Anthrax Scare Is Posing Problems For Legitimate Research.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An anthrax researcher with a small company recently came to Paul Keim seeking more samples he needed for his work.

Keim, a microbiologist at Northern Arizona University, politely said he was too busy to supply them. Even for that, the other man was grateful.

Scientists at some other laboratories, he said, had just laughed at his request. One wise guy suggested he check with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

With new concerns about bioterrorism, legitimate scientists have been thwarted, at least temporarily, in their quest to study germs with terrorism potential. Keim said security at his lab "has increased a hundredfold.'' Researchers at academic, corporate and public health labs nationwide have taken similar measures.

While they generally support the stronger safeguards, some researchers say their new security duties are taking time from the important work of diagnosing and treating diseases - often those caused by the germs. And supplies of the deadly microbes needed for research are harder to come by. These scientists worry that future regulations might further restrict the sharing of microbes for study.

"We do a lot of collaboration, and that's so key for getting these systems to move forward,'' said anthrax researcher John Collier at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. "If you put needless bureaucratic barriers in the way, you could slow it down.''

Under pressure from federal and state authorities and their own campuses, labs are keeping more samples under lock and more tightly controlling access to buildings. Some have even posted guards and traffic barriers. They are keeping closer track of holdings and, in some cases, keeping them secret. Some lab directors say even stronger, more uniform safeguards are needed to keep dangerous microbes away from bioterrorists.