Supplies Stockpiled for Bioterrorism

WASHINGTON – If the government ever discovers a bioterrorist attack, it immediately will ship 50-ton packages of medical supplies — antibiotics, IV fluid and other equipment — to local hospitals struggling to contain the deadly outbreak.

But will there be enough, and who gets limited supplies?

Specialists say good supplies against some diseases are being stockpiled. Already on hand are enough antibiotics to treat 2 million cases of anthrax, Tommy Thompson, the nation's health secretary, said Thursday. Plans call for stockpiling enough for 10 million people.

Also in federal storage are other antibiotics, such as streptomycin and gentamicin, to treat plague and other biological agents.

Those 50-ton packages would be just the first day's aid. Eight of the caches, each with enough drugs to treat 10,000 to 35,000 people immediately, are stored around the country, ready to ship in 12 hours. The next day, the government would begin shipping more tablets from other stockpiles and manufacturers' inventories, and emergency production of yet more would begin.

"That's an important component," stressed Dr. Margaret Hamburg, who helped set up the stockpile under the Clinton administration. "You don't necessarily need to have a warehouse full of all the drugs you might need for the long haul. You need to have a mechanism to ensure backfilling of supplies as they're utilized."

That may not even be necessary. Four companies make one of the antibiotics that can treat anthrax, and local pharmacies always have a lot on hand, noted Jerry Hauer, a New York City bioterrorism specialist who advises Thompson.

The bigger question is how to ensure the drugs get to the people who really need them fast enough.

First, local hospitals would have to recognize quickly cases of anthrax or smallpox or some other agent — all of which may in the early stages resemble the flu — and call federal health officials for help.

Then, in a panic situation, it must be determined who hands out the drugs and to whom.

Thompson assured senators this week that no member of the Cabinet or Congress would get their own special stockpile.