DATE=JUNE 24, 1998
TYPE= ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE
NUMBER=7-
TITLE=BIOTERRORISM
BYLINE=JANE HUGHES
TELEPHONE=619-3926
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=NANCY SMART
CONTENT=
(INSERTS AVAILABLE IN AUDIO SERVICES)
INTRO: A RECENT NOVEL BEGINS ONE SPRING MORNING IN NEW YORK
CITY. SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD KATE MORAN WAKES UP, FEELING
SHE IS CATCHING A COLD. HOURS LATER SHE IS HAVING
VIOLENT SEIZURES AND FITS OF SELF-CANNIBALIZATION. SOON
AFTER THAT, SHE DIES. WHEN SIMILAR GRUESOME DEATHS
OCCUR, THE U-S CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND
PREVENTION SENDS A PATHOLOGIST TO INVESTIGATE. A
FEDERAL CRISIS FOLLOWS.
SOON AFTER READING RICHARD PRESTON'S NOVEL, "THE COBRA
EVENT," A FEW WEEKS AGO, PRESIDENT CLINTON ASKED
CONGRESS TO ADD 300 MILLION DOLLARS TO NEXT YEAR'S
BUDGET TO FIGHT BIOTERRORISM. THIS REPRESENTS THE
LARGEST SINGLE SUPPLEMENT TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET
SPECIFICALLY TO BOOST CIVILIAN AND MILITARY DEFENSES
AGAINST SUCH TERRORISM.
THE MOVE DOES NOT COME TOO SOON FOR MANY BIOTERRORISM
EXPERTS, WHO, JANE HUGHES REPORTS, HAVE LONG URGED THE
GOVERNMENT TO STRENGTHEN THE COUNTRY'S CAPABILITY TO
FOIL ATTACKS OF SUCH INFECTIOUS AGENTS AS ANTHRAX,
PLAGUE, HEMORRHAGIC FEVER AND BOTULISM TOXINS.
TEXT: FORMER U-N WEAPONS INSPECTOR DAVID KAY BELIEVES
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS ARE MUCH DEADLIER THAN CHEMICAL ONES.
TAPE: CUT ONE - KAY :29
"ROUGHLY A THOUSAND TIMES MORE DEADLY THAN THE SARIN,
USED IN THE TOKYO SUBWAY, IS ANTHRAX -- A VERY COMMON
BIOLOGICAL WEAPON THAT THE IRAQIS POSSESS. ALSO,
PSYCHOLOGICALLY, I THINK THEY ARE SCARIER FOR MOST
PEOPLE. YOU DON'T GET THE ONSET OF SYMPTOMS USUALLY
UNTIL A DAY OR TWO DAYS LATER. SO YOU DON'T KNOW YOU
HAVE BEEN EXPOSED, AND THAT'S GENERALLY TOO LATE TO
BEGIN TREATMENT. THEY ARE TRULY FRIGHTENING."
TEXT: AS ARMS EXPERT DAVID KAY SUGGESTS, IRAQ IS BELIEVED TO
HAVE STOCKPILED ANTHRAX. HE EXPLAINS WHY IT IS
SOMETIMES CALLED "THE POOR MAN'S NUCLEAR WEAPON."
TAPE: CUT TWO - KAY :13 OR 21
"IT'S BECAUSE OF THE LETHALITY AND THE EASE OF PRODUCING
IT. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE BACTERIUM OF ANTHRAX, EASILY
OBTAINED, IN 20 HOURS, WILL PRODUCE 1.1 MILLION IN A
FERMENTATION PROCESS. (OPT) FOR EXAMPLE, IN NUCLEAR
WEAPONS, WHICH I HAVE SPENT FAR MORE OF MY LIFE WITH,
THAT EASE JUST DOESN'T EXIST, THANK GOODNESS." (END
OPT)
TEXT: BRAD ROBERTS HEADS AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE CHEMICAL
AND BIOLOGICAL ARMS CONTROL INSTITUTE. HE SAYS, WHILE
HUNDREDS OF BACTERIA AND VIRUSES ARE HARMFUL OR FATAL TO
HUMANS, ONLY A FEW OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY USABLE AS
WARFARE AGENTS. THIS, HE EXPLAINS, IS BECAUSE TO BE
"WEAPONIZED," THEY HAVE TO BE PLACED INTO AEROSOL
SPRAYS, SO THEY CAN BE TAKEN INTO THE LUNGS OF INTENDED
VICTIMS, WHERE THEY MUST RETAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF
LETHALITY.
MR. ROBERTS BELIEVES THAT, ALTHOUGH THE POSSIBILITY OF
LARGE-SCALE BIOLOGICAL ATTACK IS REAL, IT IS NOT VERY
LIKELY.
TAPE: CUT THREE - ROBERTS :25
"THE WORST CASE IS CONCEIVABLE, WHICH IS TO SAY, A
TERRORIST WHO UNLEASHES LARGE NUMBERS OF BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS OVER A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME AND COULD KILL,
QUITE CONCEIVABLY, MILLIONS. BUT THE MORE REALISTIC
PROSPECT IS OF LONE ACTORS THINKING THAT THIS IS
INTERESTING AND A LITTLE PERVERSE AND TRYING TO KILL ONE
OR TWO OR A FEW."
TEXT: BRAD ROBERTS NOTES THAT IN BOTH CASES, THE INTENT IS TO
CAUSE DISEASE AND DEATH AND, FOR BOTH, THE APPROPRIATE
RESPONSE IS THE SAME.
TAPE: CUT FOUR - ROBERTS :26
"FOR BOTH THE HIGH END OF THE PROBLEM AND THE LOW END OF
THE PROBLEM, THE FIRST LINE OF RESPONSE IS A GOOD PUBLIC
HEALTH SYSTEM, A WELL-TRAINED EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE
TEAM, IN OUR CITIES AND COUNTIES, AND SOME AWARENESS
THAT DISEASES THAT ARE OCCURRING MIGHT BE CAUSED BY
MALEVOLENT HUMANS AND NOT JUST NATURAL SOURCES."
TEXT: BRAD ROBERTS SAYS THAT IRAQ IS THE ONLY NATION THAT
CURRENTLY ADMITS TO POSSESSING BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.
RUSSIA -- HE SAYS -- ADMITS TO HAVING HAD THEM. BUT HE
SAYS THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT AT LEAST 12
COUNTRIES HAVE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS OR ARE WORKING TO GET
THEM. AS FOR THE U-S.
TAPE: CUT FIVE ROBERT - :26
"THE U-S HAD A PROGRAM TO PRODUCE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS,
BEGINNING IN WORLD WAR TWO AND INTO THE EARLY YEARS OF
THE COLD WAR. AND IN 1969, THE U-S RENOUNCED BIOLOGICAL
WARFARE, UNILATERALLY DESTROYED ITS ARSENAL OF
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS, AND, AT THAT POINT, SOUGHT A
BILATERAL DISARMAMENT TREATY WITH THE SOVIET UNION."
TEXT: BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS EXPERT BRAD ROBERTS SAYS THE U-S AND
MANY OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO BUILD THE
CAPABILITY TO DEAL WITH BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS. (SIGNED)
NEB/JH/NES
25-Jun-98 4:00 PM EDT (2000 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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