| large-scale screening of nasal swabs for bacillus anthracis: descriptive summary and discussion of the national institutes of health's experience. | in october 2001, a letter containing a large number of anthrax spores was sent through the brentwood post office in washington, d.c., to a united states senate office on capitol hill, resulting in contamination in both places. several thousand people who worked at these sites were screened for spore exposure by collecting nasal swab samples. we describe here a screening protocol which we, as a level a laboratory, used on very short notice to process a large number of specimens (3,936 swabs) in o ... | 2002 | 12149367 |
| opening a bacillus anthracis-containing envelope, capitol hill, washington, d.c.: the public health response. | on october 15, 2001, a u.s. senate staff member opened an envelope containing bacillus anthracis spores. chemoprophylaxis was promptly initiated and nasal swabs obtained for all persons in the immediate area. an epidemiologic investigation was conducted to define exposure areas and identify persons who should receive prolonged chemoprophylaxis, based on their exposure risk. persons immediately exposed to b. anthracis spores were interviewed; records were reviewed to identify additional persons i ... | 2002 | 12396912 |
| epidemiologic investigations of bioterrorism-related anthrax, new jersey, 2001. | at least four bacillus anthracis-containing envelopes destined for new york city and washington, d.c. were processed at the trenton processing and distribution center (pdc) on september 18 and october 9, 2001. when cutaneous anthrax was confirmed in a trenton postal worker, the pdc was closed. four cutaneous and two inhalational anthrax cases were identified. five patients were hospitalized; none died. four were pdc employees; the others handled or received mail processed there. onset dates occu ... | 2002 | 12396914 |
| inhalational anthrax outbreak among postal workers, washington, d.c., 2001. | in october 2001, four cases of inhalational anthrax occurred in workers in a washington, d.c., mail facility that processed envelopes containing bacillus anthracis spores. we reviewed the envelopes' paths and obtained exposure histories and nasal swab cultures from postal workers. environmental sampling was performed. a sample of employees was assessed for antibody concentrations to b. anthracis protective antigen. case-patients worked on nonoverlapping shifts throughout the facility, suggesting ... | 2002 | 12396917 |
| antimicrobial postexposure prophylaxis for anthrax: adverse events and adherence. | we collected data during postexposure antimicrobial prophylaxis campaigns and from a prophylaxis program evaluation 60 days after start of antimicrobial prophylaxis involving persons from six u.s. sites where bacillus anthracis exposures occurred. adverse events associated with antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent anthrax were commonly reported, but hospitalizations and serious adverse events as defined by food and drug administration criteria were rare. overall adherence during 60 days of antim ... | 2002 | 12396927 |
| adherence to antimicrobial inhalational anthrax prophylaxis among postal workers, washington, d.c., 2001. | in october 2001, two envelopes containing bacillus anthracis spores were processed at the washington, d.c., processing and distribution center of the u.s. postal service; inhalational anthrax developed in four workers at this facility. more than 2,000 workers were advised to complete 60 days of postexposure prophylaxis to prevent inhalational anthrax. interventions to promote adherence were carried out to support workers, and qualitative information was collected to evaluate our interventions. a ... | 2002 | 12396929 |
| surface sampling methods for bacillus anthracis spore contamination. | during an investigation conducted december 17-20, 2001, we collected environmental samples from a u.s. postal facility in washington, d.c., known to be extensively contaminated with bacillus anthracis spores. because methods for collecting and analyzing b. anthracis spores have not yet been validated, our objective was to compare the relative effectiveness of sampling methods used for collecting spores from contaminated surfaces. comparison of wipe, wet and dry swab, and hepa vacuum sock samples ... | 2002 | 12396930 |
| secondary aerosolization of viable bacillus anthracis spores in a contaminated us senate office. | bioterrorist attacks involving letters and mail-handling systems in washington, dc, resulted in bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spore contamination in the hart senate office building and other facilities in the us capitol's vicinity. | 2002 | 12472327 |
| a field investigation of bacillus anthracis contamination of u.s. department of agriculture and other washington, d.c., buildings during the anthrax attack of october 2001. | in response to a bioterrorism attack in the washington, d.c., area in october 2001, a mobile laboratory (ml) was set up in the city to conduct rapid molecular tests on environmental samples for the presence of bacillus anthracis spores and to route samples for further culture analysis. the ml contained class i laminar-flow hoods, a portable autoclave, two portable real-time pcr devices (ruggedized advanced pathogen identification device [rapid]), and miscellaneous supplies and equipment to proce ... | 2003 | 12514046 |
| evaluation of the washington state national pharmaceutical stockpile dispensing exercise, part ii--dispensary site worker findings. | on january 24, 2002, the washington state department of health, in collaboration with local and federal agencies, conducted an exercise of the centers for disease control and prevention's national pharmaceutical stockpile dispensing portion of the washington state plan. this exercise included predrill planning, training, and the orchestration of services of more than 40 dispensary site workers. these workers provided education and post-exposure prophylaxis for over 230 patient volunteers in the ... | 2004 | 15018345 |
| bacillus anthracis contamination and inhalational anthrax in a mail processing and distribution center. | four inhalational anthrax cases occurred in a large mail processing and distribution center in washington, dc, after envelopes containing bacillus anthracis spores were processed. this report describes the results of sampling for b. anthracis spores during investigations conducted in october and december 2001. | 2004 | 15078521 |
| no evidence of a mild form of inhalational bacillus anthracis infection during a bioterrorism-related inhalational anthrax outbreak in washington, d.c., in 2001. | the mail-related dispersal of bacillus anthracis spores in the washington, d.c., area during october 2001 resulted in 5 confirmed cases of inhalational anthrax. we identified an additional 144 ill persons who were potentially exposed to aerosolized spores and whose symptoms were compatible with early inhalational anthrax but whose clinical course and nonserologic laboratory evaluation revealed no evidence for b. anthracis infection. we hypothesized that early antibiotic use could have decreased ... | 2005 | 16142664 |
| public response to an anthrax attack: reactions to mass prophylaxis in a scenario involving inhalation anthrax from an unidentified source. | an attack with bacillus anthracis ("anthrax") is a known threat to the united states. when weaponized, it can cause inhalation anthrax, the deadliest form of the disease. due to the rapid course of inhalation anthrax, delays in initiation of antibiotics may decrease survival chances. because a rapid response would require cooperation from the public, there is a need to understand the public's response to possible mass dispensing programs. to examine the public's response to a mass prophylaxis pr ... | 2011 | 21819225 |
| remediation of bacillus anthracis contamination in the u.s. department of justice mail facility. | the u.s. department of justice (doj) mail facility in landover, maryland, was contaminated with bacillus anthracis spores as a result of the 2001 anthrax bioterrorism attacks through the u.s. postal system. surface environmental sampling within the facility indicated that the contamination was due to receipt of mail that had come in contact with bacillus anthracis spores from the source letters at the brentwood postal facility in washington, dc. the doj adopted a two-pronged approach for remedia ... | 2005 | 16000043 |