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Bureau of Laboratories Division of Clinical Microbiology Bioterrorism George Fraser Bioterrorism Supervisor Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of Laboratories 110 Pickering Way Exton, PA 19341-1310 Phone: (610) 450-2106 FAX: (610) 450-1932 E-mail: gfraser@state.pa.us Bioterrorism Testing The Bureau of Laboratories serves as Pennsylvania's reference laboratory in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Response Network (LRN). Laboratories throughout the Commonwealth act as LRN sentinel labs and are trained to alert the BOL when their routine testing reveals a specimen that may contain certain organisms and toxins capable of being used as biological weapons. Suspicious specimens are shipped to the BOL where testing is performed to rule out or confirm the presence of potential agents of bioterrorism. The BOL works closely with the CDC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforncement agencies to investigate such occurences. Bioterrorism Agents The following links provide information on potential agents of bioterrorism, the symptoms they cause, specimen collection and submission, and laboratory testing. Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) Botulism Toxin (Botulism) Brucella species (Brucellosis) Burkholderia mallei (Glanders) Burkholderia pseudomallei (Melioidosis) Francisella tularensis (Tularemia) Ricin Toxin Variola Virus (Smallpox) Yersinia pestis (Plague)