SPORE DETECTION: NASA to develop biohazard 'smoke' detector

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BIOPORT CORP.: New report calls for protecting at-risk civilians from anthrax
Biotech Week
EXPANDED REPORTING; Pg. 14
December 4, 2002

A panel of leading bioterrorism experts warned that the United States still lacks an articulated preparedness plan for immediate immunizations of at-risk civilians, a strategic anthrax vaccine stockpile, and a national consensus on how the FDA-approved anthrax vaccine will be dispensed and to whom.

The lethal dose of anthrax - thought to be in the range of 8000-10,000 spores - has now been shown to be just a few spores, possibly less than 10

The six-member expert panel released a new report - Protecting Americans Against Anthrax: The Need for an Effective Defense - which points to the need for the civilian equivalent of the U.S. military's anthrax vaccine immunization program (AVIP) to assess which civilians are at greatest risk of an anthrax attack. Issued as a nationwide call to action, this report declares that the United States bioterror infrastructure cannot labor under a false sense of security when anthrax spores can be so effectively weaponized and made resistant to antibiotics, which would render the current postexposure treatment useless.

"Terrorism by means of weaponized anthrax is not theoretical. We already have experienced terrifying, fatal attacks on U.S. soil," said Major General Randall (Randy) L. West, USMC (Ret.), one of the members of the expert panel. "Whether the environment is a theater of war in the Middle East, involves U.S. interests abroad, or exists in cities or towns within the United States, it is imperative that the nation takes the steps necessary to establish effective procedures and counter-procedures before the next anthrax attack occurs." BioPort Corp., manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine BioThrax, commissioned the development of this report as a way to assess the state of preparedness against another anthrax attack and to gain consensus on the future role of the anthrax vaccine.

Addressing the need for a national strategy on civilian use of the anthrax vaccine, the report states "there is now a new understanding of how easily anthrax can be weaponized and, when inhaled, made far more potent than the deadliest chemical warfare agent."

Moreover, the expert panel cautioned that anthrax spores could be altered to produce a strain that is resistant to ciprofloxacin and other antibiotics. Compounding the problem, the panel cited new research data revealing that less than half of the people exposed to anthrax completed the entire schedule of antibiotic treatment. Of those persons taking at least 1 dose of antibiotics, but stopping before 60 days, 43% stated that adverse events were the most important reason they stopped. As a result, the report cautioned against continuing a national strategy that relies solely on antibiotics for protecting people from inhalational anthrax.

"Our government must act quickly to conduct a timely, comprehensive assessment of those civilians at greatest risk of exposure to anthrax. Once completed, that assessment should allow us to immediately offer vaccine to those at risk - particularly based on what we know about the solid safety profile of the anthrax vaccine and its ability to protect," said Gilbert Ross, MD, medical director of the American Council on Science and Health and a member of the panel.

To provide at-risk civilians immediate access to the anthrax vaccine, the expert panel reviewed federal policy on smallpox protection, citing the government's decision to produce and store 286 million doses of smallpox vaccine - enough for every man, woman and child in the U.S. But because anthrax is not contagious, like smallpox, the panel recommended limiting the civilian stockpile to two uses: for pre-exposure vaccination of at-risk civilians - mail and package handlers, first responders, employees of "secure facilities" such as nuclear plants and airports, laboratory technicians, decontamination workers, and research scientists - and a strategic stockpile to protect members of the general population in the event of a large-scale attack.

Accordingly, the report called on the Office of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the civilian population so that decisions can be made about expanding the production capacity beyond what is necessary for military personnel operating in high-risk theaters around the globe. The importance of conducting this risk assessment is underscored by the fact that every dose of the anthrax vaccine is being procured by the Department of Defense on behalf of all government agencies. The vaccine being supplied through this procurement process is earmarked for the protection of military personnel and a limited number of at-risk civilians. In order to increase the supply for the civilian population, the manufacturer is prepared to take additional measures, such as expanding its current facility, establishing a second manufacturing site, or contracting with a secondary manufacturer.

Such a scale-up would ensure production of sufficient doses of the anthrax vaccine within 18 months. Doses for use in an emergency under an appropriate investigational new drug (IND) could be made available much sooner.

To increase supplies of the anthrax vaccine, the expert panel also urged the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to complete its study into BioThrax dose reduction. This clinical study is being conducted to establish that as few as 3 doses of vaccine offers sufficient protection against the anthrax bacterium. This would have the net effect of increasing the size of the anthrax vaccine stockpile, since the same number of doses would be "stretched" over more people.

The new report provides a reality check on the anthrax threat, based on these lessons learned from last year's mail attacks:

*It is much easier to weaponize anthrax - that is, converting these spores to finely milled microscopic particles - than previously thought;

*Weaponized anthrax is easy to spread through such low-tech mechanisms as letters, copy machines, and air conditioners;

*The lethal dose of anthrax - thought to be in the range of 8000-10,000 spores - has now been shown to be just a few spores, possibly less than 10;

*The potential for bioengineering a strain of anthrax that is resistant to antibiotics is real.

This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports.

Moreover, the expert panel cautioned that anthrax spores could be altered to produce a strain that is resistant to ciprofloxacin and other antibiotics.

Piece of cake. All it takes is a $500 plasmid transformation kit. The anthrax samples sent to Daschle et al were antibiotic susceptible only because the sleepers who sent them were not in suicide mode -- why should they be? This was a message from one sophisticated bioweaponeer (initials SH) to another. No need to demonstrate capabilities in routine laboratory practice, eh?

Thanks much for these posts. Circles in circles in circles.

I would have thought that all air is full of spores, and that what is important is to detect a certain kind of spore, like anthrax.

>I would have thought that all air is full of spores...

This device detects endospores, protective spores having layers of protective membranes that allow them to survive under unfavorable conditions. Protective spores aren't the same as the seed-like structures that are the reproductive spores many kinds of fungi, e.g., mushrooms, produce. See Microbial spore formation

For more on Adrian Ponce's endospore detector, see Chemist's solution to biohazard detection

Thanks for the heads up!

The "Tricorder" is soon to become a reality?

Already got those. </wink> See 'Star Trek device' could detect illness

*The potential for bioengineering a strain of anthrax that is resistant to antibiotics is real.

And I thought Cipro would be there if I ever needed it.