U.S. Awards More Than $26 Million for Biodefense Training

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department Friday awarded more than $26 million in grants to medical facilities and universities in 23 states to help improve biological defense training and education (see GSN, June 17).

The department’s Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program has awarded more than $22 million to help provide bioterrorism-related continuing education for health care workers.  The program has also provided more than $4 million to develop new emergency preparedness curricula in medical schools.

“Our health care professionals need to be prepared for the special demands that a bioterrorism attack could make on them and on our health care system,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a press statement.  “This new program is an important part of our broader efforts to prepare our public health system, develop effective medical countermeasures and stand ready to respond if bioterrorism should strike,” he said (U.S. Health and Human Services Department release, Sept. 12).

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Pentagon Suspects Cigarette Smoking as Cause of Pneumonia Cases

An outbreak of pneumonia cases among U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and southwestern Asia may be related to the fact that many of those infected had begun smoking before falling ill, U.S. Defense Department official said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 19).

The Pentagon has ruled out a number of possible causes, such as anthrax and smallpox vaccinations, for the 19 cases of severe pneumonia, including two deaths, that occurred from March to August, according to the New York Times.  Investigators have found that 10 patients, including the two who died, had a high increase in the number of a white blood cell known as an eosinophil.

Nine out of the 10 patients with high eosinophil count reported that they had recently begun smoking, said Col. Bob DeFraites, the Army’s chief of preventive medicine.  Tobacco smoke is known to increase susceptibility to pneumonia, according to the Times.  Smoke, along with a combination of other factors such as heat, dust and stress, may have caused the pneumonia, DeFraites said (Lawrence Altman, New York Times, Sept. 10).

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Canada Launches Smallpox Simulation

Canadian officials yesterday launched “Global Mercury,” a three-day exercise to test the international community’s ability to respond to a smallpox attack (see GSN, Aug. 13).

Health officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, Mexico and the European Commission are taking part in the exercise.  Officials from the World Health Organization are acting as advisers during the exercise.

“The main objective of the exercise is to test whether we can effectively, efficiently, and rapidly share medical information among countries for a fictitious smallpox event,” said a statement from Health Canada (Agence France-Presse, Sept. 9).

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U.S. Postal Service Completes 15-City Test of New Anthrax Detection System

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service last month completed a 15-city test of a new anthrax detection system, an agency spokesman told Global Security Newswire today, describing the test as a “resounding success” (see GSN, July 24).

The system works by testing the air surrounding mail-handling equipment for anthrax spores, according to reports.  If spores are detected, the system automatically sends an e-mail to designated officials who then will use fire alarms to alert workers.  While the system can be expanded to test for other biological weapons agents than anthrax, there are currently no plans to do so, Postal Service spokesman Bob Anderson said.

The Postal Service now plans to begin a two-phase nationwide deployment of the system in early 2004, Anderson said, adding that full deployment is scheduled to be completed in 2005.  The test found “minor tweaks” that still need to be performed on the system before it is ready for deployment, he said.

In July, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Postal Service had entered into a $175 million contract with Northrop Grumman to install the new detection system.  Anderson refused today to provide cost information, however, saying that the Postal Service was still in negotiation with Northrop Grumman.

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California Company Wins Grant to Develop Smallpox Treatment

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a $36 million grant to a small California company for developing a pill to treat victims of a smallpox terrorist attack, the New York Times reported today.  Currently, there is no treatment for individuals suffering from smallpox, only a vaccine to prevent the virus from taking hold (see GSN, Aug. 13).

Chimerix, a nine-person company in San Diego, intends to use the funding to conduct animal and human testing necessary to receive regulatory approval for the drug.  The drug, CMX-001, has so far only been tested in mice, and only using viruses similar to smallpox, according to Chimerix Chief Executive Officer George Painter.  Early results, however, indicate the drug could be effective if administered within three days of smallpox exposure.

Animal testing is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004, according to the company.

The new drug is not intended to replace the smallpox vaccine, according to Catherine Laughlin, chief of the NIAID virology branch.  Chimerix is attempting to create a pill using the drug cidofovir, which is thought to be effective against smallpox but can only be administered intravenously (Andrew Pollack, New York Times, Sept. 9).

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U.S. Pharmaceutical Company Receives Grant to Develop Botulinum Vaccine

The U.S. pharmaceutical company Dynport Vaccine Co. announced last week that it had received an $11 million grant to develop a new and more effective botulinum vaccine (see GSN, June 3).

Under the grant, provided by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dynport will develop manufacturing processes for a vaccine within two years to be effective against five of the neurotoxins known to be produced by the botulinum bacterium.  The company is set to develop processes for a vaccine effective against all seven kinds of toxins produced by the bacterium within five years. 

“Botulinum neurotoxin is generally recognized as the deadliest naturally occurring substance known and has been identified as a potential bioweapon,” company President Terry Irgens said in a press release.  “There is an urgent need for a safe, efficacious vaccine that will protect against all seven known serotypes of the neurotoxin,” he said (Dynport Vaccine release, Sept. 4).

The current botulinum vaccine is only effective against three toxins and only after infection, the Associated Press reported (David Dishneau, Associated Press, Sept. 9).

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