IP: Expert Links anthrax, Hijackings

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Damn if I see the link in this text but ... djf


> Monday November 5 5:08 PM ET
>
> Expert Links anthrax, Hijackings
> By JOSHUA HAMMANN, Associated Press Writer
>
> LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Ronald M. Atlas doesn't have a gas mask, and he
> has no plans to buy one.
>
> The incoming president of the 42,000-member American Society for
> Microbiology said the best protection against fear of bioterrorism
> isn't gadgetry, it's information.
>
> ``I certainly don't want to diminish the tragedy of four deaths but
> compared to other deaths in this country, I think the fear (of
> anthrax) is somewhat disproportionate,'' said Atlas, graduate dean of
> the University of Louisville.
>
> Atlas, who has become the scientific community's anthrax answer man,
> said he thinks the forces responsible for the attacks on the World
> Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites) are also behind the
> anthrax mailings.
>
> ``Nobody could have initiated this after Sept. 11'' because too much
> planning was involved, he said.
>
> The White House, the State Department and the National Institutes of
> Health (news - web sites) have solicited Atlas' advice as co-chairman
> of the society's Task Force on Biological Weapons. He is scheduled to
> testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites)'s
> terrorism subcommittee Tuesday.
>
> Interviewed Monday as he was leaving for Washington, Atlas said: ``The
> main message is that we need to achieve the right balance between
> finding vaccines, pharmaceuticals and cures, and the need to further
> restrict access to the pathogens. Even if we and our allies achieve
> this balance, we will still be at risk.''
>
> Although anthrax is the only disease agent found in recent mailings,
> Atlas and other scientists say it is not the most frightening weapon
> in a possible biological war.
>
> ``Should there be a smallpox epidemic it would be a major public
> health crisis'' because it is so contagious, Atlas said. ``That would
> be a horrific situation.''
>
> Barring a nationwide smallpox outbreak, Atlas said he thinks the
> science community is prepared for further threats and has handled past
> contaminations well.
>
> ``I think we were in place and we had the diagnostic and medical
> response capabilities we needed'' when the anthrax mailings started,
> said Atlas, who has written 20 books and published over 300 scientific
> articles.
>
> The only thing that caught him of guard, he said, was that the anthrax
> powder could leak through an envelope and still be infectious.
>
> The public's response to the threats has been too extreme, he added.
>
> ``I think we had four traffic deaths here over the weekend and people
> got into their cars this morning,'' he said. ``We've had no anthrax
> deaths in this area, and yet people continue to be scared to open
> their mail.''
>
> -
>
> On the Net:
>
> Ron Atlas' Web site: http://www.louisville.edu/(tilde)rmatla01
>
> American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asmusa.org
>
> --
> Dan S
>
>
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