As Anthrax Fears Spread, Harvard Prepares

Harvard’s health departments have kicked into high gear in the last few days in preparation for the unlikely event of a bioterrorism attack on University soil.

Harvard’s first line of defense: the Harvard Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS), which would coordinate with the Boston and Cambridge fire departments. The department is currently undergoing additional emergency training.

“This is new ground for all of us,” says Joseph Griffin, director of EHS. “We are adapting our existing processes and protocols to address the new kind of threats that are emerging.”

Officials from University Health Services (UHS) and the Harvard Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS) have spent significant portions of time recently in meetings to discuss emergency procedures. EHS is also working with the emergency planning committees from the fire departments.

“We work with those committees to understand the issues, and to coordinate our response to dovetail with theirs,” Griffin said.

Griffin declined to comment on specific emergency scenarios that had been discussed.

The EHS consists of 43 employees, many of whom are proficient in microbiology. They are normally involved with occupational safety, environmental law and regulation compliance and worker protection.

Now, the department is in the midst of ongoing emergency training, with the next session to take place on Monday.

Griffin and three top UHS officials attended a Wednesday meeting of Cambridge and MIT health authorities to organize a local surveillance system that can more readily identify possible unusual health trends.

They also reiterated that people should not stockpile or use unprescribed antibiotics for biocontaminants. Nor should they be tested unnecessarily.

“Absent of exposure situations, routine [anthrax] testing is strongly discouraged,” said Dr. Christopher M. Coley, chief of medicine at UHS. “UHS is not being allowed to access those tests.”

Coley also emphasized the large number of other potentially threatening agents, despite the current national media focus on anthrax.

UHS maintains a stock of Cipro and other antibiotics used in the treatment of anthrax and other infections, and cooperates with area hospital pharmacies to access drugs and vaccines. But unless directed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, UHS will not dispense the medications preventively.

“There is a significantly greater health risk, at present, to taking these drugs preventively, than there is of contracting anthrax,” said UHS Director Dr. David S. Rosenthal ’59 in a Sunday letter to the College.

Within the University, UHS is focusing on disseminating information to the public, as well as strengthening communication between public safety departments.

In the event of an exposure, UHS would not be involved in the direct handling of facility protection.

“It’s not a health activity, it’s an environmental activity,” Mary Hennings, associate director for administration at UHS. “We would be involved in terms of advising the care of an individual.”

UHS is providing counseling and information to those who request it. Physicians will be running information sessions on anthrax this week, but admit that the likelihood of an infection incident is low. “The risk of actually contracting anthrax is extraordinarily low, just because targets seem to be at government offices, not everyday folks,” Hennings said.

UHS is also in direct contact with city and state health officials. “Given the current risk, we’re opening up lots of communication channels with government agencies,” Hennings said. “We’re taking our cue from them on what the appropriate actions are.”

The Harvard news website is coordinating daily updates from both UHS and EHS.

—Staff writer Arianne R. Cohen can be reached at cohen7@fas.harvard.edu.