[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E186-E187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDATION OF MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, EPIDEMIOLOGIST FOR THE STATE OF 
                               MINNESOTA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL LUTHER

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 10, 1999

  Mr. LUTHER. Mr. Speaker, Minnesota's longtime state epidemiologist, 
Michael Osterholm, has chosen to leave his post at the Minnesota 
Department of Health after 24 years. I want to take this opportunity to 
commend Mr. Osterholm for his many years of service, and more 
importantly, the contribution he has made to our state and the nation 
in the area of infectious diseases.
  He has a long record of successes. In the 1990s alone, Mr. Osterholm 
found the link between deadly toxic shock syndrome and tampons; traced 
the source of a salmonella outbreak to trucks that had previously 
transported

[[Page E187]]

contaminated eggs; and tracked the source of Legionnaire's disease that 
may have killed as many as eight people and hospitalized dozens more to 
an air conditioning unit. During his tenure he published nearly 180 
scientific papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal 
of the American Medical Association, and other publications. In 
addition, he contributes to or helps edit 25 medical journals.
  Most recently, Mr. Osterholm has been actively engaged in bringing 
attention to the threat of bioterrorism. Due in part to his diligence, 
the President recently announced a significant investment in the 
federal response to a biological attack on the United States. He 
highlighted the issue at every turn, and made me and others aware of 
the sorrowful state of our vaccination supplies for potential 
biological agents that could be used in an attack.
  While Mr. Osterholm's departure is a loss for the state Department of 
Health, I am pleased that he will continue his efforts through a new 
enterprise he is embarking on in the private sector, and will remain 
``on call'' to the state in times of need. My thanks and best wishes to 
Mike Osterholm and his wife Barb Colombo, a former Assistant 
Commissioner of Health, and their children. Your exemplary service to 
our state and nation is greatly appreciated.

                          ____________________