The Demon in the Freezer
Encyclopedia
The Demon in the Freezer is a 2002 non-fiction book on the biological weapon agents smallpox
and anthrax
and how the American
government develops defensive measures against them. It was written by journalist Richard Preston
, also author of the best-selling book The Hot Zone
(1994), about outbreaks of Ebola
virus in Africa and Reston, Virginia
and the U.S. government's response to them.
The book is primarily an account of the Smallpox Eradication Program (1967–80), the ongoing perception by the U.S. government that smallpox is still a potential bioterrorism
agent, and the controversy over whether or not the remaining samples of smallpox virus in Atlanta and Moscow
(the “demon” in the freezer) should be finally destroyed. However, the writer was overtaken by events — the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax letter
incidents (called "Amerithrax"), both in 2001 — and so much of the book interweaves the anthrax investigation with the smallpox material in an awkward and somewhat disjointed manner.
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
and how the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government develops defensive measures against them. It was written by journalist Richard Preston
Richard Preston
Richard Preston, born August 5, 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., is a New Yorker writer and bestselling author perhaps best-known for his books about infectious disease epidemics and bioterrorism, although he has written other non-fiction works...
, also author of the best-selling book The Hot Zone
The Hot Zone
The Hot Zone is a best-selling 1994 non-fiction bio-thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses...
(1994), about outbreaks of Ebola
Ebola
Ebola virus disease is the name for the human disease which may be caused by any of the four known ebolaviruses. These four viruses are: Bundibugyo virus , Ebola virus , Sudan virus , and Taï Forest virus...
virus in Africa and Reston, Virginia
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
and the U.S. government's response to them.
The book is primarily an account of the Smallpox Eradication Program (1967–80), the ongoing perception by the U.S. government that smallpox is still a potential bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
agent, and the controversy over whether or not the remaining samples of smallpox virus in Atlanta and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(the “demon” in the freezer) should be finally destroyed. However, the writer was overtaken by events — the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax letter
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
incidents (called "Amerithrax"), both in 2001 — and so much of the book interweaves the anthrax investigation with the smallpox material in an awkward and somewhat disjointed manner.
Synopsis
- Section 1, “Something in the Air”, begins with a day-by-day account of the anthrax letter attacks in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Washington, DC, for the period 2 to 15 October 2001. Robert StevensRobert Stevens (photo editor)Robert Stevens was a photo editor for the Florida based tabloid, Sun, employed by American Media Inc. He was the first fatality linked to the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States. He died of pulmonary anthrax after inhaling anthrax spores from a letter that is believed to have arrived at...
, a photo retoucher for the tabloid The SunThe Sun (newspaper)The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
was a victim and US Senator Tom DaschleTom DaschleThomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
was an intended victim. The reactions of the FBI, the CDCCenters for Disease Control and PreventionThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) are detailed.
- Section 2, “The Dreaming Demon”, looks back to an outbreak of smallpox at St Walberga Hospital in Meschede, GermanyMeschedeMeschede is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald...
. The successful efforts organized by local public health authorities and the WHOWhoWho may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
-- including a textbook example of ring vaccination containment -- are described.
- Section 3, “To Bhola Island”, describes the variety and evolution of poxviruses and the history of smallpox in particular. The story of the SEP (Smallpox Eradication Program, referred to throughout as “the Eradication”), led by DA Henderson and others is recounted. The more personal story of physician, countercultureCountercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
figure, and future virtual communityVirtual communityA virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals...
pioneer Lawrence Brilliant is told as his Indian guru, Neem Karoli BabaNeem Karoli BabaShri Neem Karoli Baba or Shri Neeb Karori Baba , also known to followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman...
exhorts him in 1970 to join the SEP and “go eradicate smallpox”. (Brilliant ended up fighting the outbreak at the Tatanagar Railway Station in BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. Finally, the Maximum Containment Facility (MCF) of the CDC in Atlanta is described.
- Section 4, “The Other Side of the Moon”, begins with an account of the 1989 defection to the UK of Vladimir PasechnikVladimir PasechnikVladimir Pasechnik was a senior Soviet biologist and bioweaponeer who defected to the UK in 1989, alerting Western intelligence to the vast scope of Moscow's clandestine biological warfare program, known as Biopreparat...
, the first Soviet bioweaponeerBiological warfareBiological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
to flee to the West. Pasechnik described BiopreparatBiopreparatBiopreparat was the Soviet Union's major biological warfare agency from the 1970s on. It was a vast network of secret laboratories, each focused on a different deadly agent...
, the Soviet biological weapons program, to MI6, including their genetically modified, antibiotic resistant anthrax and their smallpox program at the site known as Vector. The fact that the Russians had armed ICBMs with both plague and smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
is revealed. Various biological weapon facilities in Russia and IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
are described. Finally, the history and work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Orthopox Infections is related. This group of the WHO has hotly debated since 1980 over the fate of the remaining samples of smallpox in the last two official repositories. DA Henderson has been in favor of destruction, while US Army scientist Peter Jahrling has been against it on the basis that further research is needed since smallpox almost certainly exists (he believes) outside of the repositories.
- Section 5, “A Woman with a Peaceful Life”, tells the story of USAMRIID microbiologist and epidemiologist Dr Lisa E. HensleyLisa HensleyLisa Hensley is an Australian actress who first came to prominence with a leading role in the television mini-series Brides of Christ. She went to high school at Brigidine College, St Ives, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
who was originally recruited to do Ebola work. A January 2000 accident in the AA4 “Hot Suite” that Hensley experienced, along with the protocols that followed it, is described. The efforts of USAMRIID scientists to get approval to do smallpox research on animals is described including the FDA’s “Animal Efficacy RuleAnimal Efficacy RuleThe FDA Animal Efficacy Rule applies to development/testing of drugs / biologicals to reduce or prevent serious/life-threatening conditions caused by exposure to lethal /permanently disabling toxic agent , where human efficacy trials are not feasible or ethical.FDA can rely on evidence from animal...
” and the WHO General Assembly’s provisional permission to do research for three years (1999–2002). A “Monkey Cabinet” is designed at USAMRIID and CDC for use in the possible investigation of the question of whether animals can be infected with smallpox. The development of a lethal, genetically engineered mousepox virus (the Jackson-Ramshaw virus) and its implications for bioterrorism are described. Finally, the “awakening” of the smallpox at the CDC’s MCF West in 2001 by US Army investigators to induce smallpox disease in monkeys for the first time is dramatically recounted.
- Section 6, “The Demon’s Eyes”, continues the story of the induction of smallpox disease in monkeys at the CDC in 2001. It was determined that the Harper strain of smallpox kills monkeys slowly while the India strain kills them quickly. This was the first time that smallpox had ever been shown capable of infecting non-humans. Of eight monkeys infected, seven died—six of hemorrhagic smallpox and one of the classic pustular type. There follows a discussion of the need and justification for animal-use smallpox experiments. The emergency evacuation of the Army workers in the MCF West on 9/11 is described.
- Section 7, “The Anthrax Skulls”, relates the atmosphere at the Department of Health and Human Services and their actions at the time of the 9/11 attacks. The story of the Amerithrax investigations is picked up again in day-by-day detail for the period 16 to 25 October 2001. The response by the FBI, HHS, DOJUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, CIA and the White HouseExecutive Office of the President of the United StatesThe Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
are detailed. Actions at USAMRIID and USAMRMC are also described. (USAMRIID became the FBI’s reference lab for forensic evidence related to the bioterror incident.) The events leading to Dr Steven HatfillSteven HatfillSteven Jay Hatfill is an American physician, virologist and bio-weapons expert who underwent what was considered by many to be a trial by media with great toll on his personal and professional life...
becoming a DOJ “person of interest” are related. Finally, the indignation of Alfred Sommer, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health at the news of the Army animal smallpox experiments is described as well as a reiteration of DA Henderson’s opposition to the same.
- Section 8, “Superpox”, the last section, begins with a description of an attempt at replication of the Jackson-Ramshaw virus at a lab at the Saint Louis University School of MedicineSaint Louis University School of MedicineSaint Louis University School of Medicine is a private, American medical school within Saint Louis University.It was established in 1836 as the Medical Department of the university and had the distinction, in 1839, of awarding the first M.D. degree granted west of the Mississippi River...
by Mark Buller working for USAMRIID. The potential for a similarly engineered “super-smallpox” virus for use by a terrorist is examined. The procedure for the transfectionTransfectionTransfection is the process of deliberately introducing nucleic acids into cells. The term is used notably for non-viral methods in eukaryotic cells...
of an interleukin-4 gene into a mousepox virus is described. Finally, an unusual artifact – the preserved arm of a 3 or 4 year old child with classic smallpox lesions, discovered in 1999 and now housed at USAMRIID—is described. This leads the author to muse that “the dream of the total eradication had failed”, because although we could eradicate smallpox from nature, “we could not uproot the virus from the human heart”.