Bioterror plan aims at readiness

WASHINGTON - Wary of another bioterrorist attack, federal health officials are proposing a budget plan aimed at building new laboratories, improving hospital readiness and figuring out how to vaccinate the entire population of cities in the middle of a crisis. <br> <br> Leading the effort is a hero of public health: D.A. Henderson, who directed the campaign to eradicate smallpox from the globe and has returned to government service at age 73. <br> <br> Henderson, who began working for the Department of Health and Human Services in the days after Sept. 11, expects another bioterrorism attack sooner rather than later. He&#39;s focusing on preparation that went lacking for years, when the possibility of a bioterrorist attack seemed more remote. <br> <br> ``We cannot, in the period of one year with just a dollop of money, suddenly have a good public health system,&#39;&#39; he said in an interview. ``It isn&#39;t a matter of just buying an extra aircraft carrier. You&#39;ve got to develop this over time.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Congress has already set aside $2.9 billion for bioterrorism preparation, with much of that slated to buy smallpox vaccine and stockpile antibiotics. President Bush plans to ask for hundreds of millions more in his budget plan for next year, and the administration is focusing on the hard work of preparation at the state and local level. <br> <br> It&#39;s part of the administration&#39;s overall homeland security plan. Bush is expected to request nearly double the current $13 billion for the upcoming budget year. That includes ``unprecedented support&#39;&#39; for cities to pay for police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge told mayors Wednesday. <br> <br> Also Wednesday, officials announced that they had doubled, to $2.5 million, the reward for information leading to the arrest of the sender of four anthrax-tainted letters. <br> <br> As director of the newly created Office of Public Health Preparedness, Henderson will have a major say in how the bioterrorism money is spent. His office has authority to direct the bioterrorism effort across agencies within the massive department. <br> <br> In an interview, Henderson gave an overview of the department&#39;s plans, to be detailed in the coming days. Among the priorities: <br> <br> - Create a half dozen new regional laboratories. There are now 81 labs around the country that handle identification of commonly seen bacteria, but they are not specialized and don&#39;t have much experience working with potential bioterrorist material. Two national labs handle the most dangerous substance, but they are too busy to handle every suspicious threat. So HHS wants to build a half dozen mid-range labs trained to recognize rare but potentially deadly materials. <br> <br> - Help cities develop plans for vaccinating and distributing antibiotics to large numbers of people. The federal government is purchasing enough drugs to treat people who may be exposed to hazardous agents. But cities must designate treatment centers and figure out how to transport the supplies from the airport to the centers. <br> <br> - Develop round-the-clock reporting systems between hospital emergency rooms and state health departments. Local doctors must have experts to check with when they see patients with unusual symptoms, which could be the first sign of a bioterrorist attack, but often the health department is only staffed during business hours. <br> <br> -Help hospitals better prepare. Already stretched financially, hospitals are woefully unprepared should a bioterrorist attack require a place to isolate a large number of contagious patients, Henderson said. Regional plans should, for instance, designate one hospital to empty its regular patients to other facilities and handle all the bioterror victims. <br> <br> - Develop better public information. For instance, fact sheets about the five biological agents that pose the greatest threat should be ready to go in the case of a crisis. <br> <br> ``To the extent that people understand, really understand, what the risks are - and what they aren&#39;t - you avert panic,&#39;&#39; Henderson said. ``We need to get good material out, accurate material out. Some of the stuff I&#39;ve seen out there is unbelievably bad.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Part of the challenge, Henderson said, will be prodding states to use the money to actually prepare for bioterrorism, which has to compete for attention with more immediate concerns. It can be done, he said, noting that he had to persuade 50 countries to cooperate with the smallpox eradication effort, which he ran from 1966 to 1977 for the World Health Organization. <br> <br> ``If you think the states are independent, I can tell you we&#39;ve got some sovereign governments that are little bit difficult to deal with,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> He&#39;s been sounding the alarm about the perils of a bioterrorist threat as director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies, which he founded in 1997. When the Sept. 11 attacks hit, he said, he quickly assumed a bioterror attack would be next. <br> <br> It&#39;s Henderson&#39;s leadership on smallpox that made him a superstar in the world of public health and that commands respects in Washington. He was greeted as ``a real American hero&#39;&#39; when he appeared last year before the House Commerce Committee, which gave him an unheard of standing ovation. <br> <br> ``I must say I was very touched,&#39;&#39; Henderson said. Looking back on the smallpox campaign, he added: ``It&#39;s amazing what can be done when you really apply yourself.&#39;&#39;