Glossary
amplification.
Multiplication of a virus. See
replication.
anthrax.
Bacillus anthracis,
a rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium that grows profusely in lymph and blood. Name comes from the Greek word for
black,
after the blackening of the skin caused by an anthrax infection of the skin.
anthrax spores.
Tiny ovoid spores, one micron long, produced when anthrax bacterial cells encounter adverse conditions and are unable to keep growing. About two hundred spores would span the thickness of a human hair.
antiviral drug.
A type of drug that stops or slows a virus infection.
biological weapon
or
bioweapon.
Disease-causing pathogen dispersed into a human population as a weapon. Usually prepared and treated in special ways in order to be dispersed in the air.
Biosafety Level 4.
Also
BL-4
or
Level 4.
Highest level of biocontainment; requires the wearing of a bioprotective space suit.
black pox.
See
flat hemorrhagic smallpox.
blue suit.
A bioprotective full-body space suit, typically blue.
BWC.
The Biological Weapons and Toxin Convention, an international treaty, signed by more than one hundred and forty nations, which forbids the development, possession, and use of offensive biological weapons. Signed by the United States in 1972.
CDC.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta.
chains of transmission.
Chains of infection, which typically branch through a population.
construct.
A recombinant virus made in the laboratory.
cytokine.
A signaling compound, released by cells, that circulates in the blood and lymph and regulates a system in the body. Many cytokines serve as signals in the immune system.
cytokine storm.
Derangement and collapse of the immune system and other systems in the body.
DNA.
The long, twisted, ladderlike molecule that contains the genetic code of an organism. The rungs of the ladder, or nucleotide bases, are the letters of the code.
dumbbell core.
Dumbbell-shaped body in the center of a
poxvirus
particle, which contains the virus’s
DNA
or genome. Also known as the dogbone of pox. Unique to poxviruses.
engineered virus.
A recombinant virus or
construct
virus that contains foreign genes in its
DNA
or RNA.
epidemiology.
The science and art of tracing the origin and spread of diseases in populations with the goal of controlling or stopping them.
flat hemorrhagic smallpox.
Also known as black pox. The most malignant form of smallpox disease, characterized by hemorrhages and darkening (purpuric) skin. It is essentially one hundred percent fatal.
gene.
A short stretch of
DNA
that contains the genetic code for a single protein or a related group of proteins in an organism.
genetic engineering.
The science and art of inserting genes into or removing them from the
DNA
of an organism, changing the organism’s inherited characteristics as a life-form.
genome.
The entire amount of
DNA
in a cell or virus particle, which contains the complete genetic code of the organism. (Some viruses use RNA for their genomes.)
Harper strain.
Hot strain of smallpox in the smallpox repository at the
CDC.
HMRU.
The Hazardous Materials Response Unit of the FBI. A rapid-response team for incidents of chemical or biological terrorism; stationed at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
host.
An organism that a
parasite
lives inside or on.
hot.
Virulent; infective; lethal.
IL-4 gene.
The gene that codes for interleukin-4, which is a common
cytokine
that regulates the immune system.
IL-4 smallpox.
A genetically engineered smallpox not known to exist, though some experts fear it might easily be created in a laboratory by the insertion of the human
IL-4 gene
into natural smallpox virus. Recent experiments suggest that IL-4 smallpox might evade the vaccine and be superlethal in humans. See
mousepox
and
IL-4 gene.
India-1 strain.
A strain of smallpox, believed to be exceedingly virulent in humans, possibly vaccine resistant, weaponized, and produced in tonnage quanties by the Soviet Union for loading into ICBMs.
laminar-flow hood
or simply
hood.
A laboratory cabinet with a sliding glass front, similar in principle to an exhaust hood over a kitchen stove, used to protect samples from becoming contaminated and researchers from becoming infected.
micron.
One millionth of a meter. An
anthrax spore
is one micron long. Bioweapons particles are ideally one to five microns in size, so as to be inhaled deeply into the lungs.
mirrored smallpox.
A doubled collection of smallpox, kept in identical, or “mirror,” freezers designated A and B. If one freezer is lost, the smallpox collection remains intact in the other freezer.
mousepox virus.
Also called ectromelia. A poxvirus of mice that is related to smallpox. IL-4 mousepox is a genetically engineered mousepox that breaks through some vaccine-induced immunity in some types of mice. See
IL-4 smallpox.
multiplier.
An estimate of the number of secondary cases that will be caused by one infectious case. Known technically as R-zero.
nanopowder silica.
Extremely fine particles of silica glass, which can be mixed into a
biological weapon
to make it better able to become easily airborne and thus more infective in the lungs.
parasite.
An organism that lives inside or on a
host
organism and typically harms the host.
pipette.
Handheld push-button device used for moving small amounts of liquid.
plaque picking.
Method of using a
pipette
to suck cells infected with a virus out of a
well plate.
Technique for purifying a strain of
engineered virus.
plasmid.
A short piece of
DNA,
in the shape of a ring, that multiplies inside bacteria as they grow. A plasmid can be engineered with foreign genes and then recombined with a virus to make an
engineered virus.
poxvirus.
A large family of viruses, found in mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and insects. Poxvirus particles are among the largest and most complex virus particles in nature.
Rahima strain.
A strain of smallpox in the repository at the
CDC,
taken from scabs of Rahima Banu, a three-year-old girl in Bangladesh who was the last person on earth to be naturally infected with variola major.
replication.
Self-copying. See
amplification.
ring vaccination.
Prophylactic technique of vaccinating every susceptible person within a ring around an outbreak.
trans-species jump.
The process whereby a virus changes types of hosts, moving from one species to another.
USAMRIID.
United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Also known as the Institute or Rid.
vaccine.
A compound or virus that, when introduced into the body, provokes immunity to a disease.
vaccine breakthrough.
A (typically lethal) infection that breaks through a person’s vaccine-induced immunity.
vaccinia.
A
poxvirus
closely related to smallpox. It is much less virulent than smallpox in humans and is used as the vaccine for it.
variola.
Scientific name for smallpox virus; comes in two natural subtypes, variola major and variola minor.
Vector.
The State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, near Novosibirsk, Siberia.
virion.
Virus
particle.
virulence.
Ability to cause disease; lethality.
virus.
The smallest form of life, a parasite that can replicate only inside cells, using the cell’s machinery. Viruses are small particles made of proteins, with a core containing
DNA
or RNA.
virus weapon.
A virus that has been prepared for use as a weapon. May be made through
genetic engineering.
well plate.
A plastic plate divided into cups or wells, where viruses are grown inside living cells; essential tool for virus engineering.
World Health Organization (WHO).
International body associated with the United Nations; headquartered in Geneva.
Acknowledgments
I am most grateful for the enthusiastic support and guidance of many people at Random House: Ann Godoff, Joy de Menil, Carol Schneider, Liz Fogarty, Daniel Rembert, Carole Lowenstein, Sybil Pincus, Laura Wilson, Allison Heilborn, Timothy Mennel, Robin Rolewicz, Evan Camfield, Lynn Anderson, Laura Goldin, and Laura Wilson (Random House Audio Books).
At Janklow & Nesbit Associates, Lynn Nesbit, Cullen Stanley, Tina Bennett, Bennett Ashley, Amy Howell, and Kyrra Rowley have been incredibly supportive and effective.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its grant officer Doron Weber provided a highly useful research grant.
Oliver Eickhoff, of the
Westfalenpost,
in Meschede, Germany, helped me research the 1970 Meschede outbreak. Prof. Werner Slenczka gave guidance, Magdalena Drinhaus (Geise) shared her recollections, and Dr. Beate Smith translated documents and interviews.
Andy Young provided valuable professional fact checking.
Numerous people gave important assistance, and shared their thoughts, during the research and writing. Not all are mentioned in the text, but all contributed: Ken Alibek, Charles Bailey, Daria Baldovin-Jahrling, Dr. Ruth Berkelman, Dr. Michael Bray, Dr. Joel Breman, Dr. Larry Brilliant, Dr. Mitchell Cohen, Richard J. Danzig, Dr. Christopher J. Davis OBE, Louise Davis, Annabelle Duncan, Joseph Esposito, Dr. David Fleming, Dr. Stanley O. Foster, Dr. Mary Frederick, Tom Geisbert, Celia (Sands) Hatfield, Doug Henderson, Dr. D. A. Henderson, Leigh Henderson, Nana Henderson, Dr. Michael Hensley, Lisa Hensley, John W. Huggins, Dr. James M. Hughes, Martin Hugh-Jones, Dr. Thomas Inglesby, Peter B. Jahrling, David Kelly, Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, Dr. Thomas G. Ksiazek, Dr. James LeDuc, Dr. Frank J. Malinoski, Richard W. Moyer, Randall S. Murch, Frederick A. Murphy, Margaret Nakano, Dr. Tara O’Toole, Michael Osterholm, Dr. John S. Parker, Virginia Patrick, William C. Patrick III, Dr. Brad Perkins, Dr. C. J. Peters, Edward M. Phillips, Tanja Popovic, Rosemary Ramsey, Drew C. Richardson, Dr. Philip K. Russell, Dr. Alfred Sommer, Richard Spertzel, Lisa Swenarski, Shirley Tilghman, Wavy Gravy, Dr. Paul F. Wehrle, John Wickett, Tom Wilbur, Shieh Wun-Ju, Dr. Sherif Zaki, Dr. Alan Zelicoff.
At the FBI: R. Scott Decker, Arthur Eberhart, Philip Edney, Peter Christopher Murray, Rex Tomb, and David Wilson.
At St. Louis University School of Medicine: Hongdong Bai, Cliff Bellone, Mark Buller, Nanhai Chen, David Esteban, Joe Muehlenkamp, Gelita Owens, and Jill Schriewer.
Sharon DeLano, who served as my editor for
The Hot Zone
and
The Cobra Event,
also edited this book. She has therefore been the editor of what I think of as a trilogy on Dark Biology.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RICHARD PRESTON
is the author of
The Hot Zone,
a #1
New York Times
bestseller, and of
The Cobra Event,
a bioterror thriller, also a
New York Times
bestseller. A writer for
The New Yorker
since 1985, Preston won the American Institute of Physics award and is the only nondoctor ever to have received the CDC’s Champion of Prevention award. He has an asteroid named after him.
Also by Richard Preston
First Light
American Steel
The Hot Zone
The Cobra Event
The author expresses his gratitude to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for a research grant that helped in the completion of this book.
Copyright © 2002 by Richard Preston
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Portions of this book appeared in different form in
The New Yorker.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Random House website address:
www.atrandom.com
eISBN: 978-1-58836-245-2
v3.0