Comparing Electronic News Media Reports of Potential Bioterrorism-Related Incidents Involving Unknown White Powder to Reports Received by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation: U.S.A., 2009–2011

There have been periodic electronic news media reports of potential bioterrorism-related incidents involving unknown substances (often referred to as “white powder”) since the 2001 intentional dissemination of Bacillus anthracis through the U.S. Postal System. This study reviewed the number of unknown “white powder” incidents reported online by the electronic news media and compared them with unknown “white powder” incidents reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during a 2-year period from June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2011. Results identified 297 electronic news media reports, 538 CDC reports, and 384 FBI reports of unknown “white powder.” This study showed different unknown “white powder” incidents captured by each of the three sources. However, the authors could not determine the public health implications of this discordance.     

美国生物防御政策与国家安全

生物防御政策是美国政府旨在应对生物威胁、降低生物风险以及为生物事故事先准备、响应及恢复的行动纲要。自21世纪初以来,美国历届总统皆格外注重生物防御政策的制定和完善,从小布什到特朗普,一共颁布了六部相关法案,发布了七份国家战略报告,签发了五项行政命令,通过拨付巨额经费,设置若干专门机构,整合各种资源,加强国际合作等方式,不断提升生物防御和生物安全在国家安全战略中的地位,旨在为美国构筑一道双向度、立体化、全谱系的"生物安全屏障"。究其原因,主要是为了应对恐怖组织不断寻求生物武器给美国带来的威胁,敌对国家不断掌握和研制生物武器产生的持续性压力以及国际社会的相关立法约束乏力。美国生物防御政策对全球生物安全具有双重影响:一方面,通过与其他国家、相关国际组织展开交流与对话,为其提供生物安全援助等方式推动该领域的国际合作;另一方面,自身庞大的生物防御项目、巨额的经费投入、本国安全利益"唯上"的思维又使全球生物安全形势面临恶化的风险。     

Gamma Irradiation as a Biological Decontaminant and Its Effect on Common Fingermark Detection Techniques and DNA Profiling

Abstract:  The use of disease-causing organisms and their toxins against the civilian population has defined bioterrorism and opened forensic science up to the challenges of processing contaminated evidence. This study sought to determine the use of gamma irradiation as an effective biological decontaminant and its effect on the recovery of latent fingermarks from both porous and nonporous items. Test items were contaminated with viable spores marked with latent prints and then decontaminated using a cobalt 60 gamma irradiator. Fingermark detection was the focus with standard methods including 1,2-indanedione, ninhydrin, diazafluoren-9-one, and physical developer used during this study. DNA recovery using 20% Chelex extraction and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was also explored. Gamma irradiation proved effective as a bacterial decontaminant with D -values ranging from 458 to 500 Gy for nonporous items and 797–808 Gy for porous ones. The results demonstrated the successful recovery of latent marks and DNA establishing gamma irradiation as a viable decontamination option.     

生化恐怖袭击处置流程

当今恐怖主义盛行,生化恐怖袭击与使用核材料为手段的恐怖袭击一起并称为现代超级恐怖主义。公众对生化恐怖的危害只有模糊了解,对其发生后该如何应对知晓甚少。因此,政府及相关部门在生化袭击应急处置中担负着主要责任,而在生化恐怖袭击处置流程中,快速反应、科学处置是重要一环。     

Governing insecurity: contingency planning,protection, resilience

Abstract

How should we understand the politics of security today? This article addresses this question from one particular perspective, that of ‘biosecurity’. It examines contemporary strategies for managing biorisks in three European states: France, Germany and the United Kingdom. We suggest that the framing of threat and response differs, even within Europe, and that one can identify three different configurations: contingency planning, protection and resilience. Each of these embodies a significantly different way of reconciling fundamental imperatives for those who would govern a liberal society today – the imperative of freedom and the imperative of security.     

前沿生物技术发展的安全威胁：应对与展望

以基因编辑、基因驱动、合成生物学为代表的前沿生物技术正处于日新月异的飞速发展中,在医疗、农业等诸多领域为人类发展带来福祉的同时,也对国家乃至全人类的生物安全构成了严重威胁。在此背景下,世界大国在应对前沿生物技术安全威胁的几个共性问题值得重点关注:一是技术发展与技术安全的双重目标难以统筹;二是未知技术安全威胁导致不可避免的法律惩治效力滞后;三是监管的多部门合作需求与权职分工困境;四是多方利益主体参与的民主审议机制有待加强。由于中国前沿生物技术发展正处于从"跟跑"向"并跑"和部分领域"领跑"转变的关键节点,及时调整"促进"与"规制"前沿生物技术的应对措施已刻不容缓。前沿生物技术安全威胁的应对必须走到科技的前面去,对安全主体的规制更应走到科学的内部去。唯有在即将出台的国家《生物安全法》引领下全面推进生物技术安全的体制机制建设,逐步完善生物技术安全的法治体系建构,在政府主导下鼓励各利益相关方积极参与其中,才能确保前沿生物技术更好地造福于人民。     

Recovery efficiencies of anthrax spores and ricin from nonporous or nonabsorbent and porous or absorbent surfaces by a variety of sampling methods*

The 2001 anthrax letter cases brought into focus the need to establish the most effective environmental sampling procedures. Results are presented from two studies aimed at establishing the best procedures for everyday surfaces likely to be contaminated after the release of environmentally stable bioaggressive agents, as exemplified by anthrax spores and ricin. With anthrax spores, contact plates, with mean retrieval rates of 28-54%, performed better than other methods by a wide margin for flat nonporous, nonabsorbent surfaces. They also proved best on flat porous, absorbent materials, although recoveries were low (<7%). For both agents, dry devices (swabs, wipes, Trace Evidence Collection Filters) had universally poor retrieval efficiencies with no significant differences between them. Among moistened devices (wipes, swabs, and Sample Collection and Recovery Devices), wipes were generally best, albeit with considerable cross-over among individual readings (highest mean recoveries for anthrax spores and ricin 5.5% and 2.5%, respectively, off plastic).