By Kelly Rayburn
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Gov. Gray Davis said Monday he will call on scientists from the
University of California, other universities and the private sector
to advise him on the state’s preparedness for a potential
bioterrorism attack.
“We are just preparing for the worst, but hoping for the
best,” Davis said.
Fears of deadly germs spreading across the nation came after
last week’s death of a Florida man from Anthrax disease and
the discovery of spores of the deadly bacterium in one of his
co-workers.
Davis said a task force has been preparing for a potential
bioterrorism attack for two years in California. Since Sept. 11,
state officials have held seminars to train medical personnel to
spot and treat Anthrax ““ which can be purchased cheaply and,
many fear, used as a weapon of mass destruction ““ and other
diseases. They are also testing California’s water system
daily.
“We are moving on all fronts to envision any contingency
and prepare for it,” Davis said.
Davis said he will “assemble the best scientists we
have” to analyze what more should be done.
Amy Zegart, a UCLA professor who specializes in U.S.
intelligence and the organization of U.S. national security, called
bioterrorism and terrorism involving chemical weapons “real
and serious threats.”
The Medical Center can play a large role in guarding against an
attack by planning a system to treat people and watching out for
medical evidence of bioterrorism, she said.
David Pegues, an assistant clinical professor in the division of
infectious diseases at the Medical Center, said participation in
disaster drills such as earthquake and fire drills are part of the
health care system.
“We will have a bioterrorism drill as well,” he
said.
Pegues produced an e-mail from Dr. David H. Taylor, medical
services director at the UC Office of the President, asking the
infectious disease divisions at UC Medical Schools to help UCOP
gather information on the schools and medical centers’ state
of readiness in case of an attack.
With reports from Dexter Gauntlett and Marcelle Richards, Daily
Bruin Senior Staff, and wire services.