Health Studies find mutated flu bug that is resistant to antiviral FDA targets 5 regions to establish global presence India sprays markets, roads to halt bird flu outbreak Emergency Services ICx releases enzyme-based chemical agent detection spray New decontamination system kills anthrax rapidly without lingering effects New technology detects chemical attacks Security Homeland Security requires border crossers to show extra ID US military not adequately prepared for homeland attack, report says Legal / Legislative Security, commerce suffer chemical imbalance Local Issues New York not Maryland may get first new nuke plant Measuring the performance of telephone-based disease surveillance systems in local health departments Federal Agency Events Trains, bloggers are threats in US drill Homeland Security to boost staffing at 'fusion centers' Homeland Security seeks to bolster management, border security

Health

Studies find mutated flu bug that is resistant to antiviral
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c....

A small percentage of the main influenza virus causing illness this winter in the United States, Europe, and Canada has a mutation that makes it resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Scientists said they were surprised because they had believed that mutations of this type generally made the virus less easily spread. There are no immediate plans to recommend changes in the use of Tamiflu, officials said.

FDA targets 5 regions to establish global presence
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080124/us_nm/trade_fda_dc;_ylt=AtrNCi2ASBb4nW5ZIW0US5kWIr0F

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner told reporters at a briefing on food safety that it would like to establish offices in Asia – especially in China and India, Europe, Central and South America, and the Middle East to monitor the safety of exported food.  FDA officials, as part of their goal to become more proactive in safeguarding imports, have pushed to move the agency’s borders beyond the United States to countries where many imported goods are manufactured. The official said the FDA would have offices with FDA personal that would work with other government regulatory agencies and companies responsible for producing and shipping products. He said the FDA is in the early stages of working with other counties, but so far the response has been positive. The move to bolster import protections comes after several product recalls that have raised consumer fears about items such as tainted toothpaste, seafood, tires, and toys with lead paint. Many of the items came from China.

India sprays markets, roads to halt bird flu outbreak
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSP21541420080130?feedType=RSS&feedName...

Workers sprayed roads and markets in Calcutta with disinfectants and culled thousands of birds as authorities in eastern India battled to stop an outbreak of bird flu in poultry reaching the crowded city. Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal’s 19 districts and authorities said they were culling sick chickens in a private farm about an hour’s drive from Calcutta, one of India’s biggest cities. Over 2 million birds have already been culled, but authorities now say they will slaughter thousands of more birds. They will also ban raising backyard poultry in infected districts for at least three months.

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Emergency Services

ICx releases enzyme-based chemical agent detection spray
http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/355200.html

ICx Technologies, a developer of advanced technology solutions for homeland and military security, announced Thursday the availability of ICx Agentase Disclosure Spray, an enzyme-based, chemical-agent-detection system in a spray formulation, which changes color when sprayed on surfaces contaminated with nerve agents. Agentase Disclosure Spray pinpoints the exact location of agents on surfaces, allowing decontamination teams to accurately focus their regimens. Post-decontamination, the spray helps ensure that affected areas have been thoroughly cleaned. Agentase Disclosure Spray’s active ingredients are stored as powders for extended shelf-life, and are dissolved in water just prior to deployment through the use of a two-chamber sprayer. Color enhancers and thickeners enable usage on dark-colored surfaces or on areas with unusual geometries. The spray also carries components devised to illustrate when surfaces are too basic or too acidic for agent detection. In the field, Agentase Disclosure Spray can detect the presence of CWAs at sub microgram levels within five minutes, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming sampling, transportation, and laboratory analysis of potentially harmful agents. Time is of particular importance because of the risks of multiple exposures to, and possible re-transmissions of, nerve agents.

New decontamination system kills anthrax rapidly without lingering effects
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/95616.php

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, in collaboration with Austin-based Stellar Micro Devices, Inc., have developed prototypes of a rapid, non-disruptive, and inexpensive method that could be used to decontaminate bioterrorism hazards in the future. Using flat panel modules that produce X-rays and ultraviolet-C light simultaneously, the researchers can kill anthrax spores in two to three hours without any lingering effects. The system also has the ability to kill anthrax spores hidden in places like computer keyboards without causing damage. The current decontamination standard – chlorine dioxide gas – kills microorganisms by disrupting transport of nutrients across the cell wall, but cannot reach hidden spores. Hard surfaces must be cleaned independently with harsh liquid chlorine dioxide. In addition, people cannot re-enter a room fumigated with chlorine dioxide until the gas is neutralized with sodium bisulfite vapor and vented from the building.

New technology detects chemical attacks
http://cbs13.com/local/ditech.chemical.cords.2.645983.html

Intelligent Optical Systems is working on a project called “Di-Cast,” which is designed to detect chemicals that may be used by terrorists in an attack on the U.S. “The whole length of the cable is the chemical sensor, so within the cable, we have optical fibers which are designed to respond to the presence of cyanide, which is a major threat from terrorists, chlorine gas, nerve gas, and even hydrogen sulfide,” said a developer. “With our system, we have a box, but hooked up to the box are cables which can snake out in any directions, in multiple directions, and as soon as the chemical target reaches the cable, bingo, you get an alarm, and you can warn people much sooner,” he said. “We’d originally thought the military was going to be our primary customer, but 9/11 changed all that,” he said. “It’s now really much more important for us, and we’ve focused our development efforts directly on counter-terrorism applications.” Several million dollars have been spent developing “Di-Cast” over the last five years, and they hope to release the product later this year. Right now it is being tested out in the subway system of a major city, but the official could not reveal which city that is.

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Security

Homeland Security requires border crossers to show extra ID
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326990,00.html

New rules for the types of identification U.S. or Canadian citizens must present to cross into the country should not cause significant delays and will not be strictly enforced at first, a senior federal official said. Under the rules going into effect Thursday, people will no longer be allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens, a deputy commissioner with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday. Instead, those 19 and older will have to show proof of citizenship – a passport, trusted traveler card, or a birth certificate and government-issued ID such as a driver’s license. Drivers’ licenses enhanced with proof of citizenship and a radio frequency identification chip also will be accepted, he added. He also said officers at the ports will have latitude to admit people who are unaware of the changes once their identities are confirmed. Over the last two fiscal years, 31,000 people who claimed at the borders to be U.S. citizens were not, he said. A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Detroit, which has the busiest northern border crossing, also said the agency will provide a grace period for travelers without the extra ID, and will hand out fliers explaining the changes. Congress approved the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in 2004, which requires verified citizenship and identification of all those entering the country from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The passport requirement for land and sea crossings has been delayed until June 2009.

US military not adequately prepared for homeland attack, report says
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004156194_webmilitary31.html

The U.S. military is not ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and National Guard forces do not have the equipment or training they need for the job, according to a report. Even fewer Army National Guard units are combat-ready today than were nearly a year ago when the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves determined that 88 percent of the units were not prepared for the fight, the panel says in a new report released Thursday. The independent commission is charged by Congress to recommend changes in law and policy concerning the Guard and Reserves. The commission’s 400-page report concludes that the nation “does not have sufficient trained, ready forces available” to respond to a chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons incident, “an appalling gap that places the nation and its citizens at greater risk.” “Right now we don’t have the forces we need, we don’t have them trained, we don’t have the equipment,” said the commission chairman in an interview with the Associated Press. In response, the Air Force general in charge of U.S. Northern command said the Pentagon is putting together a specialized military team that would be designed to respond to such catastrophic events. The capability for the Defense Department to respond to a chemical, biological event exists now,” he told the AP. “It, today, is not as robust as we would like because of the demand on the forces that we’ve placed across the country. ... I can do it today. It would be harder on the (military) services, but I could respond.” Over the next year, he said, specific active duty, Guard and Reserve units will be trained, equipped, and assigned to a three-tiered response force totaling about 4,000 troops. There would be a few hundred first responders, who would be followed by a second wave of about 1,200 troops that would include medical and logistics forces. The third wave, with the remainder of those initial 4,000 troops, would include aircraft units, engineers, and other support forces, depending on the type of incident.

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Legal / Legislative

While U.S. citizens will be required to show proof of identification and citizenship at land and sea borders beginning January 31, the truly big changes will occur in June of 2009 when citizens returning to the United States via land and sea will be required to carry passports, just as they are required to when arriving via air today. But there is an alternative. The Department of Homeland Security has approved a number of alternatives for frequent border crossers. First, DHS is working with numerous border states to develop “enhanced drivers’ licenses” that would meet government security requirements and be accepted at border crossings. The State Department is also developing a passport card -- a wallet-sized card that would be cheaper and more convenient than a passport, but would fulfill the same function at land borders. Passport cards and enhanced drivers’ licenses both will have “vicinity radio frequency identification,” or RFID chips, which will identify the holders as they approach border checkpoints. The CBP official said the chips will not transmit sensitive information, rather they will contain a unique number that the CBP can use to automatically call up information on the travelers and query law enforcement databases.

National response framework released
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-animals14jan14,0,5243172.story

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that it had “released the National Response Framework (NRF), successor to the National Response Plan. The NRF, which focuses on response and short-term recovery, articulates the doctrine, principles, and architecture by which our nation prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and all sectors of communities. The NRF is responsive to repeated federal, state, local, and private sector requests for a streamlined document that is less bureaucratic and more user-friendly. The NRF also focuses on preparedness and encourages a higher level of readiness across all jurisdictions. The NRF is being released following an extensive process of outreach and coordination between DHS and key stakeholders representing federal, tribal, state, and local governments, non-governmental agencies and associations, and the private sector.” “The National Response Framework is an essential tool for emergency managers at all levels,” said the DHS secretary. “It helps define the roles, responsibilities, and relationships critical to effective emergency planning, preparedness and response to any emergency or disaster. Today’s release reflects the culmination of many months of hard work and collaboration within the nation’s emergency management community.”

To access the NRF: www.fema.gov/nrf

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Local News

New York not Maryland may get first new nuke plant
http://blog.syracuse.com/news/2008/01/report_scriba_not_maryland_may.html

Constellation Energy – the owner of two nuclear plants in Scriba, New York – said it may build its first new nuclear plant in New York if Maryland regulators prove too hostile. A number of companies are planning to propose new plants in the coming years, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Constellation is scheduled to apply for a license to operate a plant in Maryland. The company had said it would like to break ground at Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, this year. “However, if we encounter delays in Maryland, we are prepared to proceed with the first EPR [new nuclear reactor] at our Nine Mile Point nuclear plant location in New York,” said Constellation’s executive vice president in a press release Tuesday. Constellation has begun environmental studies at both the Calvert Cliff and Nine Mile Point sites. The Maryland site – not far from the headquarters of Constellation and UniStar Nuclear Energy, the joint venture created to build a new plant – is further along than any of a number of potential sites for future nuclear plants. Energy demand in Maryland is outstripping supply, and, without a new plant or new transmission lines to bring power from elsewhere, officials have said Maryland could run out of power.

Measuring the Performance of Telephone-Based
Disease Surveillance Systems in Local Health Departments
David J. Dausey, Anita Chandra, Agnes G. Schaefer, Ben Bahney, Amelia Haviland, Sarah Zakowski, and Nicole Lurie.  Am J Public Health January 2008.
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2007.114710v2

Objectives. We tested telephone-based disease surveillance systems in local health departments to identify system characteristics associated with consistent and timely responses to urgent case reports. Methods. We identified a stratified random sample of 74 health departments and conducted a series of unannounced tests of their telephone-based surveillance systems. We used regression analyses to identify system characteristics that predicted fast connection with an action officer (an appropriate public health professional). Results. Optimal performance in consistently connecting callers with an action officer in 30 minutes or less was achieved by 31% of participating health departments. Reaching a live person upon dialing, regardless of who that person was, was the strongest predictor of optimal performance both in being connected with an action officer and in consistency of connection times. Conclusions. Health departments can achieve optimal performance in consistently connecting a caller with an action officer in 30 minutes or less and may improve performance by using a telephone-based disease surveillance system in which the phone is answered by a live person at all times.

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Academic Studies/Meetings

Trains, bloggers are threats in US drill
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080131/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/cyber_storm;_ylt=AjIUA7JpdaOB_a7...

It is the government’s idea of a really bad day: Washington’s Metro trains shut down. Seaport computers in New York go dark. Bloggers reveal locations of railcars with hazardous materials. Airport control towers are disrupted in Philadelphia and Chicago. Overseas, a mysterious liquid is found on London’s subway. Those incidents were among dozens of detailed, mock disasters confronting officials rapid-fire in the U.S. government’s biggest-ever “Cyber Storm” war game.

The Homeland Security Department ran the exercise to test the nation’s hacker defenses, with help from the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department, CIA, National Security Agency, and others. The laundry list of fictional catastrophes – which include hundreds of people on “No Fly” lists suddenly arriving at airport ticket counters – is significant because it suggests what kind of real-world trouble keeps people in the White House awake at night. Imagined villains include hackers, bloggers, and even reporters. After mock electronic attacks overwhelmed computers at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an unspecified “major news network” airing reports about the attackers refused to reveal its sources to the government. Other simulated reporters were duped into spreading “believable but misleading” information that worsened fallout by confusing the public and financial markets, according to the government’s files. The $3 million, invitation-only war game simulated what the U.S. described as plausible attacks over five days in February 2006 against the technology industry, transportation lines, and energy utilities by anti-globalization hackers. The incidents were divided among categories: computer attacks, physical attacks, or psychological operations. The exercise had no impact on the real Internet. Officials said they were careful to simulate attacks only using isolated computers, working from basement offices at the Secret Service’s headquarters in downtown Washington. The government is organizing another multimillion-dollar war game, Cyber Storm 2, to take place in early March.

Homeland Security to boost staffing at 'fusion centers'
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39121&dcn=e_ndw

A top Homeland Security Department official told the U.S. Conference of Mayors that DHS agents are critical to the success of the "fusion centers" the department is setting up nationwide to coordinate with local law enforcement and public health workers. "Our primary contribution is the people, the DHS officers who are there with you every day, side by side, going to every meeting with you," said Chet Lunner, deputy assistant DHS Secretary for intelligence and analysis. "They're the link between your folks and DHS and can be the link between you and DHS." Currently, there are 22 DHS agents assigned to 20 fusion centers, Lunner said, and the department expects to add 13 more this year. Homeland Security planned to include agents from component agencies to meet the specific needs of different areas, he added.

Homeland Security seeks to bolster management, border security
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39217&dcn=e_gvet

The White House is requesting $50.5 billion to fund the Homeland Security Department in 2009, a 62 percent increase in funding from when the department was created just five years ago. The increase reflects the department's continued focus on border and aviation security as well as its tremendous purchasing power -- much of the funding is for high-profile acquisition programs, such as the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program and the Secure Border Initiative. But the 2009 budget request also reflects a certain organizational maturity that has occurred over the last five years. For example, the department is seeking $1.65 million to conduct the first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, modeled after the Defense Department's process for reassessing its structure and capabilities in light of emerging threats. "We face a patient enemy," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, at a briefing for reporters on Monday. "We face a challenge to the homeland that is not going to evaporate in a couple of years. Developing a Quadrennial Homeland Security Review will give us the long-term vision that allows us to plan and manage this risk far into the future."

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