Israel to simulate biological warfare attack

A two-day exercise simulating a response to a biological warfare attack will begin Wednesday in the Dan region. The exercise, which will be the largest of its kind in Israel's history, will be carried out in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon, seeks to evaluate the ability of the Home Front, medical services, rescue teams and municipal authorities to respond to conditions created by a biological catastrophe caused either by terrorists or by some kind of accident.

Code-named "Orange Flame," the simulation will be held Wednesday and Thursday. Rescue units from the Home Front Command and special hazard detection units from the Health Ministry will be tasked with locating the source of the biological hazard and dealing with hundreds of citizens exposed to the substance.

Major hospitals, including Ichilov and Sheba Medical Center, as well as Health Maintenance Organization clinics will prepare to receive the "injured" as part of the exercise.

Three additional centers for the reception of "casualties" will be set up at the Beit Danny community center in Tel Aviv, Winter Stadium in Ramat Gan, and the Holon Country Club, where more than 1,000 volunteers will be sent. The volunteers have been trained to behave like persons who have been exposed to biological agents; they will receive simulated treatment at the three centers.

No traffic jams are expected as a result of the exercise, with the exception of heavier traffic than normal in the areas near the hospitals and casualty centers between the hours of 8 A.M. and 4 P.M. Wednesday, and from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. Thursday.

According to Brigadier General (res.) Ze'ev Snir, the Defense Minister's special assist on the subject, the purpose of the exercise is to "train the country to deal with biological terrorism attacks."

"The first challenge is to contain the damage as much as possible and then identify the material involved so that it would be possible to continue with normal life," says Danny Laor, head of emergency services at the Ministry of Health.

The main concern in a biological attack is that it might take a long time (at least a day or two) before security and rescue services become aware that an attack had actually taken place and by then thousands may have been exposed to the dangerous agent.

"The most troublesome scenario for experts in the West is an anthrax attack because it is lethal, it spreads easily and the time it takes a relatively small amount of time to have an effect - a day or two," says Dr. Ariel Bar, chief medical officer of the Home Front Command.