Bioterrorism Threats to Our Future: The Role of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory in Detection, Identification, and Confirmation of Biological Agents

• NCJ Number: 190315
• Author(s): James W. Snyder Ph.D.; William Check Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 28 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; American Academy of Microbiology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded September 17, 2001

Annotation

This report makes recommendations to improve the role of microbiologists and their laboratories during a terrorist attack with biological weapons.

Abstract

The report provides a hypothetical outbreak of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, and how some health-care workers responded to it. Professional microbiologists play a central role in the detection of agents associated with bioterrorism. But there is an acute shortage of trained microbiologists to carry out these responsibilities. Relaxation of educational standards for laboratory workers by the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments of 1988 has potentially increased the likelihood of bioterrorism pathogens being overlooked. Terrorists are likely to select an area that is the most vulnerable. Commercially available identification systems used by clinical laboratories do a poor job identifying uncommon and slow-growing microorganisms that are expected to be associated with bioterrorism events, such as Brucella and Francisella. Moreover, the cause of a bioterrorism event may be an agent not on the list of likely pathogens. Recognition of an outbreak is a group effort, given that people within a region will have the same symptoms at the same time. But communications between institutions needs to be augmented. Most clinical laboratories have access to the Laboratory Response Network (LRN), which was created to provide an organized response for the detection and diagnosis of biological agents. Additional training and communication need to be established in clinical laboratories that will act as sentinels to detect a possible bioterrorism threat. When a bioterrorism event occurs, a flood of specimens may overwhelm the laboratory or the workers may not want to handle the specimens. For a laboratory to manage the disruptions, it must have a bioterrorism response plan and workers must be trained in and familiar with the plan. Improvements need to be made at the sentinel level -- Level A laboratories -- in which biological agents are ruled out. Exploitation of several new technologies to devise improved assays for identifying agents of bioterrorism would enhance the ability of labs to detect a threat. References