U.S. to Boost Antibiotics Reserves, Health Chief Says
10/14 12:18
By Bob Gravely
quote.bloomberg.com
Washington, Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration will ask Congress for $1 billion next week to bolster the 400 tons of antibiotics in government reserves to respond to the possibility of a biological or chemical attack, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said.
There have been no new incidents of anthrax infection in the U.S. on top of the 10 possible cases in three states already reported, Thompson said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. One person has died.
``We have a lot of chatter out there, but we have no imminent threats of any chemical or biological attack at this time,'' Thompson said.
Thompson and Attorney General John Ashcroft said the U.S. doesn't yet know whether the anthrax spores sent via the mail were the work of terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, who are blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Administration officials have said previously that bin Laden may have access to biological and chemical weapons and that countries with the capability to produce them may be aiding terrorists.
``You've got to suspect it's possible,'' Thompson said. ``We don't know.''
Thompson said the U.S. has stockpiled enough medicine to treat 2 million people for anthrax exposure for up to 60 days and has 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine on hand.
The extra $1 billion the administration will seek from Congress would allow the government to buy enough additional anthrax vaccine to treat 12 million people for 60 days, Thompson said on ABC's ``This Week'' program.
90 Teams Ready
In addition, the government has 7,000 people on 90 teams that could be deployed to respond to any large-scale biological attack, Thompson said.
``We have enough doses to take care of everybody,'' Thompson said. ``If you need it, we're going to be there.''
Thompson sought to calm Americans' nerves following the death of a Florida man two weeks ago from anthrax exposure and other anthrax cases in Florida, New York and Nevada.
Thompson said there have been no new confirmed cases over the weekend. ``There are a lot of false rumors and false starts out there,'' he said.
Anthrax -- a livestock bacteria formally known as bacillus anthracis that can be lethal if inhaled -- is considered to be one of the agents most likely to be used as a weapon in some form of biological attack.
Getting anthrax spores packaged into a specially engineered aerosol or powdered form takes technical expertise. Processing anthrax so that it can be inhaled is considered more difficult.
Side Effects
Thompson discouraged people who hadn't been exposed to anthrax from taking Bayer AG's antibiotic Cipro, as a precaution.
In addition to side effects, taking the main medicine to treat anthrax infection beforehand could make the treatment less effective should a person become infected, Thompson said.
``You need to wait until you actually come into contact if you ever do,'' Thompson said.
So far, one Florida man, 63-year-old Robert Stevens, has died of anthrax exposure. Another man who worked at the Boca Raton, Florida, office of American Media Inc., publisher of the tabloid weeklies Sun and National Inquirer, has tested positive and five others there are being treated for possible exposure.
An assistant to NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw in New York, 38-year-old Erin O'Connor, has contracted a form of anthrax through the skin. A second employee of General Electric Co.'s NBC had possible symptoms of anthrax, including a low-grade fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash and is taking antibiotics, MSNBC reported today.
Test on Pictures
Tests on pornographic pictures sent to a Microsoft Corp. office in Reno, Nevada, showed evidence of anthrax bacteria. Tests on other suspicious letters sent to the New York Times and St. Petersburg Times in Florida have turned up negative.
An employee of Ford Motor Co. in Edison, New Jersey, also is undergoing tests for possible exposure, the Washington Post reported. |
