- From Patricia Doyle, PhD
- dr_p_doyle@hotmail.com
- 1-16-3
-
- Hello, Jeff -
-
- The story about Dr. Butler at Texas Tech is very strange.
Details are now coming in. I do not believe that a man who is internationally
recognized in the field, and, worked with plague for 25 years accidently
destroyed the vials then paniced and then filed a false police report!
He said that he was unaware that the incident could trigger such a massive
investigation. Where has he been since 911?
-
- This just does not make any sense. I am looking into
Texas Tech and their research projects. In other words: who funds them,
what they study and who works there. What other labs are they affiliated
with, etc.
-
- Dr Butler and the Dean of the univ. made some really
stupid statements about the plague not being used for bioterrorism. In
other words, not weaponized. So, again, be happy don't worry. They forgot
to tell us that in the right hands, those vials could be coated with polymer
coating and aerosolized then disseminated in subways or other enclosed
areas. There are also secondary deaths with plague. It is contagious,
albeit mildly. Direct contact with the patient.
-
- Another problem is when plague and anthrax are used in
a single attack. ...Or, with aerosolized ricin. That could be considered
weapon of mass destruction.
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at:
- http://www.clickitnews.com/emergingdiseases/index.shtml
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
-
-
- ----
-
-
- A university professor at the center of a scare over
missing plague bacteria told the FBI he lied when he said 30 vials of the
deadly bacteria had disappeared because he had accidentally destroyed them,
according to court documents.
-
- Dr. Thomas C. Butler was arrested Wednesday on a complaint
of giving false information to the FBI about the vials. He was scheduled
to appear in court Thursday afternoon.
-
- The FBI said in documents filed in support of its criminal
complaint that Butler gave agents a handwritten note in which he admitted
lying to his supervisor about the vials.
-
- "I made a misjudgment by not telling (the supervisor)
that the plague bacteria had been accidentally destroyed earlier rather
than erronneously first found missing," Butler wrote, according to
the FBI.
-
- In the note, Butler said he knew the bacteria had been
destroyed and was not a threat to public health, and he didn't realize
his story would trigger "such an extensive investigation."
-
- When news spread about the missing vials, the anxiety
was palpable. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge contacted the mayor, a
terrorism alert was triggered and dozens of investigators from the FBI
and other agencies converged on Texas Tech University.
-
- According to U.S. Attorney Dick Baker, Butler said Tuesday
that vials containing bacteria obtained from tissue samples from East Africa
were missing when "truth in fact, as he well knew, he had destroyed
them prior to that."
-
- "We have accounted for all those missing vials and
we have determined that there is no danger to public safety whatsoever,"
Lubbock FBI Lupe Gonzalez said Wednesday.
-
- Authorities have declined to elaborate on what happened
to the vials or say why or how Butler may have destroyed the bacteria.
-
- The samples, among 180 the school was using for research
on the treatment of plague, were reported missing to campus police Tuesday
night. Butler was the only person with authorized access to the bacteria,
which is classified as a select agent that has to be registered with the
International Biohazards Committee and with the federal government.
-
- University spokeswoman Cindy Rugeley said Butler, the
project's principal investigator, made the report.
-
- Butler is chief of the infectious diseases division of
the department of internal medicine at Texas Tech's medical school. The
university said he has been involved in plague research for more than 25
years and is internationally recognized in the field. He has been at Texas
Tech since 1987.
-
- Dr. Richard Homan, Texas Tech School of Medicine dean,
said the bacteria form of plague being used for research "was not
weaponized in any way."
-
- Baker said FBI agents interviewed Butler on Tuesday.
He said the complaint noted the false statement resulted in a huge investigation
involving about 60 state, local and federal agents.
-
- The public did not learn of the report of missing vials
until early Wednesday. But hospitals and medical personnel were notified
Tuesday, part of the city's post-Sept. 11 emergency plan.
-
- Samples were kept in a locked area of Butler's lab, which
is not in a high-traffic area. Butler kept logs on batches of samples,
and one batch was reported missing, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
-
- The secure area does not have a surveillance camera but
access is controlled, officials said.
-
- "I don't know the precise number (of keys), but
it's limited," said Texas Tech Chancellor David Smith. "Policy
(for federal grants) was not violated. This is one where we're looking
at the human element."
-
- Plague - along with anthrax, smallpox and a few other
deadly agents - is on a watch list distributed by the government, which
wants to make sure doctors and hospitals recognize a biological attack
quickly.
-
- Health officials say 10 to 20 people in the United States
contract plague each year, usually through infected fleas or rodents. The
plague can be treated with antibiotics, but about one in seven U.S. cases
is fatal.
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