Doctor discusses bioterrorism
By Andrew Thagard
Dr. Charles Holt, an osteopathic physician and colonel in the United States Army Reserve, discussed the main bacterial and viral agents used in bioterrorism Tuesday evening. The presentation was the fifth in the Mini-Medical School Lecture Series hosted by the South Bend Center for Medical Education, Indiana University School of Medicine and sponsored by the Medical Education Foundation.
Although the events of Sept. 11 and the recent anthrax scare have raised public awareness of bioterrorism, the concept has been around since ancient times, Holt said as he clicked through gory slides of disease victims. He cited the biblical plagues of Egypt and the medieval practice of catapulting small pox-infected corpses over castle walls as examples. Even during the American Revolutionary War, a British physician collected and pulverized small pox scabs with the intent of infecting the colonists, he said.
Today, medical professionals have a better understanding of what causes disease and how to treat it. Despite this, bioterrorism can pose many problems to our healthcare system, Holt said.
"Virtually no healthcare provider has any experience with this kind of stuff," he said, adding that dangerous diseases can often be mistaken for the common flu. "The problem is that by the time they figure out what really killed these people the disease has spread."
According to Holt, the first victims of a biological or chemical attack are often police officers and fire fighters, two professions he referred to as "blue and red canaries."
The military is most concerned with pathogenic bacteria like anthrax and those that cause various types of plague and viruses including small pox, he said. Viruses often pose a greater threat because they are unreceptive to antibiotics. He added that in many cases, the microorganism often only indirectly causes mortality.
"What really kills you in most of these diseases is the toxins the organism produces or causes your body to produce," Holt said, citing botulism as the most lethal compound per unit mass on the planet.
The intention of many terrorists, however, is not necessarily to kill their victims, he said.
"It's better to wound people and make them ill because it ties up resources and people to take care of them," Holt said.
In addition to increasing research on how to treat the victims of a biological attack, the government needs to take steps to avoid mass hysteria, and the best method for that, according to Holt, is education.
"The more you know about something the better off you are," he said.
Holt is a unit surgical commander for the 337th Combat Support Hospital in the United States Army Reserve and the chairman of the Indianapolis' Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center Decontamination Team.
Next Tuesday, the Mini-Medical School Lecture series will conclude with a presentation by dietitian Carolyn Monroe titled "Nutrition: The Key to Good Health."
All News Stories for Wednesday, April 16, 2003
