Are we prepared for bioterrorism? As fear of anthrax spreads, public health officials debate America's readiness. (opinion).YES Never has our nation's public health surveillance been more important, and all public health officials are dedicated to being even more thoroughly prepared to respond tomorrow than we are today. We should be proud of how well we have responded to events that have broken our hearts even as they have steeled our resolve. Already, President Bush has requested an additional $1.5 billion to strengthen our ability to prevent and respond to a bioterrorism attack. Two thirds of that money is for the production of vaccines and antibiotics. It includes $643 million to expand our supply of pharmaceuticals. This stockpile stock·pile n. A supply stored for future use, usually carefully accrued and maintained. tr.v. stock·piled, stock·pil·ing, stock·piles To accumulate and maintain a supply of for future use. already includes eight preassembled packs, each containing at least 84 types of supplies--things like antibiotics, needles, IVs, and oxygen masks oxygen mask n. A masklike device that is placed over the mouth and nose and through which oxygen is supplied from an attached storage tank. . These packs are spread around the country so they can be shipped to any trouble spot within 12 hours to supplement the local response to any bioterror threat. We are currently preparing four more packs to make more emergency supplies available, more quickly. We're also providing $50 million to assist hospitals in preparing for, and responding to, incidents requiring the immunization immunization: see immunity; vaccination. or treatment of huge numbers of people. The President is requesting $40 million to improve early detection and to identify potential threats before anyone gets sick. America's citizens can be sure that their government agencies--local, state, and federal--are ready to respond to biological warfare biological warfare, employment in war of microorganisms to injure or destroy people, animals, or crops; also called germ or bacteriological warfare. Limited attempts have been made in the past to spread disease among the enemy; e.g. and bioterrorism quickly and effectively throughout the country. --TOMMY G. THOMPSON Secretary, U.S. Health and Human Services Department The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the cabinet-level department of the Executive Branch of the federal government most involved with the health, safety, and welfare of the U.S. population. NO Disaster plans at the nation's hospitals are suddenly being reviewed with an urgency that has not been displayed before. A biological attack was long thought to have a risk factor of near zero. Unfortunately, we now know better. The nation's healthcare system is already operating under financial constraints, including decreased staff and an insufficient number of beds. Healthcare providers, who in the past showed little or no interest in bioterrorism lectures, are now showing up in droves. They are hungry for information on diagnosis and treatment. The good news is that they are getting that information. At present, few hospitals have the capability to deal effectively with an additional 500 patients seeking treatment for an infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. . Most facilities have limited bed space for critical patients, staff shortages, and not enough medication on hand. Health departments across the country are currently being overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. by both legitimate anthrax anthrax (ăn`thrăks), acute infectious disease of animals that can be secondarily transmitted to humans. It is caused by a bacterium (Bacillus anthracis cases and hoaxes. But it's not all as bad as it seems. Federal funding for healthcare has sharply increased. Nationally there are ample antibiotics to treat patients and efforts are under way to move these medicines to frontline front·line also front line n. 1. A front or boundary, especially one between military, political, or ideological positions. 2. Basketball See frontcourt. 3. Football The linemen of a team. hospitals. And communication between local, state, and federal health departments and hospitals has improved. I'm sorry it took such sad events to prompt preventive measures that should have been taken long ago, but we are now much better prepared than we were a month ago. --DR. NEILL OSTER, Director, Disaster Emergency Medical Service, Mt. Sinai and Elmhurst Hospitals, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. BIOTERRORISM/THE BACKGROUND Bioterrorism is the use, or threatened use, of germs, disease, or other biological agents as a weapon of terror. Most of these substances exist naturally, but scientists worry they could be modified by terrorists to make them more harmful, far-reaching, or resistant to treatment. |
|
||||||||||||||||||

Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion