The FBI has focused its “Amerithrax” investigation on a former U.S. government scientist who has the training needed to conduct last fall’s anthrax attacks, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Feb. 22).

The scientist became the focus of the investigation after more than 300 interviews with people involved in the U.S. anthrax program, according to the newspaper’s sources, who included law enforcement authorities and biochemical experts familiar with the investigation.  No charges have been filed, they said.

Law enforcement authorities have identified the scientist from about 50 researchers who have the necessary expertise to conduct the attacks, the sources told the Times.  They added that the scientist is thought to have worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., and is now a contractor in the Washington area.

The FBI has known for more than three months that the person responsible for the anthrax attacks is a U.S. citizen and probably a former scientist involved with the U.S. biological weapons defense program, the Times sources said.  The FBI and the U.S. Postal Service have yet to publicly identify any suspects in the investigation (Jerry Seper, Washington Times, Feb. 25).

False Alarm at U.S. Army Facility in Atlanta

Laboratory tests conducted Saturday on a suspicious package found at a U.S. Army facility in Atlanta came back negative for anthrax, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Initial field tests had registered positive, the newspaper reported.

“The definitive result is that it is not anthrax,” said Lisa Swenarski, spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the tests on the package.

A suspicious package had been found in a closet at the U.S. Army Reserve Command headquarters at Fort McPherson Friday evening, military officials said.  The package was a plastic bag that contained a white powder, said Joe Handly, a spokesman for Reserve Command Headquarters.

Officials at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Georgia public health department’s bioterrorism unit Saturday said they had only heard about the suspicious package at Fort McPherson through media reports.  The Georgia Homeland Security Task Force will examine ways to improve communication for future incidents, said GEMA spokeswoman Lisa Ray.

“We did send someone last night when we first heard about it,” Ray said.  “Their response was that no assistance was required from us” (Martz/Plummer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 24).

Blanco Returns to the Mailroom

Ernesto Blanco, the second victim of the anthrax attacks, last week returned to work at the mailroom of American Media Inc., now in a new building, according to CNN.com (see GSN, Oct. 25, 2001).

“I feel perfectly well, thank God,” said Blanco.  “I don’t have any discomfort or anything that you can associate with anthrax.  I feel the same I did before I became sick.”

Blanco, 74, went back to work at the Florida headquarters of AMI after spending 23 days in the hospital and four months recovering from the anthrax attack that killed AMI photo editor Bob Stevens (see GSN, Oct. 5, 2001).  Blanco recovered through the use of antibiotics such as Cipro, which he went off in early December, CNN.com reported. 

Blanco said he no longer is worried about anthrax, since his doctors told him he has built up antibodies in his blood.  While he is off antibiotics, Blanco still takes four other medicines a day, according to CNN.com.

“My doctor found no impediment to prevent me from working,” Blanco said.  “I decided not to keep being lazy, so I decided to go talk to the head of the company.  They were very amenable” (CNN.com, Feb. 24).

CDC Looking For New Director

One of the three CDC deputy directors will probably take control of the agency until a new director is found, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

David Fleming, Martha Katz and Virginia Shankle Bales are all being considered to become acting CDC director until a replacement is found for Jeffrey Koplan, according to the Journal-Constitution.  Koplan last week announced his resignation as CDC director effective at the end of March.

Public health experts weighed in on who should be considered as the next head of the CDC, one of the U.S. agencies responsible for a bioterrorism defense.

“Now more than ever, you want a public health professional,” said Tara O’Toole, director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies at Johns Hopkins University.  “You need someone who knows how to do this.”

O’Toole said that the next CDC director would need to be able to work well with both U.S. President George W. Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

“President Bush has made a point of assembling a national security team and he will probably want and expect this person to be in that circle,” O’Toole said.

Koplan’s resignation leaves the CDC without a director at a time when several other public health posts go unfilled, said other experts.

“That is the biggest concern I have now,” said Thomas Milne, executive director of the National Association of City and County Health Officers.  “CDC absolutely needs to have a strong person at the helm and that needs to happen quickly.  I am not hearing any names that I can take seriously.”

When asked about potential replacements on Friday, Koplan said, “The next director needs to be a widely recognized, national public health leader” (M.A.J. McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 24).

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