Something in the Air

In October 2003, while Houston residents were preparing for the usual Halloween antics, homeland security and public health officials were just

Biosurveillance monitors belonging to a hush-hush national network had detected suspicious organisms in Houston's air. Two filtering machines captured three tiny fragments of the bacterium that causes tularemia, a respiratory ailment known as rabbit fever. Hospitals were on alert for patients complaining of sudden fever, chills, head and muscle aches, joint pain, diarrhea, dry cough and worse symptoms associated with the disease. Tularemia occurs naturally in mice, squirrels, rabbits and similar small mammals. It can be fatal to humans if not treated with antibiotics.