Huge alert to protect G8 summit
2004-06-08 21:04
Sea Island - A bioterrorism early-warning system has been set up around the G8 summit of industrial nations that opens on Tuesday, said media reports.
Biosurveillance software at area hospitals is scanning data to find any abnormal patterns of calls to emergency services to automatically alert authorities of possible outbreaks, including exposure to anthrax, SARS and other epidemics, said the Savannah Morning Post newspaper.
The system highlights geographic clusters to show where possible toxins might have been released, the report said.
United States officials have launched a major security operation to protect the summit from terrorist attacks.
About 20 000 police and troops are guarding both the Sea Island venue off the coast of the US state of Georgia and the city of Savannah, which is 130km away and where leaders were due to hold briefings at a summit media centre.
Avenger surface-to-air missiles are scattered among luxury estates on Sea Island with navy and coast guard boats off the coast.
Savannah's historic 18th- and 19th-century squares are jammed with heavily armed national guard Humvees and steel barriers set up to protect government buildings.
The G8 comprises Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA