honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, April 1, 2003

Microbiologist to speak on threats of bioterrorism

Advertiser Staff

The role microbiologists can play in helping citizens deal with the threat of bioterrorism will be highlighted during a forum Friday, which Mayor Jeremy Harris has proclaimed Microbiology Appreciation Day.

The forum will feature Ronald Atlas, president of the American Society for Microbiology, who will discuss the threats posed by bioterrorism and what communities can do to be prepared. Representatives of Hawai'i's Civil Defense and first responders will also participate.

"Both infectious diseases, such as the newly emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and bioterrorism present major threats to national and global security," Atlas said in a press release from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. "We need to support increased investment and research efforts and public-health preparedness aimed at eliminating these threats."

The forum is free and open to the public. It starts at 1 p.m. in the Blaisdell Center Hawai'i Rooms 1-4.