Minorities May Not Trust Anthrax Plans

By ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA -- Public health leaders must work hard to gain the trust of minorities who fear they might not be treated fairly after a biological attack, a key figure in the anthrax investigation said Wednesday.

Dr. Ivan Walks, director of the Washington, D.C., health department, said black postal workers complained they felt white Capitol Hill employees were getting better and faster antibiotics after an anthrax-tainted letter was sent to Sen. Tom Daschle.

Health officials later said they delayed giving drugs to all workers because they did not believe the workers were at serious risk for inhalation anthrax. Two Washington postal workers died of the inhalation form of the disease.

"People are concerned that they're going to be ignored," said Walks, who was speaking at SafeUSA, a conference on health and safety sponsored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "People are concerned that they're not going to be part of the public health response, because that's the history."

For example, Walks said, the 1930s "Tuskegee experiment" -- in which government doctors allowed black Alabama men to go untreated for syphilis so they could study the disease -- is still fresh for many blacks.

The public health team in Washington includes counselors who may be able to smooth the relationship between minorities and health workers and help speed the response to bioterrorism, Walks said.

"If we don't address all the underlying problems in our diverse communities, we're going to keep having anthrax kill four or five people a year," he said.

Dr. Patrick Meehan, director of emergency services for the environmental branch of the CDC, also told the conference federal, state and local health departments must do a better job of coordinating their crisis plans.

Local public health workers, not federal leaders, are called on in a crisis to evaluate the sick and protect people who may have been exposed to dangerous agents like anthrax, he said.

"When the plane crashes into the building or the bomb goes off or the tornado hits, it's those local plans that are put into place," Meehan said.