Photograph courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Donald Henderson was worrying about biological warfare long before anthrax started working its way through the postal system. As science adviser to George Bush and a senior health official in the Clinton administration, he heard firsthand about our country's vulnerabilities. In 1995, he continued his study of bioterror at Johns Hopkins University, where he headed the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies. Now Henderson is director of the new federal Office of Public Health Preparedness, which will coordinate the national response to health emergencies. Sitting in his office at Hopkins, he shared his insights with Discover writer Rabiya S. Tuma.
What convinced you to focus on bioterrorism so early on?Up until 1995, bioterrorism was considered improbable. Then three events happened. First, the Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway. It was discovered that they had been working with anthrax and botulinum toxin and ...
