Symposium sponsored by:

Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies

Department of Health and Human Services

Infectious Diseases Society of America

Reducing the Bioweapons Threat: International Collaboration Efforts
Colonel Edward M. Eitzen, Jr., MD, MPH

DR. INGLESBY: It is my special pleasure to introduce to you this panel's moderator, Colonel Ed Eitzen, who is Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, or more commonly known as USAMRIID. Colonel Eitzen has had a distinguished career. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Alabama, as well as his medical degree. He had residency training in pediatrics at the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center; received his M.P.H. at the University of Washington. He did his preventive medicine residency -- I know. When will this end? He had residency after residency at Madigan Army Center, and then became Board certified in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and preventive medicine. He has received numerous military distinctions. He currently serves as Commander at USAMRIID, which is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program. He is also an extremely nice man, and a great collaborator.

(Laughter.)

DR. INGLESBY: And a good friend of ours at Johns Hopkins. It is our special privilege to have him as moderator of this working lunch. Thank you, Ed.

(Applause.)

COL. EITZEN: Thanks, Tom. I appreciate that very nice introduction.
I have to make one correction, however, and this harkens back to my upbringing in Alabama. You said that I went to undergraduate school to the University of Alabama, and that's not true. I'm an Auburn graduate.

(Laughter.)

COL. EITZEN: And I have to correct that because it's kind of like the McCoys and the Hatfields in Alabama, but thank you.

I'd like to thank all of the staff of the Hopkins Center for Bioterrorism, including Drs. Henderson, O'Toole, and Inglesby, for inviting us to participate today in this outstanding symposium where we come together and talk about so many important issues.

We also consider the Hopkins Center and the staff of the Center to be very esteemed colleagues and friends, and we've had an outstanding working relationship over the last few years. So from USAMRIID and from the Medical Research and Materiel Command, I would like to express my thanks to you for all of the great work that you're doing. I think it's very, very important work.

I'm just going to make a few opening remarks and leave as much time as possible for our speakers today. The title of our lunchtime session is "Reducing the Bioweapons Threat: International Collaboration Efforts."

One of the major reasons why we worry so much about bioterrorism today is because of the concern of proliferation of the technology for producing biological weapons from state sponsored biological programs, such as that of the former Soviet Union or Russia, that of Iraq, and that of other nations who have been engaged in this type of activity, some of which were mentioned this morning.

I think there should be no doubt now to any of us in this room that those with interests that are anathema to the United States will use whatever technology is available to try and hurt the United States or its interests, and we only have to look to recent events like the embassy bombings in Africa and the bombing of the USS Cole to be reminded of that.

And certainly most terrorists to this point have used large explosive devices, some of which like the one used on the Cole obviously very sophisticated devices, but when they will go toward using the next step in technology is only a matter currently of conjecture.

One of the greatest threats that we face, I think, is biological threats or other weapons of mass destruction threats to key international events, like events like the Olympics or conferences involving world leaders and that sort of thing.

But I think when we think about terrorism, you know, we have to think of it in terms of four aspects for the terrorists. One is access to the agents. Another is the science of being able to manufacture the agent appropriately. A third is weaponization of the agent, being able to disseminate and deliver the agent, and the fourth part, which is more difficult to get our arms around, is intent to use the agent.

And you know, the remarks made this morning about the role of national leaders like Saddam Hussein and others like him or terrorist leaders like Osama bin Laden kind of highlight that fourth aspect in our minds. For most biological attacks, you would have to be able to do all four things to be able to carry out an effective attack, and I would say the one exception to that would be if you have access to a communicable disease agent, like smallpox or plague or possibly one of the viral hemorrhagic fevers, where really the only part of that you need to have is access to the agent, and you could use a human being as the carrier vehicle for transmitting the attack onto an unsuspecting population.

Finally, in discussing the international aspects of this issue, we have today with us, I hope -- I know we have one. I hope we have both of our speakers available today -- two highly qualified individuals to talk about these aspects.