Talk of biotoxins raises concerns in Pasadena

[hawkeye]

February 22, San Gabriel Tribune (CA) ? Talk of biotoxins raises concerns in Pasadena. Pasadena, CA's Health Department issued an announcement last weekend, a statement alerting the public to something it then said merited no concern. "On Saturday, February 10, routine environmental sampling detected traces of a bacteria that can cause tularemia, an infectious disease, at a testing site in Pasadena," stated the release. "At this time, we do not believe that there is any threat to public health. Individuals do not need to modify their activities as a result of this occurrence," it quoted Los Angeles County Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding as saying. As it turns out, the find was part of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) bioweapons alert program. The program, called BioWatch, tests the air of major urban areas daily for "aerosolized biological agents of interest," said Chris Kelly, associate director of strategic communications for the DHS. Now going on its fourth year, it has collected about three million results from around the nation. Last weekend's tularemia alert is only the 17th positive result any of the sensors have detected, Kelly said. As with the Pasadena incident, health officials determined the other alerts were from natural sources. All have involved traces of the bacteria that cause tularemia or brucellosis. Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5252753