US sets up germ detection system

[Judi Lynn]

US sets up germ detection system
November 15, 2003 - 2:30PM

The US government had set up a $US60 million ($A83.48 million) network to help detect a biological attack in 31 cities across the country, Homeland Security officials said.

The BioWatch system collects air samples at about a dozen sites in each of the cities. The samples are then checked for potentially deadly diseases that could be used in a biological attack.

The goal of BioWatch, located mostly in major urban areas such as Washington, New York City and Houston, is to discover if any bacteria or viruses have been released into the air as part of a biological attack. (snip)

(snip) "By the time you get a hit (positive result), people could have already been infected," said Parney Albright, assistant secretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security.
(snip/...)

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/15/1068674425858.html