Safety

US still struggling with bioterrorism response

Emergency Management Alert, December 28, 2004

While the government has increased funding to conquer bioterrorism threats, there is still a large concern that the country isn't prepared to respond to an attack, the Associated Press reported.

"I was worried before the [anthrax] attacks," David Hose, 60, who spent more than two weeks in the hospital with anthrax infection and will never fully recover, told the AP. "Now, I'm convinced it will happen again and I don't think we're doing enough to address that."

The unsolved anthrax attack that killed five three years ago is still a debate in national security. Anthrax remains atop official's lists of diseases that have the potential to be used as weapons, D.A. Henderson, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Biosecurity told the AP. The reason is that much of the world's anthrax stockpile is still unaccounted for.

Even with increased funding to prepare a response to such attacks, the country is unprepared, Henderson said.

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