United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-03-31 monographic deposited born digital 119 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-251 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251 P0b002ee180396f17 f:d05251 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251 GAO-05-251 Chemical and biological agents Disease detection or diagnosis Diseases Health hazards Infectious diseases Interagency relations Laboratories National preparedness Postal facilities Strategic planning Terrorism Test facilities Testing Disease surveillance Homeland security Anthrax Other Written Product A20538 In September and October 2001, letters laced with Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores were sent through the mail to two U.S. senators and to members of the media. These letters led to the first U.S. cases of anthrax disease related to bioterrorism. In all, 22 individuals, in four states and Washington, D.C., contracted anthrax disease; 5 died. These cases prompted Congress to ask GAO to describe and assess federal agencies' activities to detect anthrax in postal facilities, assess the results of agencies' testing, and assess whether agencies' detection activities were validated. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251.pdf GAO-05-251 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-251 Other Written Product GAO-05-251; Anthrax Detection: Agencies Need to Validate Sampling Activities in Order to Increase Confidence in Negative Results; Chemical and biological agents Disease detection or diagnosis Diseases Health hazards Infectious diseases Interagency relations Laboratories National preparedness Postal facilities Strategic planning Terrorism Test facilities Testing Disease surveillance Homeland security Anthrax