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Letters & CommentsJesse Tucker
Jesse Tucker is a recent graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, where he obtained a Masters’ in Public Health (MPH) in epidemiology. While enrolled at UAB, Jesse served as a graduate assistant at the UAB Center for Emerging Infections and Emergency Preparedness. There, he contributed to research on surge capacity networks for the National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response (PACER), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. Mr. Tucker’s personal research interest, in addition to emergency preparedness, is the epidemiology and pathology of emerging infectious diseases. He can be contacted at layden.tucker@gmail.com.
Proliferation of Biodefense Laboratories and the Need for National Biosecurity
ABSTRACT:
In the years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts and the anthrax attacks which followed,
the president of the United States has issued a number of Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPD).
HSPD-10, HSPD-18, and HSPD-21 specifically addressed measures to be taken by the United States to prepare for
and mitigate potential threats involving bioterrorism agents (BT agents).
The provisions of these directives have strengthened our capacity to cope with such threats and have drastically increased BT-agent research activities.
Before 2001 such research was confined to a limited number of high-security laboratories but has since expanded
to educational, government, and private laboratories all over the country.
This essay discusses the implications of the recent proliferation of laboratories involved in BT-agent research
and asserts that additional safety oversight and regulation is necessary in order for these critical research activities to continue
without creating additional hazards.
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