Bill Frist

“ We have underfunded the public health infrastructure. Communities of fewer than 25,000 people are being served by public health units of which fewer than two-thirds have fax machines or an Internet connection. The ability to communicate between public health units once something is suspected or identified between the public health entities is absolutely critical. ”

“ It is now our number one or number two threat, and, at least to me, it is clear that we are highly vulnerable in the event such an attack takes place.
The consequences of such an attack, whether it is with anthrax, smallpox, tularemia, pneumonic plague, nerve agents or blister agents, is huge. Why? Because we are ill equipped. We are unprepared. However, in saying that, we have to be careful that we do not become alarmists. People will have nightmares, will not sleep at night, and the response should be the opposite. ”

“ We need to recognize there are things we can do right now, first and foremost, to develop a comprehensive biodefense plan capable of preventing a bioterrorist attack. Obviously, prevention should be our primary goal from the outset. ”

“ The "bio" part of biogerm warfare or biochemical warfare is the living organism, and that is what was inserted in the salad bars that caused the illness of about 700 people. We know germ warfare has been used, so the threat is real.
But before people attempt to respond to this threat by rushing out and buying items, we need to put the threat of bioterrorism in perspective. The overall probability of a bioterrorist attack is low. ”

“ Yes, the threat is real, but very low--a tiny probability, but growing. Why do I say growing? Because on September 11 we witnessed a calamity the likes of which have never been seen before in the history of the world. ”

“ People have asked if the threat of bioterrorism is real? The answer is yes, it is real. In fact, we have already seen the destructive use of bacteria by people in this country. In 1984, there was an outbreak in Oregon of salmonella poisoning from which over 700 people suffered some illness. ”

“ Most physicians have never been trained to recognize smallpox or to recognize the pneumonic plague that affects the lungs or to recognize tularemia or the various types of food poisoning. They have not been trained. ”

“ Treasury, Defense, Energy, and Health and Human Services are all doing something, but according to the GAO report that came out last week, we need better organization and better coordination to eliminate the duplication and to eliminate the possible conflicting messages that are sent from the Federal level. ”

“ On the other hand, people need to realize that from the technology and the scientific standpoint, the expertise is out there.
The third area, and the reason why I say the risk is rising compared to 10 years ago, is that the United States today has emerged as the sole superpower of the world. ”

“ The difference between conventional weaponry and bioweaponry is that bioweaponry requires first responders that are not just the firemen and the policemen, which are so critical and whose courage was so well demonstrated 2\1/2\ weeks ago, but in addition the first responders have to be the physicians, nurses, and the people who are managing the public health systems today. ”

“ We have heard recently that the Federal Government has worked aggressively and compared to 4 years ago, there has been enormous improvement at the Federal level. We are investing money that was not being invested 4 years ago. We are organized. We have 12-hour push products that allow us to very quickly could get antibiotics and vaccine, although not enough vaccine. ”

“ We want to keep biological weapons out of the hands of people who are intent on destruction. At the same time we can be prepared--if these germs and agents fall in the hands of a potential terrorist--by preparing an effective response plan. ”

“ With no employment available in the former Soviet Union, those scientists have gone elsewhere in the world. We do not know where they all are, but we do know that they spent their entire professional life studying how to develop the boichemical weapons that threaten us today. ”