EDITORIAL - Are we ready for bioterrorism?

In these troubled times there’s no need to make people more jittery than they already are. But there’s no escaping the fact that in a global society, events that transpire in one country such as the United States can be duplicated elsewhere, including in the Philippines. After suicidal pilots armed with knives and box cutters, a new threat has emerged in America – virulent germs turned into weapons of destruction.

There have been no mass killings yet in the United States as a result of bioterrorism. But an anthrax scare, which started in Florida following the death of a newspaper photo editor from the deadly bacterium, has spread to New York and now to Reno, Nevada. Among the targets have been media offices, with one letter sent to The New York Times that tested negative for anthrax, and a contaminated one sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. That mail may worry Filipinos with relatives in New Jersey from where the contaminated white powder was sent. More worrisome, however, is the letter sent to a Microsoft office in Reno, which was mailed from Malaysia. The contents of the mail tested positive for anthrax.

So far the anthrax strains showing up in the United States have responded to treatment with anti-biotics. Americans are buying up gas masks and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. But it’s nearly impossible to predict when and how bioterrorists will strike and who may be the next target.

Will this latest threat reach Philippine shores? Recently several private schools had to suspend classes after a flu outbreak that remains a mystery. There could have been overreaction there, but in these uncertain times you can’t blame parents and teachers for worrying about the children. The Philippines has been grappling for years with terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden, and Malaysia is just a sea away.

Is the government prepared to deal with bioterrorism? At the very least, the government should by now be reaching out to people with expertise in treating illnesses that may result from biological warfare. In a world where even an innocuous letter can be used as a lethal weapon, a bit of paranoia can be useful for public safety.