms.

Concerns about irradiated mail prompt change of dose, environmental testing
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle says mail checkers will use less radiation to decontaminate mail sent to Capitol Hill. His announcement comes after Senate employees complain of illness after opening letters. Postal workers also will let mail air out longer before sending it to recipients, Daschle says. In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Cal., orders independent testing of environmental conditions throughout her suite in the Hart Senate Office Building because of employee health complaints over irradiated mail. Several members of her staff complained of nausea, headaches, burning hands and eyes, and a metallic taste after handling irradiated mail.

Budget proposal includes $518 million for hospital preparedness
President Bush's proposed fiscal 2003 budget includes $518 million to enhance hospitals' preparedness to respond to biological or chemical terrorism, says Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. This represents a 284% increase over the amount provided this year. In addition to the $518 million, the proposed budget includes $60 million for bioterrorism-related education and training for healthcare professionals, $21 million to help poison-control centers provide accurate information about the latest threats, and $19 million to help prepare emergency medical services systems meet children's needs in a biological or chemical incident

Bush promotes proposed 300% increase in bioterrorism-related spending
President Bush promotes his proposed 300% increase in spending for bioterrorism protection as a necessity. "It's money that will enable me to say we're doing everything we can to protect America," he says of his $6 billion request. Bush tells physicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center that the money is needed to modernize hospitals, develop new drugs, stockpile vaccines, and create state-of-the-art surveillance systems modeled after one at the University of Pittsburgh. He makes his statements during a tour of an innovative lab that collects emergency-room data from 17 hospitals that are monitoring symptoms to detect disease outbreaks. The Real-Time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance System tracks patients by zip code, looking for spikes that could signal a wave of illness.

Report reveals FBI appeal to nation's microbiologists in anthrax investigation
CNN reports that the FBI asked the nation's 30,000 microbiologists for help in identifying who sent the anthrax-laced letters last fall. "It is very likely that one or more of you know this individual," the FBI stated in a letter to members of the American Society for Microbiology. "A review of the information to date in this matter leads investigators to believe that a single person is most likely responsible for these mailings. This person is experienced working in a laboratory." Van Harp, director of the FBI's Washington field office and in charge of the bureau's anthrax investigation, wrote and mailed the letter in mid-January, and CNN obtained a copy this week.

Feb 5

Complex network to be on guard for bioterrorism during Olympics
The Associated Press reports that a complex network will be in place at the Winter Olympics to quickly detect a bioterrorist attack, treat victims, and stop any outbreak before it turns into a catastrophe. The plans include moving part of the national drug stockpile to an undisclosed location near Salt Lake City, so that drugs for anthrax and smallpox vaccine can be dispensed immediately. "It's almost a planned public health emergency," says Dr. Patrick Meehan, who leads Olympic preparations for the CDC. The Olympic crowds will be spread over six Utah counties, and Salt Lake City organizers, working with the CDC, will be dramatically speeding up the monitoring of all sorts of data for early warning signs. About 500 staff members from the Utah Health Department and local departments form the core of the bioterrorism preparedness effort in Salt Lake City. The CDC is sending several dozen staff members, including some of its "disease detectives."

HHS provides $20 million for public health preparedness centers
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces $20 million in fiscal year 2002 funding for a nationwide network of "Centers for Public Health Preparedness." The centers will be administered by the CDC and will link schools of public health, state and local health agencies, and other academic and community health partners "to foster individual preparedness at the front line." The funding is part of the $2.9 billion bioterrorism appropriation signed by President Bush Jan 10. Thompson makes the announcement during a tour of the newly funded Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Pittsburgh. Fifteen centers will receive a total of $15 million, and another $5 million will be used to create additional centers and build ties with other health organizations.

HHS sets up council to screen healthcare ideas from private companies
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces the establishment of a forum to receive and "triage" ideas from the private sector to appropriate federal agencies. The forum, the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve Security, Safety and Quality of Health Care, will review and refer requests from companies hoping to present innovative ideas and products to the federal government. The council aims to make certain that such requests are managed fairly and consistently. "The council will help ensure that the nation's efforts to improve public health preparedness and the delivery of health care services are enhanced by innovation and creativity from the private sector," Thompson says. The council held its first meeting Jan 23, and it has reviewed requests from 18 companies thus far.

Because of terrorism concern, states ponder making government less open
An Associated Press article states that governors and state legislators are debating whether to restrict the public's access to government documents and meetings in an effort to combat terrorists. The concern is that terrorists might use the information to plan attacks or escape capture. Some wish to close the doors on talks about water supplies and sewer systems, while others would limit information about ongoing criminal investigations, evacuation plans, and bioterrorism response assessments. The proposals dismay open-government advocates and the media, who warn that an all-encompassing approach threatens to block a key element of democracy: public scrutiny of government.

Senate panel studies how to coordinate medical response to biological threats
A biological attack on a US city today would result in health officials scrambling for expertise from medical experts who wouldn't know where to offer it, according to a panel studying the issue. "This is an organizational challenge as much as anything else," says Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of a Senate subcommittee on science, technology, and space. "Merely having assets does not make them useful," Richard Hatchett, coordinator for the civilian Medical Reserve Working Goup, tells the subcommittee. "Assets become valuable when they are organized." The search for coordinated medical, technical, and academic expertise began after the Sep 11 crisis and the anthrax attacks that followed. Government officials struggled to find medical experts and were unsure how to assess their skills. Simultaneously, medical and academic experts were unsure where to offer help.

Feb 4

Proposed HHS budget includes 45% increase in bioterrorism-related spending
The proposed 2003 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) features a 45% increase in spending for bioterrorism preparedness, with research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) accounting for much of the increase, says HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. The HHS budget proposal includes $4.3 billion for bioterrorism-related projects, a $1.3 billion increase over this year's spending, Thompson says. The budget includes $1.75 billion for NIH research on drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics and for NIH security and infrastructure.

Administration seeks $11 billion over 2 years to counter bioterrorism
The Bush administration is seeking $11 billion over 2 years to protect the nation against bioterrorism, a far larger amount than even biodefense experts had expected, the New York Times reports. President Bush's budget for fiscal 2003 will propose $5.9 billion to finance improvements in the nation's public health system to help defend against the deliberate use of disease as a weapon, say senior administration officials. This request comes on top of $1.4 billion approved by congress in the last fiscal year and a $3.7 billion supplemental request for countering bioterrorism that has also been approved, according to the Times.

Bush budget reduces public health spending unrelated to bioterrorism
While the Bush administration's proposed 2003 budget would provide major increases in spending for bioterrorism defense, other public health programs, such as preventing chronic diseases and controlling infectious diseases, would be cut. Excluding money for bioterrorism, the CDC, the nation's public health agency, would be cut by roughly $340 million, from $4.4 billion to $4.1 billion. "To be perfectly candid with you, we had to make some tough decisions," Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, says at a briefing. Overall, the president is requesting $489 billion for the HHS department.

Feb 3

CDC faces tough task in analyzing data from anthrax attacks
Analysis of the immense amount of data gathered during last fall's anthrax crisis poses a major challenge for the CDC, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Hundreds of thousands of measurements and test results in computer files and on hand-scrawled reports will take months to analyze. Sorting the data will be difficult in part because workplaces were sampled by several contractors using many sampling techniques.

Feb 1

Trace of anthrax found at FCC mail-processing facility
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials say tests at an off-site FCC mail-processing center in Prince George's County, Md., detected traces of anthrax. FCC spokesman David Fiske says the eight contract workers assigned to the postal facility were offered antibiotics as a precaution, but he has not heard of anyone becoming ill. "It's still a trace, so we have taken every precaution," Fiske says. He says the Capitol Heights facility will be wiped down to eliminate any other possible traces of anthrax and then will be tested periodically. Final results from the CDC are pending.

Emory University sets up research center on public health preparedness
Emory University has received a $4.2 million gift from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation to establish a research center on the public health system's response to bioterrorism. The center will be housed in the Rollins School of Public Health and headed by Dr. Ruth Berkelman, an internist, pediatrician, and professor of epidemiology at Rollings. Berkelman also served as a former assistant surgeon general and spent 20 years with the CDC. The center will teach graduate students in public health and conduct research on weaknesses in the public health system. It further plans to examine national policies on preparing for bioterrorism.

HHS underwrites public health preparedness for Winter Olympics
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces that the department issued $494,000 to the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) for increased public health preparedness for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The grant, provided by the CDC, is part of its Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program. The funding is in addition to $650,000 that HHS released to UDOH in fiscal 2001. "HHS is committed to working with Utah to make the Olympic games take place in a safe, secure environment," Thompson says.

Mail-sterilization contract renewed
Ion Beam Applications, a Belgian manufacturer of particle beam accelerators, says it has renewed its contract with the US Postal Service to sterilize mail at a New Jersey site. IBA first obtained a contract with the Postal Service last November to sterilize mail at IBA's Bridgeport, N.J., facility. The process sanitizes the mail with electron beam/x-ray technology.

Threat of bioterrorism darkens scientists' view of future
Scientists at the World Economic Forum in New York predict a grim future including biological threats and global warming. "Extreme pessimism seems to me to be the only rational stance," says Sir Martin Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal, at a session on future threats and opportunities presented by scientific advances. Rees expresses particular concern about the development of new biological weapons that could fall into the hands of dissident groups and cause widespread devastation. He says that even governments' best efforts to limit the spread of dangerous technologies will probably provide little more protection than current attempts to control the international drug trade.

Rapid test of response to smallpox vaccine announced
MedMira, a Canadian biotechnology company, announces that it has developed a prototype of a rapid test for smallpox protective antibodies that could be used to determine if smallpox vaccinations are working. MedMira's research team is collaborating on the project with Dr. Spencer Lee, professor of virology in the department of microbiology and immunology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He previously worked with the vaccinia virus, which was subsequently used in the vaccine to eradicate smallpox worldwide. By utilizing the vaccinia virus antigen source provided by Dr. Lee, MedMira has adapted its rapid-test platform to detect the protective antibodies produced after smallpox vaccination.

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