U.S. Stockpiling Antidotes To Counter A Biological Terror Threat

If a virus or a biological attack such as airborne anthrax spread through a mid-sized city like Providence, it may not be detected for several days.

And then, many people would suddenly flood into doctors’ offices and hospital emergency rooms, overwhelming the health-care providers who’d be attempting to treat the ill and find out the cause. By then, the illness would have progressed and spread, become difficult to treat and its effect would be felt at every level of society.

This is the description used by Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the assistant secretary for health affairs and chief medical officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as he testified about the possibility of a biological threat in the country and how prepared health and Homeland Security officials were to handle it.

U.S. Rep. James Langevin, the chairman of the House Subcommittee of Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology, convened a field hearing at the State House yesterday to gauge the progress of the state and nation’s preparedness for a biological threat. He was joined by committee members U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and Rep. Donna Christensen, D-Virgin Islands.

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