DAY EIGHTY-SIX:Dec. 5:
The usually reliable Jane’s Weekly is running a story claiming that someone has released bioweapons in Pakistan, in the form of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Citing the rising numbers of cases of the often-lethal viral disease among Afghani refugees, Jane’s is claiming that “well placed sources,” say it’s a stolen Russian bioweapon. Balderdash. First of all, the Soviets found CCHF a lousy weapon because it is not person-to-person contagious: it is spread by ticks that live in the fur of wild rodents. Secondly, CCHF is endemic to Pakistan and Afghanistan – there are always cases in the region. Third, whenever you have refugees living in squalor you see an increase in rodents, ergo a possible increase in CCHF.
It’s a shame such an influential publication would run with such an ill-conceived story. Apparently it is playing prominently in the British media.
Now I wonder what they will make of the reemergence of Ebola in Africa. Yes, the virus is back, this time in the same part of Gabon in which it emerged in 1996. And there are rumors of Ebola cases in other parts of Equatorial Africa right now. Putting aside the obvious fear Ebola evokes, I wonder how in the world the CDC, overwhelmed as it is right now with anthrax-related investigations, will handle this. No doubt the agency will tell WHO, “It’s time to find out if our new global network of labs can do the job. We’re swamped, leave us out of it.” The CDC is under attack again, this time from New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith, who wants the FBI to reveal which areas of the country received mail that passed through the Hamilton mail sorting facility at about the same time as the two anthrax-laced letters that were sent to members of the US Senate. We’re talking about potentially hundreds of thousands of letters that were mailed all over America, possibly worldwide. Smith wants to know what letters went where, and he wants the CDC to track them all down. Given those letters went through Hamilton two months ago it is doubtful any of them are still laying about, unopened in anybody’s homes. But Smith would like to turn the CDC into a letter-chasing agency.
“To alert is not to alarm, and the sharing of information is a confidence builder for people who fear the unknown,” Smith said today.
In Connecticut, where a 94-year-old woman died of inhalational anthrax, local officials are squawking about the state health department lab that has been handling putative anthrax samples. The claim is that the lab is run down, ill run and soon to be decertified. State officials deny. Back in New Jersey, which New Yorkers consider the home of the mentally disabled, a group of state politicians are demanding the federal supply of smallpox vaccines be handed over to their health officials immediately. They want to mass vaccinate the New Jersey populous tout suite. Why should New Jersey be given priority? State Assemblyman Eric Munoz, a Republican, explain: “Terrorists aren’t going to wait for us to be ready with a smallpox plan before they attack.” The state would be a prime terrorist target because of its proximity to New York and because it is home to so many pharmaceutical companies. Well, if proximity to New York is reason for prioritizing vaccine access, why not vaccinate everybody in New York City first?
Clearly this is all absurd. Some politicians seem to be responding to terrorist threats far worse than the populaces they serve. Despite projections made before September 11 of hysteria and panic, New Yorkers have not responded to the attack, or to anthrax, in a hysterical fashion. Indeed, the response has been noteworthy for its spirit of volunteerism, neighborliness and quiet dismay. Though there was a run on antibiotics and gas masks, it appears to have been executed by a small minority of the population. AP reported today that, “Seven out of 10 people nationally surveyed in a Gallup poll on Oct. 21 said they had not thought about obtaining a prescription for antibiotics or buying a gas mask. “
One area of acute social vulnerability rests with public health’s poor track record in minority communities. Once again, accusations of racism have arisen, especially among postal workers, the majority of whom are African American in Eastern cities. At a conference in Atlanta today African American leaders denounced the CDC’s disparate handling of anthrax risks among predominately white Capitol Hill employees, versus black postal workers, all exposed to the same samples of spores from letters mailed to members of the Senate. They may be correct. But it is also clear that class was a factor, as the prestige and authority of employees of the US Senate clearly trumps the clout of postal workers.
Public health leaders have a legacy to live down, however. The word “Tuskegee” resonates loudly in the African American community. Similarly, in New York the Chinese community is up in arms over all the talk about bailing out businesses immediately around Ground Zero, white business interests own most of which. Business is way down in Chinatown, and some 2000 jobs have been lost there since September 11, community leaders say. Chinatown is located just above TriBeCa, which borders Ground Zero.
Here’s a sign I saw in front of a business tonight on Long Island, luring drivers: GOD BLESS AMERICA EXTREME BOWLING HERE! God knows what that’s about. Perhaps the merchants of Chinatown ought to consider new pitches. How about GOD BLESS AMERICA DIM SUM SMACK-DOWN! Tonight I gave a public health lecture at Adelphi University on Long Island. On the drive home, at 10pm a digital temperature indicator said it was 65 degrees, which is patently absurd for New York in December. This afternoon in Midtown people were dressed so casually that New York looked less like the fashion center of the USA, and more like Slobville USA. A Rockefeller Center Santa told the Times that he’s noticed the difference – no furs, no high fashion. Folks are dressing down, he said, and holding tightly to the tiny hands of their children, even when the tots are on Santa’s lap. And the kids, “Santa” said, have no wish lists. They seem sober, worried, less interested in Christmas than in past years.
A friend said he is taking his family, “some place warm for Christmas”. To which I said, “What’s wrong with laying on the Coney Island Beach, given the weather?” In the elevator today I overheard this interchange:
“We got a time share in the Bahamas, but I just can’t face it. I’m too hot already!”
“I know what you mean. Every day it’s sweat, sweat, sweat.”
“Yuck. What a way to put it.”
“Well…..”
“Ok. But you know it must be hard on the tourist business in the Caribbean, you know? I mean, after the World Trade Center and everything nobody wanted to fly. And then it gets so hot here that nobody wants to go someplace warm. You know?”
“Yeah. I heard all the ski resorts in Vermont are going out of business.”
The National Weather Service said today that the rivers, lakes and reservoirs of New York and New Jersey are now at the lowest, driest levels ever recorded for the month of December. It’s time, the agency said, to admit that the region is in an official drought. Perfect. Now they will probably institute water rationing. What’s next?
Politics heated up, too. Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg announced he will delay his Israel trip until Saturday, when he will fly his personal jet to Tel Aviv, taking Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani with him. Tonight at Adelphi a member of the university board of trustees said, “First of all, I don’t know why they want to meddle in the Middle East. I mean, haven’t they shown us they already hate New York? Why go to Israel? And then announcing it! My god, how stupid. It’s like saying, ‘Hello! Terrorists? Are you listening? On Saturday the political leadership of New York will all be on a plane together, and it will land in Israel at whatever time. Just want to let you know in case you’re looking for something to bomb.’ I mean is this nuts?”
The NYPD announced today that about 86 Middle Eastern men will be asked to agree to interviews, as part of the Department of Justice’s nationwide effort to question 5,000 immigrants from countries with “suspected terrorist links.” Local radio stations are burning up the air waves with debate: Civil liberties versus fighting terrorism. What does it mean, the civil libertarians ask, to tell an Arab immigrant he should “voluntarily speak” with the police? New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said the NYPD would not pursue immigration deportation efforts, or bully the interviewees. But the ACLU is less than mollified.
I suspect all of these things – the attacks on the World Trade Center, anthrax scares, larger potential bioterrorism assaults, lousy politicians, FBI and police activities, the bizarre weather and the economy – explain why New York has suddenly become a hard drinking town. The Times reported today that hard liquor consumption at local bars has tripled since September 11, with many reporting that they are selling martinis and manhattans as fast as they can make them. In contrast, attendance at gyms and fitness centers is way down. Well, it’s probably not a great idea to try pumping iron after swallowing four Tanqueray dry martinis.
Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.
Laurie Garrett
