Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response: Statement of Scott Lillibridge, M.D. National Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services

• NCJ Number: 189720
• Author(s): Scott Lillibridge M.D.
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded July 30, 2001

Annotation

The document, testimony before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Affairs, describes actions taken by the Centers for Disease Control as part of a plan to increase public health preparedness, enhance laboratory services and expand disease surveillance.

Abstract

Many experts believe that the questions is not "if" but when a biological terrorist attack will occur. A release of smallpox virus could quickly become a national emergency. Because of the incubation period for many pathogens, a disease could be well established in a population before the first illnesses become clear. It is the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) responsibility to provide national leadership in the public health communities. In 1998, the CDC issued "Preventing Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the 21st Century," which described the agency's plans for combating today's emerging diseases. Increased vigilance and preparedness for unexplained illnesses are an essential part of the public health effort to protect against bioterrorism. In 1999, the CDC was providing $40 million to enhance preparedness, such as the development of a new disease surveillance network that would better link critical health care facilities. The program would investigate and work to contain disease outbreaks, enhance laboratory diagnoses, strengthen communications among clinicians, emergency rooms and other health care workers, and ensure that all levels of the public health community were prepared to work in coordination with emergency response communities to address the consequences of terrorism. Also, the CDC and other agencies are developing biokits that can be used to test a large number of people exposed to pathogens. The CDC is creating protocols for immunizing at-risk populations, assessing methods for safeguarding food and water, and examining ways to improve linkages between animal and human disease surveillance networks. The CDC is enhancing efforts to design laboratories designed to handle highly dangerous pathogens.