CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- January 28, 2008

Construction on new labs at [Fort] Detrick 60 percent complete
“The new Department of Homeland Security biodefense center at Fort Detrick should be open by the end of this year, but it’ll likely be the end of 2009 before the labs are in service. The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center is one of several labs planned or being built for the National Interagency Biodefense Campus. Construction on the $143 million project is on schedule at 60 percent complete […].” (Frederick News-Post, 26Jan08, Justin M. Palk)
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/displayUpdate.htm?StoryID=70466

Anthrax Cellular Entry Point Uncovered
“The long-sought-after biological ‘gateway’ that anthrax uses to enter healthy cells has been uncovered by microbiologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Anthrax spores enter the cell through something called Mac-1, a receptor that sits on the surface of certain cells. This is the first study to uncover exactly how the bacteria get inside cells to begin with, the UAB researchers said. Previous studies have shown what happens after anthrax spores enter the body and wreak havoc.” (Science Daily, 25Jan08) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125170905.htm

Prosecutor general: Chemical victims complaints should be followed up
“The [Iranian] prosecutor general in a meeting with Foreign Ministry representatives underlined the need to legally follow up the complaints lodged by chemical victims of Iraq-Iran war with international tribunals. Ayatollah Qorban ali Dorri Najafabadi told Foreign Ministry officials here that Iran's powerful presence in international tribunals and utilization of existing potentials to defend Iranians' rights was necessary. He added, ‘All those involved in producing chemical weapons in any forms must be prosecuted through authorized international circles according to international legal system.’” (IRNA, 25Jan08) http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0801265304154811.htm

Pakistan nuclear sites on alert
“Pakistan has raised the state of alert around its nuclear facilities amid concerns they could be targeted by Islamist militants. But a senior Pakistan military official said there had been no specific threat to the sites, and insisted that safeguards in place were fool proof. The official was speaking in a rare press briefing on the issue. It followed Western media reports warning that Pakistan's nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands. The Pakistani authorities have been angered by Western media reports speculating that the country's nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda militants. [The official] acknowledged that Islamic militants had begun to attack army personnel in recent months, and that nuclear sites may also become a target.” (BBC News, 26Jan08, Barbara Plett) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7210946.stm

Nurses Are Life Lines in a Public Health Disaster
“When an outbreak of West Nile virus hit Colorado in 2003, many worried state residents picked up their phones and called a new public health crisis hotline created only months earlier through the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center. The Health Emergency Line for the Public (HELP) calmed callers’ fears with information about West Nile and its symptoms, and also collected data, such as dead bird reports, that helped epidemiologists pinpoint clusters of the virus. […] The line has proved so successful the poison center’s team of health investigators has created a model of how other states can use community call centers, such as nurse-staffed advice lines and poison centers, as life lines to a panicked population during a widespread public health emergency such as a pandemic or a biological or chemical terrorist attack.” (Nurse.com, 28Jan08, Cathryn Domrose) http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NATIONAL01/80124028/-1/frontpage

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.