Bioterrorism

Testing against Anthrax and Smallpox

Gibraltar can test chemicals and formulations against surrogates of the two major bioterrorism microorganisms as follows:

(1)Bacillus anthracis (avirulent vaccine strain)  The three virulence factors of B. anthracis are edema toxin, lethal toxin and capsular antigen.  The Gibraltar vaccine strain lacks the factor (plasmid) for capsule formulation and thus can produce neither cutaneous nor pulmonary disease. The vaccine spore has the same chemical composition as the virulent spore and can be tested to screen candidate compounds in the following type of laboratory analysis: (a) killing time tests and (rate and extent with calculation of D-10 value).  (b) MIC and/or zone of inhibition.

(2)Vaccinia Virus – The chemical agent of cowpox is a DNA member of the poxviridae and is used for vaccination against smallpox. Disinfectant and antiseptic type tests in suspension or on hard surfaces (EPA) can be performed as well as chemotherapeutic antiviral testing in cell culture. The halogenated pyrimidine5-fluorouracil is employed as a standard control in cell culture, experiments against this and other DNA viruses.