U.S. Response:  Monkeypox Outbreak Tests Bioterrorism Response Systems

By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. efforts to prepare for a bioterrorist attack have enabled an effective response to this month’s outbreak of monkeypox in the United States, according to health officials and public health experts (see GSN, June 4).

“State health departments have been actively involved in planning and preparing for the possibility of a bioterrorist event.  We are now seeing that this level of preparation can also assist in unexpected, natural outbreaks,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Health officials are investigating 54 suspected cases of monkeypox in four states.  The disease is carried by rodents and is similar to smallpox but much less deadly.  U.S. officials yesterday recommended the smallpox vaccine to “persons investigating monkeypox outbreaks and involved in caring for infected individuals or animals.”

Monkeypox was not mistaken for smallpox, health officials said, but the similarity helped detect the disease quickly and bioterrorism was quickly ruled out.

Health workers are “trained more in clinical recognition of poxes” than they once were, said Lorna Will, an epidemiologist with the Wisconsin Department of Public Health.  Wisconsin has reported 20 cases of monkeypox.

Terrorism Defenses Tested

The monkeypox outbreak also tested the U.S. ability to respond to a bioterrorism incident, and the public health system performed admirably, officials said.

“Mother Nature has given us a little practice opportunity,” said Shelley Hearne, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, a nonpartisan public health group.

Hearne compared the monkeypox response to the confused public health reaction during the anthrax mailings of 2002 and said there has “certainly been significant improvement.  That’s the good news.”

She cautioned, however, that the government might be focusing too heavily on a few, select biological threats.  To prepare for terrorism, health officials should be prepared to face the “unexpected.”  The most effective preparation for an unknown biological or chemical threat is a strong public health infrastructure, according to Hearne.

Cuts in public health funding, brought on by nationwide budget shortfalls, risk “undercutting the foundation” of biological and chemical terrorism defenses, she warned.

Quick Detection

Health officials said the outbreak was detected and reported quickly.

“Surveillance has certainly been upgraded,” said Von Roebuck, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I suspect we may have seen monkeypox in the past and we didn’t pick it up,” Hearne said.

Enhanced communication in the public health community was the most valuable improvement cited by several officials and experts.

The focus on preparing for bioterrorism “helped a lot with communication between hospitals and health departments,” according to Will, the Wisconsin epidemiologist.

The CDC was able to effectively alert local health departments, said Roebuck, adding, “the information communication side has been very good, and that’s huge, especially in an investigation like this.”

Will, who until recently was a clinician, said that doctors now know where to go during a public health emergency.

“When we first started [improving public health infrastructure] people used to call me constantly without a clue,” she said.  Confused doctors did not know where to report unusual diseases or where to get information on new outbreaks.  “I can tell you that as a clinician, I would not have known who to call,” she said.

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China:  Researcher Sentenced to One Year for Attempted Smuggling

A biological researcher at Cornell University in New York has been sentenced to a year in jail for attempting to travel to China with more than 250 containers holding biological agents, the Associated Press reported today.

Yin Qingqiang, a Chinese citizen and a former postdoctoral research associate, was arrested at Syracuse Hancock International Airport July 28, 2002, as he was boarding a flight to Shanghai.  Yin was convicted of property theft and lying to the FBI.  He has already served two months of his sentence.

The stolen containers — vials, test tubes and Petri dishes — held bacteria and yeast cultures for livestock food production, AP reported.

Cornell’s laboratory employees sign a waiver acknowledging that their work and material belong to the school, according to lab director Xingen Lei.  Yin said that he was never told that he could not remove the biological agents, AP reported (Associated Press/New York Post, June 12).

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Anthrax I:  Maryland Pond Operation Could Last One Month, Area Mayor Says

The FBI’s effort to drain and search a pond located near Frederick, Md., as part of its investigation into the fall 2001 anthrax attacks could last a month, Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty said yesterday (see GSN, June 10).

It is expected to take several days to drain the pond, according to the Associated Press.  Engineers hired by the FBI plan to slowly reduce the water level in the pond, by about one foot per day, to avoid excessive disturbance of aquatic life, Dougherty said.  The bureau’s search of the pond could then last for several weeks, she said.

“Obviously, everybody’s eager to be successful, but to do it in the right way,” Dougherty said (David Dishneau, Associated Press, June 11).

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Anthrax II:  Hong Kong Officials Rule Out Terrorism in Anthrax Death

Hong Kong health officials believe the recent death of a 2-year-old boy from anthrax is not related to bioterrorism, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 23).

The boy first exhibited anthrax symptoms May 27 and died three days later, AFP reported.  The boy is believed to have contracted the disease from contaminated food, according to a postmortem report released yesterday.

“There is no evidence that this was a biological attack,” said Hong Kong Health Department consultant Tse Lai-yin.  “We suspect he consumed uncooked contaminated meat as the source,” Tse said.

Authorities plan to continue the investigation into how the boy contracted anthrax, including “checks on the types of food he consumed and where they were purchased,” a Hong Kong Health Department spokeswoman said.

Health officials have responded to the situation with caution, sterilizing the boy’s home, the hospital where he received treatment and his school.

Area hospitals were alerted but they were not expected to be needed because the boy’s death was the first area anthrax death in nine years.

“We just need the public to maintain good personal hygiene and make sure their food is cooked very very well,” said Health Department consultant Tse Lai-yin (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 11).

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Anthrax I:  FBI Divided Over Former U.S. Army Biologist’s Role in Attacks

The FBI task force investigating the fall 2001 anthrax attacks is divided over the possible role of a former U.S. Army biologist who has been the public focus so far of the bureau’s investigation into the attacks, the Baltimore Sun reported today (see GSN, June 9).

Some within the FBI task force believe that Steven Hatfill is still a promising suspect, according to one official who is in regular contact with investigators.  Others, however, are frustrated that after more than a year-and-a-half, no substantial evidence linking Hatfill to the attacks has been found, according to the Sun.

As part of its investigation, the FBI has begun draining a pond located near Frederick, Md., where pieces of laboratory equipment were discovered during a series of searches that began late last year.  Agents are believed to be looking for additional pieces of equipment that might have been used to prepare the letters mailed in the attacks and authorities may also test for anthrax in soil samples taken from the bottom of the pond, according to the Sun. 

Some FBI officials, however, are unsure if the new effort will uncover anything, the Sun reported.

“Even the ones who favor draining the pond aren’t all that certain they’ll find anything,” the official said (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, June 10).

To help construct a day-by-day timeline of Hatfill’s activities, the FBI has obtained documents under a grand jury subpoena and has conducted interviews with hundreds of people, according to the Washington Post.  Bureau agents have also attempted to persuade people who know Hatfill, or who have worked with him, to offer information. 

In addition, the FBI has investigated whether Hatfill had any connection to several anthrax hoax letters that were discovered around the same time as the tainted letters used in the attacks, sources said.  Two of the hoax letters were mailed from Malaysia and London, where authorities have worked with the FBI to determine if they are connected to Hatfill or anyone associated with him, sources said.

The FBI has questioned Malaysian relatives and associates of Hatfill’s girlfriend, who came to the United States from Malaysia, sources said.  The FBI has also questioned relatives of Hatfill’s girlfriend who live in the Northeastern United States, the Post reported.

The London hoax letter was postmarked at the same time Hatfill was in a London suburb to attend classes for trainees in the U.N. weapons inspection program, according to the Post.  The FBI obtained records of Hatfill’s car rental at London Heathrow Airport and tracked his movements before and after the training classes, the Post reported.  Pat Clawson, a spokesman for Hatfill, said Hatfill used the car only to travel to and from the airport and did not enter London (Snyder/Thompson, Washington Post, June 10).

Clawson yesterday once again defended Hatfill, saying he was innocent of any role in the anthrax attacks.

“When Steve heard the news this morning, he just chuckled and shook his head that they would waste all that money,” Clawson said.  “They can search every pond in Maryland and drain the Pacific Ocean and they won’t find evidence linking Steve Hatfill to the anthrax attacks, because there is no such evidence.  On the other hand, if this will help further establish Steve's innocence, we welcome it,” Clawson added (Shane, Baltimore Sun).

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U.S. Response:  Democrats Criticize DHS Information Analysis

Several U.S. Democratic lawmakers yesterday questioned the Homeland Security Department’s ability to analyze the bioterrorist threat to the United States, saying the department’s poor analytical capability calls into question the $6 billion the White House wants to spend on Project Bioshield over the next decade (see GSN, June 3).

The department “is not remotely close to having the tools it needs to meet its critical mandate,” said Representative Jim Turner (D-Texas) in a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush.

Project Bioshield is a $6 billion effort to stockpile medicines to respond to a bioterrorist attack.

“We can’t afford to make a multimillion-dollar mistake,” Turner wrote.

The “dysfunctional state” of the department’s Office of Information Analysis puts Project Bioshield’s direction in doubt, Turner said yesterday at a press conference.  The office has only one microbiologist and 25 analysts, according to Turner.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said officials plan to hire 85 more analysts, including four more microbiologists, by the end of September.

Representative Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said that analyzing the threat against the United States was critically important.

“If this system is broken, everything else at the department is treading on thin ice,” she said (Jim Abrams, Associated Press/Kansas City Star, June 9).

Turner said the information analysis office could not provide an assessment of bioterrorism threats.

Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) also criticized the new department and said that the disapproval was bipartisan.

“It was, I think, a very unpleasant surprise for all the members, including the Republicans, how little prepared this agency is.  At this point, it’s kind of a shell,” he said (Federal News Service transcript, June 9).

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Anthrax II:  U.S. Judge Sentences Grandmother to 10 Months in Halfway House for Hoaxes

A 69-year-old Massachusetts woman was sentenced last week to 10 months in a halfway house for mailing anthrax hoax letters (see GSN, Feb. 11).

Joyce Godbout, a grandmother of 10, pleaded guilty last year to mailing 18 death threats — some including a white powder — to Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly, members of his staff and a judge who were all involved in her 2001 conviction on Medicaid fraud charges, according to the Associated Press.  Godbout had originally been sentenced to serve a year at a halfway house, but a new policy later removed federal judges’ discretion in sentencing nonviolent offenders, AP reported. 

At Godbout’s resentencing hearing Thursday, U.S. Attorney Stephen Huggard called on the judge to sentence Godbout to at least 30 months in prison, despite her advanced age.

“The papers say that the government wants granny to go to jail. ... Well, granny should go to jail because granny is a terrorist,” Huggard said (Associated Press/TheBostonChannel.com, June 6).

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Anthrax:  FBI Begins Draining Maryland Pond in Anthrax Attack Investigation

The FBI announced today that it has begun to drain a pond near Frederick, Md., as part of the bureau’s investigation into the 2001 anthrax mail attacks (see GSN, May 30).

“The FBI and the U.S. Postal Service are conducting forensic searches on public land located near the city of Frederick, Maryland,” the FBI said in a press release.  “To facilitate the search activity, one pond will be drained,” it added (FBI release, June 9).

The area surrounding the 1-acre, 50,000-gallon pond will remain classified and restricted during the investigation, the city of Frederick said in a press statement today.  This stage of the bureau’s investigation is set to last up to four weeks, after which the FBI will fully restore the pond and surrounding area, according to the Frederick release.

The FBI is unsure as to how long it will take to drain the pond, bureau spokeswoman Debbie Weierman told Global Security Newswire today. 

A set of ponds located in the Maryland forest has been a focus of the FBI’s investigation into the attacks since late last year when the bureau first searched the ponds using divers.  The Washington Post reported last month that those pond searches uncovered several pieces of laboratory equipment, including what could be a box that would allow someone to manipulate material inside it while wearing gloves (Mike Nartker, GSN, June 9).

The searches also discovered a piece of rope, which investigators initially believed could have been used to anchor the box in the pond, USA Today reported last week.  Initial tests indictating traces of anthrax on the rope were later reversed, according to USA Today (Toni Locy, USA Today, May 28).

The stretch of forest where the pond being drained is located is near the former home of Steven Hatfill, a former U.S. Army biologist who has been the public focus of the FBI’s investigation into the anthrax attacks.  Hatfill has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks (Nartker, GSN).

Postal Service Delays Detection Equipment Tests

Meanwhile, the Postal Service has decided to delay tests in 14 cities of new anthrax-detection equipment, CNN.com reported May 30 (see GSN, May 27). 

The tests were originally scheduled to begin June 2.  More time is needed, however, to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities in the test cities to develop guidelines for responding to test results, postal Vice President Azeezaly Jaffer said.  No new date for the tests has been announced (CNN.com, May 30).

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