U.S. Announces $350 Million for Regional Research Centers

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson today announced the release of $350 million in grants over the next five years to establish eight “Regional Centers of Excellence” to conduct biological defense research.

The new regional centers will be established at Duke University, Harvard Medical School, New York State Health Department, the University of Chicago, the University of Baltimore, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the University of Washington and Washington University in St. Louis, according to a U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases release.

Each center will conduct research on developing new treatment and vaccines against biological weapons agents, such as anthrax, smallpox, plague and tularemia, the NIAID release said.  In addition, the centers will conduct research on bacterial and viral disease processes and will design new diagnostic approaches for biological defense.

NIAID will be responsible for administering the grants and the overall program.

“The new RCE program provides a coordinated and comprehensive mechanism to support the interdisciplinary research that will lead to new and improved therapies, vaccines, diagnostics and other tools to protect the citizens of our country and the world against the threat of bioterrorism,” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said in a statement (U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases release, Sept. 4).

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University Professor Faces Broad Set of Charges Stemming From Plague Incident

Some U.S. scientists and legal experts have complained that the United States is going too far in its attempts to prosecute Texas Tech University professor Thomas Butler, who early this year allegedly falsely reported that plague samples were missing from his university laboratory, the Baltimore Sun reported today (see GSN, Jan. 22).

In January, Butler told university officials that 30 vials of plague were missing from his laboratory, which prompted an investigation by law enforcement and the FBI, according to the Sun.  Later the same day, Butler signed a statement that said the vials had been accidentally destroyed and that his report that they were missing was “inaccurate.”

Since the initial incident, prosecutors have increased the number of charges against Butler beyond making a false statement.  U.S. prosecutors yesterday expanded the charges against Butler to also include allegations of mail fraud and embezzlement in connection with research he conducted for two pharmaceutical companies, the Sun reported.  Butler yesterday pleaded not guilty to the 69-count indictment and remains free on $100,000 bond.

Butler’s lawyers have argued that the expanded charges against their client are an attempt to hide the fact that the bioterrorism scare ignited by the FBI’s initial search of Texas Tech in January was unjustified.

“What happened in the Butler case is that by the time the FBI realized there was no bioterrorism conspiracy or danger, the story was already in newspapers around the world,” said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor and one of Butler’s defense attorneys.  “This is a face-saving attempt by the government to secure a conviction at any cost,” Turley said.

Some scientists have also said they do not understand the vast array of charges against Butler, according to the Sun.

D.A. Henderson, a senior U.S. bioterrorism adviser, said he was “puzzled” by the large indictment against Butler.  Noting that some of the charges against Butler allege improper transport of plague samples between facilities, it now appears that some scientific practices are clashing with new biological security regulations, according to Henderson.

“The question is, what was Butler’s intent?”  Henderson said.  “Did he intend to use plague as an agent to harm people?  No, no one believes that.  He’s done some very good research on plague.  So, my question is, what is the FBI up to here?” he added (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, Sept. 4).

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Researchers Identify Key Medical Symptoms Differentiating Anthrax From Influenza

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. researchers have identified key symptoms differentiating infections of inhalational anthrax from influenza and other respiratory conditions.  The development could lead to improved screening following a biological weapons attack, according to a study published earlier this week in Annals of Internal Medicine (see GSN, Sept. 3).

The study, conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, examined the features of anthrax-related illnesses in 28 cases — the 11 that occurred during the 2001 anthrax attacks along with 17 earlier cases dating back to 1920 — with the features of more than 4,000 cases of common viral respiratory track diseases, such as the flu.  According to the study, anthrax and influenza share some symptoms, such as fever and cough.  Other symptoms, however, including neurological symptoms such as loss of consciousness and dizziness and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, were more common in those infected with anthrax.  Symptoms such as sore throat and runny nose were more often associated with viral infections.

The results of the new study have helped Weill Cornell Medical Center develop a new screening protocol for use by physicians to be able to differentiate possible anthrax infections from flu cases in the event of a bioterrorist attack, according to a Cornell University press release.  The three-step protocol is a set of questions, the first of which is whether the patient has suffered any neurological symptoms such as confusion, according to the study.  If the answer is yes, the patient is immediately sent for further testing for anthrax and started on a preventive antibiotic regimen because such symptoms are highly uncommon in viral respiratory infections, the study says.

The second question in the protocol is whether the patient has experienced any fever, chills or cough.  If the patient answers no to both this and the first question, they can then be considered to be at low risk for inhalational anthrax, according to the study.  If the patient answers yes to the second question, however, they are then asked if they have experienced nausea or vomiting.  If the patient answers yes to having experienced nausea or vomiting, or exhibits abnornmal lung sounds, then they are considered to be a higher risk for anthrax.  If the patient says they have experienced fever or chills, but no nausea and vomiting, and has a runny nose or sore throat, then they are considered to be at low risk for anthrax.

The new protocol could help physicians and health officials to quickly and accurately identify cases of anthrax, which in turn could help preserve scare hospital capacity in the event of a biological terrorism attack, according to Nathaniel Hupert, assistant professor of public health and medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College and lead author of the study.

“In the case of bioterrorist attack, it is vitally important that physicians’ offices and hospital emergency departments accurately diagnose anthrax,” Hupert said in a statement.

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Harvard University Researchers Develop New Anthrax Vaccine

Researchers at Harvard University have developed a new anthrax vaccine that causes the immune system to fight both the anthrax bacterium and the toxin it produces, United Press International reported Monday (see GSN, Aug. 19).

The vaccine, which was created by combing two anthrax molecules to serve as antigens, was found to have offered protection to animals that were later administered anthrax toxin, according to UPI.  The new vaccine could also be used as a postinfection treatment, according to researchers (United Press International/Washington Times, Sept. 1).

NIAID Scientists Learn More About Immune Response to Anthrax

Meanwhile, scientists at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered new information on how immune systems respond to anthrax infection, the National Institutes of Health announced yesterday.

In a large-scale study, NIAID scientists injected hundreds of mice with anthrax lethal toxin and examined how various organs and immune systems responded, according to the NIH press release.  The scientists found that there was no link, contrary to previous belief, between the effects of the toxin and an increase in chemicals called cytokines, which are released by immune system cells after an infection.  The new information could lead to new approaches in developing drugs to counter anthrax, said NIAID Senior Investigator Stephen Leppla, head of the study (U.S. National Institutes of Health release, Sept. 2).

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Biological Weapons a “Priority” for Osama bin Laden, Taliban Source Says

A ranking Taliban source has said that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has made the use of biological weapons in a future terrorist attack a “priority,” Newsweek reported today (see GSN, Aug. 21).

In April, bin Laden held a meeting in Afghanistan that included representatives from the Taliban, senior al-Qaeda operatives and leaders from Islamic militant groups based in the disputed Russian region of Chechnya and Uzbekistan, according to a former Taliban deputy foreign minister.  During the meeting, bin Laden said he was working on “serious projects,” including attacks with biological weapons, a ranking Taliban source said.

“His priority is to use biological weapons,” the source said of bin Laden.

Al-Qaeda currently possesses biological weapons, the source said, adding that only transportation and launch problems remain to be solved. 

“Osama’s next step will be unbelievable,” the source said.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan still do not know precisely where bin Laden is hiding, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.

“We don’t know where he is,” said Col. Rodney Davis, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.  “And frankly, it’s not about him.  We’ll continue to focus on killing, capturing and denying sanctuary to any anti-coalition forces, whether they are influenced by bin Laden or not,” Davis said.

Some U.S. officials suspect that the war on terrorism has severely damaged bin Laden’s ability to communicate with his followers, reducing his involvement to a symbolic role.

“Bin Laden’s operational role is not as important as it was to al-Qaeda and the Taliban,” a senior U.S. diplomat in the Afghan capital of Kabul said.  “But symbolically he is still very important,” the diplomat added (Yousafzai/Moreau, Newsweek, Sept. 2).

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Hatfill Sues U.S. Justice Department Over Anthrax Investigation

Former U.S. Army biologist Steven Hatfill, who has been the public focus of the FBI’s investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, filed a lawsuit last week accusing the U.S. Justice Department of violating his constitutional rights, according to the New York Times (see GSN, July 3).

In his lawsuit, Hatfill accused Attorney General John Ashcroft and other Justice officials of ruining his life and of violating his privacy by publicly releasing information about him to hide the lack of progress in the anthrax investigation, the Times reported.  By identifying Hatfill as a “person of interest” in the investigation, Justice has destroyed his reputation and made him “not only unemployed, but as a practical matter unemployable,” the lawsuit says, calling for unspecified monetary damages from Ashcroft, Justice, the FBI and others.

The Justice Department refused to comment on Hatfill’s lawsuit, according to a department spokesman.  The spokesman said, however, that departmental counsel found in January that Ashcroft had not engaged in professional misconduct or violated Justice rules by publicly identifying Hatfill as a “person of interest” (Judith Miller, New York Times, Aug. 27).

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