Bioterrorism

(CIDRAP News) – A Senate committee yesterday unanimously approved the Bush administration's "BioShield" plan to promote vaccines and treatments for biodefense but blocked the administration's proposal for compensating healthcare workers harmed by the smallpox vaccine.

(CIDRAP News) – US states and territories will receive a total of nearly $1.4 billion for bioterrorism preparedness this year, and 20% of that will be available almost immediately to support smallpox vaccination or other needs, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Citing the likelihood of war with Iraq within days, federal officials have raised the terrorism alert level to "high" and launched "Operation Liberty Shield," a set of protective measures that includes increased food security and public health vigilance.

(CIDRAP News) Ð With perfect timing inview of the current global outbreak of a mysterious respiratory disease, theInstitute of Medicine today released a report calling on the United States totake the lead in addressing infectious disease threats around the world as wellas at home.

(CIDRAP News) –The results of a spraying program to control gypsy moths in British Columbia suggest that terrorists could use conventional crop-dusting equipment to spread anthrax spores over a city and potentially infect people, according to a report in a new biodefense journal.

(CIDRAP News) – The Bush administration's proposal to compensate health workers harmed by the smallpox vaccine has drawn mixed reviews from public health groups and unions, with some groups calling it a major step forward and others labeling it inadequate.

Editor's Note: The text as originally published on Feb 26 was revised slightly on March 10, 2003.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using an advertising campaign to urge Americans to store emergency supplies and take other steps to prepare for potential terrorist attacks, including biological and chemical attacks.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials today raised the nation's security threat level from "elevated" to "high" because of intelligence reports indicating an increased risk of Al Qaida attacks on Americans at home or abroad. "High" is the second-highest of the five threat levels, after "severe."

(CIDRAP News) – Close to 200,000 doses of smallpox vaccine have been shipped to 35 states and two major cities since the vaccination program began Jan 24, but only about 700 healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).