Smallpox:  Israel Avoids Nationwide Immunizations

Israel has decided not to implement a nationwide immunization effort after officials there determined the threat of a smallpox biological terrorist attack is low, the New York Times reported last week (see GSN, Dec. 10).

“Intelligence reports are saying there is no immediate threat, and we don’t see the possibility of Iraq attacking us with smallpox,” said Yehuda Danon, a professor of immunology and pediatrics at Tel Aviv University.  “But everything would change once we have the first case,” he added.

Israeli officials announced, however, that they plan to expand the immunization program to cover about 40,000 emergency workers and health care first responders, the Times reported.  A greater emphasis will also be placed on developing a plan to respond to a smallpox outbreak.  Israeli officials said they might be able to immunize the nation of 6 million people in about four days.

“The first single case of smallpox would change the daily life of the whole country and probably the whole world,” Danon said.  “Air and sea transportation would stop.  We have to make sure that we have a population who can treat the sick people and immunize the healthy people,” he added (Dexter Filkins, New York Times, Dec. 26).

So far, Israel has inoculated 15,000 emergency personnel and only four people have been hospitalized for side effects, according to Health Ministry spokesman Ido Hadari.  Two of those who have been hospitalized were family members of health workers who received the inoculation, Reuters reported.  They reportedly came in contact with the inoculation site and developed blisters and a fever (Reuters, Dec. 19).

U.S. Plan Could Hurt Local Health Programs

In the United States, meanwhile, state health officials are concerned that the White House plan to immunize up to 10 million health care workers against smallpox could be prohibitively expensive and might draw funds from other health or biological defense programs, the Washington Post reported last week (see GSN, Dec. 16).

The plan, put forward by U.S. President George W. Bush, is “the ultimate unfunded federal mandate,” said 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,” he added.

Officials expect the plan to cost between $600 million and $1 billion, the Post reported.  The United States has already spent more than $862 million to acquire the smallpox vaccine.

“States and localities are diverting significant resources to smallpox vaccination and there is no end in sight,” said Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.  “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,” he added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is coordinating the immunization effort, said that some of the $918 million that was sent to state governments last spring to improve biological defense measures could be used for the immunizations.

“We’re absolutely committed to working with the states to make this work efficiently and safely,” said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.  “There are a lot of dollar figures out there, some of which I believe do not take into account the infrastructure that’s been put in place,” he added.

Some state officials, however, said the money allocated last spring was not directed to smallpox-related efforts.

“The word smallpox wasn’t even mentioned,” said Michael Richardson, acting health director for the District of Columbia.

Congress will most likely send $940 million to help states improve their biological defense infrastructures, according to Bill Pierce, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (Ceci Connolly, Washington Post, Dec. 24).

Bush privately received his own smallpox vaccination Dec. 21, the Post reported.

The president did not display any immediate side effects, the White House reported (Mike Allen, Washington Post, Dec. 22).

For further information, see:

CDC Smallpox Information

Journal of the American Medical Association Background on Smallpox

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Anthrax:  FBI Increasing Surveillance, Hatfill Says

Steven Hatfill, the former U.S. Army biologist who has been the public focus of the FBI’s investigation into last year’s anthrax attacks, has said the FBI has recently increased its surveillance of him, United Press International reported last week (see GSN, Dec. 19).

Beginning Dec. 17, after the FBI completed a search of a section of forest near Frederick, Md., the bureau began a day-and-night surveillance operation using unmarked vehicles, Hatfill told UPI.  He said that several times FBI agents came close to running into his car as they followed him. 

“The cars were on my bumper,” Hatfill said.

Hatfill said he did not know why the FBI had recently increased its surveillance of him.  Hatfill spokesman Patrick Clawson said he believes the FBI’s actions amount to harassment.

The FBI refused to comment last week on the increased surveillance of Hatfill or its search of the Maryland forest, which is also believed to be linked to Hatfill (Divis/Horrock, United Press International, Dec. 23).

Brentwood Decontamination

Meanwhile, U.S. Postal Service officials have said they will not dismantle the equipment used to decontaminate the anthrax-tainted Brentwood Road postal facility in Washington until it is determined that the decontamination was successful (see GSN, Dec. 18).  Officials are awaiting the results of tests conducted on 4,000 samples and 8,000 test strips removed from the facility, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“You don’t want to take down all the equipment and then find out you hadn’t killed all the spores,” said Thomas Day, Postal Service vice president of engineering.  “You don’t want to start all over again,” he added (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, Dec. 27).

For further information, see:

CDC Frequently Asked Questions About Anthrax

FBI Amerithrax Investigation

Journal of the American Medical Association Background on Anthrax

GSN Anthrax Attack Chronology (Dec. 12, 2001)

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