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Smallpox: Many Decline Vaccine Despite Monkeypox FearsMany people eligible to receive the smallpox vaccine, because of their potential exposure to the U.S. monkeypox outbreak, are choosing not to receive the vaccine, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 12). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week recommended that the nation’s smallpox vaccine, stockpiled to defend against bioterrorism, be used to stem the spread of monkeypox. There have been 82 reported cases of monkeypox nationwide, AP reported. It is unclear how many people have come into contact with the monkeypox virus through infected animals or people. Herb Bostrom, director of the Wisconsin Bureau of Communicable Diseases, said “the numbers are very, very small.” Authorities in Wisconsin notified 90 people who were eligible to receive the smallpox vaccine at a clinic Saturday, but none of those people showed up, according to Milwaukee Health Commissioner Seth Foldy. Ohio and Illinois, both states with suspected monkeypox outbreaks, have not offered the smallpox vaccine at all, according to AP (Jenny Price, Associated Press/ABCNews.com, June 17).
From June 13, 2003 issue.Anthrax: FBI Completes Draining of Maryland PondThe FBI has finished draining a pond near Frederick, Md., and is now preparing to search the sediment at the bottom as part of the bureau’s investigation into the fall 2001 anthrax attacks, Frederick and law enforcement officials said yesterday (see GSN, June 11). Frederick’s police chief was informed late Wednesday that the draining — which began Monday — had been completed, Frederick Public Information Officer Nancy Poss said. Officials believe it could take several weeks to examine the bottom of the pond for further evidence (Kevin Bohn, CNN.com, June 12). The FBI has asked Phillips and Jordan Inc. — a general contractor specializing in heavy earth moving that worked to sift through the rubble of the World Trade Center — to assist in searching the pond, said Page Riley, the company’s chief engineer. “We’re just basically up there trying to help the FBI,” Riley said Wednesday. “They drained the pond today and they’re going to try to get in there and start going through the pond bottom,” Riley said (David Keim, KnoxNews.com, June 12). Anthrax Attacks “Perfect Crime” Meanwhile, a scientist at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah has said the anthrax attacks could be “the perfect crime.” No fingerprints were found on the letters used in the attacks and there is apparently no other evidence pointing to the person responsible, said Army microbiologist Jeff Mohr. “They can’t crack it because there’s no forensic trail. It was a perfect crime,” Mohr said. FBI agent George Dougherty said, however, that some evidence is being discovered in the case, although he refused to provide further details (Paul Foy, Associated Press/Casper Star-Tribune, June 12).
From June 13, 2003 issue.Smallpox I: United States Immunizes More Than 37,000 CiviliansU.S. health officials have immunized more than 37,000 civilian volunteers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today (see GSN, May 28; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention release, June 12).
From June 13, 2003 issue.Smallpox II: Japanese Vaccine Headed to United StatesA California drug company has purchased a 25-year-old Japanese smallpox vaccine and will soon begin testing it in the United States, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, May 28). The vaccine — purchased by VaxGen for use in combating bioterrorism — is reportedly one of the safest in the world. So Hashizume, president of Japan’s Poliomyelitis Research Institute, developed the vaccine in the 1970s. The vaccine has been held in cold storage since the Japanese government ended mandatory vaccinations in 1976 (Makiko Tatebayashi, Daily Yomiuri, June 13).
From June 13, 2003 issue.U.S. Response: Homeland Security Department Assumes Control of Plum Island FacilityThe U.S. Homeland Security Department announced last week that it would assume management of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center off Long Island, N.Y., which studies animal pathogens (see GSN, June 24, 2002). Homeland Security and the U.S. Agriculture Department, which currently manages the facility, have begun a joint management program to oversee a four-month transition period, according to a Homeland Security press release. Under the new management, Plum Island researchers will contribute their expertise to Homeland Security’s biological counterterrorism efforts, which includes the prevention of agricultural terrorism, the release said (see GSN, June 12). “We look forward to working closely with our USDA colleagues on a focused research and development program and management plan that will help us prevent, respond to, and recover from agroterrorism attacks,” said Homeland Security Undersecretary Charles McQueary. “Our commitment to making a safer and more secure environment for our nation and our agricultural community is a top priority,” he said (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, June 6).
From June 12, 2003 issue.U.S. Response: Monkeypox Outbreak Tests Bioterrorism Response SystemsBy David McGlinchey “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.
From June 12, 2003 issue.China: Researcher Sentenced to One Year for Attempted SmugglingA 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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