Preparing for expected bioterrorism attacks

The threat of bioterrorism in the United States is increasing. Health professionals, especially "front-line" practitioners, must be able to recognize the potential for major impacts from a bioterrorism event. Although an effective attack could produce numbers of casualties equivalent to th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2001-05, Vol.166 (5), p.369-374
Main Authors: MOSER, Royce JR, WHITE, George L, LEWIS-YOUNGER, Cynthia R, GARRETT, Larry C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Warfare - prevention & control
bioterrorism
Bioterrorism - prevention & control
Civil Defense - organization & administration
Communicable Diseases
Disaster Planning - methods
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Emergency Medical Services - methods
Hazardous Substances
Humans
Medical sciences
Military Personnel
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Victimology
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The threat of bioterrorism in the United States is increasing. Health professionals, especially "front-line" practitioners, must be able to recognize the potential for major impacts from a bioterrorism event. Although an effective attack could produce numbers of casualties equivalent to those resulting from a nuclear weapon, an unannounced attack would be unlikely to be recognized immediately. Health workers may be the first to recognize an attack. However, only limited assistance is available to aid local community medical organizations in planning for bioterrorism. Military medical personnel have had more experience in planning for terrorist activities than many of their civilian colleagues. Their experience may be invaluable to local civilian treatment facilities in developing practical plans to meet the unique aspects of bioterrorism. In addition to considering agent-specific medical problems and requirements, it is particularly important for plans to address command and control, communication, and coordination if the resultant response is to be effective.
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.1093/milmed/166.5.369