Global Security Newswire

A new U.S. study says that more than 1 million people could be exposed to anthrax during an airborne biological strike on a major city, United Press International reported last week (see GSN, July 29).

The study, published in the journal Medical Decision Making, reports that quick detection and medical response would be critical to stemming the harm caused by such an incident.

"No matter how well-organized and prolonged a treatment program is, it must be quickly implemented. In fact, our analysis shows that time-to-treatment is roughly twice as important as the duration of the distribution program," lead author Nathaniel Hupert, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said in a press release.

Using a computer simulation, researchers determined that a strong antibiotics treatment campaign implemented within two days of an anthrax attack could prevent 87 percent of those exposed from becoming sick.

Every day afterward that the campaign remains unfinished would send about 3 percent more people to the hospital, the researchers said.

A successful response would rely not only on fast-acting medical personnel, but on the use of early detection technology.

"Crucial to rapidly implementing a treatment program is early detection, including thorough use of advanced biosurveillance technologies and live, person-to-person communication," Hupert said (United Press International, Aug. 3).