Animals as sentinels of biological and chemical terrorist agents

Zimra Gordon, DVM, MPH, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 135 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, 203-785-5885, sentinelstudies@yale.edu and Peter M. Rabinowitz, MD, MPH, Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 135 College Street, 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

We report on a systematic search of the medical literature to determine whether, for certain agents classified by the CDC as potential terrorist threats, there exist data regarding particular species and their usefulness as a sentinel of such agents.

The search encompassed both the National Library of Medicine MEDLINE database, as well as complementary databases such as CAB and Agricola and the online Canary Database of animal sentinel studies.

The results indicate that for a variety of biological and chemical agents, there are reports of animals appearing to exhibit increased vulnerability compared to humans. However, numerous gaps in scientific knowledge were identified, as well as communication barriers between animal health and human health professionals. Such barriers will need to be overcome in order to effectively make use of animal sentinel data in the event of a biological or chemical terrorist attack.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

1. List three reasons why animal sentinel data could provide “early warning” of chemical and biological warfare threats
2. Recognize three barriers to the utilization of animal sentinel data
3. Describe three improvements to the public health system that would allow for the greater use of animal sentinel data for human health.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Environmental Contaminants and Assessment of Exposure

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA