The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Iowa University Braces for Attacks of Bioterrorism

By U Wire

IOWA CITY, Iowa?Iowa state officials say acts of bioterrorism will be forthcoming, and they are preparing for the inevitable.

The University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory is testing envelopes for anthrax after several hoaxes in the United States involving the disease, which originates in animals, said Mary Gilchrist, the director of the lab.

?This is not a matter of if, but when,? she said, adding that her facility is prepared to test for all agents that would most likely be used in a bioterrorist attack.

The prospects of such actions against the United States have some local citizens concerned, and the lab has received several phone calls regarding the threat of bioterrorism since last month?s terrorist attacks.

Gilchrist said the lab has spent the past three years securing the capabilities needed to respond to bioterrorism. However, she said, the probability of bioterrorism affecting numerous people is minimal because it is difficult to distribute biological agents over large areas.

The risk of being affected by bioterrorism ranks between being in a car accident and being struck by lightning, Gilchrist said. ?And these are risks we accept every day.?

But some Iowa stores are reporting increased fear among the public, resulting in high sales of protective gear, such as gas masks.

William Wynkoop, the owner of B & J Military Surplus in Westchester, Iowa, said he sold all 12 gas masks at his store the day of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. He is still receiving several calls daily from customers in search of gas masks.

?I could sell a hundred of them right now if I had them,? he said.

Gas masks might not be a valuable precautionary measure because they are unable to shield users from all chemicals, Gilchrist said.

?It is amazing that we can’t get people to wear seat belts, but they are going to go out and buy gas masks,? she said.

Gilchrist spent four days in Washington, D.C., last week, urging public-health officials to effectively distribute funds to combat bioterrorism as part of a national program responding to last month?s attacks.

Prior to the terrorist attacks and during the Gulf War, Gilchrist said $800 million?1 percent of the government?s allocations?was distributed to the public-health community. The amount has since risen to $1.6 billion, 5 percent of the government?s allocations, as the threat of bioterrorism lingers.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *