Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/09/05/2003201675
Nation ready to defend itself from a bioterrorism attack,
CDC officials say CONTINGENCY PLANS: Taiwan isn't seen as a likely terror target, but officials
said that the country is stepping up defenses for a worst-case scenario
By Wang Hsiao-wen
STAFF
REPORTER
Sunday, Sep 05, 2004,Page 2
To defend the country against germ warfare, the Center for Disease
Control (CDC) is stepping up preventive measures and developing emergency
response strategies, CDC officials said yesterday.
"The anti-terrorism commission of the Executive Yuan is coordinating
intelligence, financial, economic and judicial mechanisms to fend off any
attack of biological agents," Chiu Chan-hsien (ªô®i½å), director of the
CDC's Division of Emerging Infectious Diseases said at the Asian Pacific
Intercity Symposium on Anti-Bioterrorism, which was convened jointly by
the CDC and the Taipei City Government's Department of Health.
According to Chiu, the draft anti-terrorism law has passed the first
review in the Legislative Yuan and is high on the list for a second review
next year. The law, once ratified, will authorize an anti-terrorism team
and reinforce the legal basis for a full-scale mobilization in the event
of an attack.
Chiu also said that the CDC has proposed a four-year budget to finance
staff training and the purchase of vaccines, antibiotics and medical
facilities. The amount for the first year budget totals about NT$1.4
billion, Chiu said.
Apart from the draft anti-terrorism law and budget plan, the CDC has
organized the National Biological Pathogens Disaster Response System as
the backbone of the nation's biosecurity.
Despite doubts on whether the nation will be threatened by bioterror,
officials contended that they cannot afford to be complacent.
"Taiwan has yet to experience acts of biological terrorism," said
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) in his opening speech.
"However, we cannot use this as an excuse to avoid preparation and study
in bioterrorism prevention."
"We were greatly shocked by the senseless attack on the World Trade
Center on Sept. 11, 2001, in which so many innocent lives were lost," Ma
said. "Terrorists usually aim to harm soft targets that are unable to
fight back, such as civilian infrastructure and local governments,
institutions and businesses."
The city government worries that widespread dissemination of chemical
and biological information has made it easier for determined individuals
to develop biological weapons in underground laboratories. Such weapons
could be used covertly, and would cause mass casualties in a densely
populated city like Taipei.
"There are over 2.6 million residents in Taipei City, and if you
include individuals who live in suburbs and commute to Taipei for work,
over a million people are in the city on any given day," Chang Hang
(±iÒ²), the Commissioner of Taipei City Government's Department of Health,
said.
"In an era of convenient mass transit systems, where we come into
frequent contact with so many others, it is difficult to prevent and
protect against biological strikes," Chang said. Foreign experts with
experience fighting anthrax, smallpox, and other biological agents
encouraged the country to strengthen its defense against biological
attacks, although Taipei is not likely a terrorist target.
"Rather than spending time trying to predict the unpredictable, we
suggest that the government prepare for the worst," said A. Thomas Waytes,
vice president of medical and scientific affairs of BioPort, under the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Choo Wee Jin, chairman of geriatric medicine at Singapore's Tan Tock
Seng Hospital in Singapore, said a terrorist attack on his country is
inevitable. "Our government's assumption is that an attack will occur
sooner or later, given the unstable international situation and our close
ties with the US."
Drawing on expertise from the US and Singapore, the CDC said that they
have narrowed down possible biological agents to four kinds: smallpox,
anthrax, plague, and botulism. According to Chiu, the CDC has stockpiled
vaccines for smallpox and antibiotics for anthrax. Chiu also confirmed
that in drills, local health bureaus proved capable of coordinating and
reporting all available medical resources to the CDC within two hours.
The hospital network can also respond more promptly now to emergencies,
said Chu Dachen (Àó¤j¦¨), superintendent of Taipei Municipal Hoping
Hospital, which was the hospital hardest hit by SARS last year. With the
hindsight provided by experience during the SARS crisis -- which strained
the country's health system to the limit, hospitals are now more alert to
cases of infectious diseases, and know more about quarantine and
disinfection procedures.
"SARS is the strongest vaccine for hospital coordination," Chu said.
"Now any suspicious case, once clinically identified, will be sanitized
and quarantined within half an hour."
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