Sharon Kim

May 2015

On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced the worst terrorist attack in its history. As the nation sought to cope with this tragedy that had caused nearly 3,000 deaths, it would face a second wave of terrorism --- but this time in biological form.1 In the 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax, Bacillus anthracis spores were intentionally distributed through the postal system, causing 22 cases of anthrax, of which included 5 deaths. These attacks were relatively small, consisting of a few letters mailed in the United States postal system. However, its consequences were far-reaching, including the temporary shutdown of parts of the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, and postal operations around the country.2 The unprecedented nature of the anthrax incident further complicated public health response, and the attacks revealed serious weaknesses in the nation’s ability to respond to bioterrorism. Nonetheless, the issue provided an opportunity to review the valuable lessons learned from the experience.             

This paper will reflect on the series of lessons learned from the 2001 Anthrax Letter Attacks, specifically with regards to the nation’s preparedness in detection, response and recovery, and will provide recommendations on future policy implementations. An initial examination and comparison of the actual response and the planned response will provide insight on the nation’s strengths and areas of improvement when facing a wide-scale public health emergency. The biggest threat to the nation’s bioterrorism response is complacency, which may lead to a loss of focus on the importance of being prepared.