NCJ Number
192253
Date Published
2001
Length
58 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this report is to update the original Biological Weapon Improved Response Program (BW-IRP) Decision Tree and the BW-IRP Response Template, published in April 1999, with information drawn from exercises, seminars, and workshops conducted after its initial development. The BW Response Template was validated by a number of workshops at various cities in an effort to determine the applicability and scalability to different locations and demographics.
Abstract
The following are some of the insights and activities of the workshops. The Wichita Workshop was conducted in Wichita, Kansas in July 1999. The goal of the workshop was to determine if the response template and decision tree tools were scalable to various population densities and demographic locations. The workshop also attempted to identify areas to improve or enhance the response template, to assist Wichita/Sedgwick County to understand and to address the nature of the biological threat, to develop biological threat incidence plans, and to identify areas that required additional resources to successfully respond to a bioterrorist incident. There was some discussion on the effect of the template on local responses. However, recommendations to modify the template were minor. The participants were most concerned with the issues relating to medical surveillance and handling of remains. The FBI National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO)/DOD Workshop, met in Bel Air, Maryland in January 2000. The goal of the workshop was to identify ways to create information sharing between law enforcement and the medical community and to quickly identify a terrorist incident involving a biological agent. The participants discovered that law enforcement and public health personnel collected similar information about victims. This resulted in the creation of a joint questionnaire for use in BW incidents. It was also discovered that information sharing should take place early and frequently as the response to an incident progresses. It was not determined at what point the interaction should begin. Other outcomes of the workshop included the selecting of a spokesperson, recognition of the idea of trigger levels in the determination that a BW incident was taking place, and the need to work closely with the legal profession because of the unique situations that arise from a BW incident. The Pinellas County Workshop met in February 2000 in Pinellas County, Florida. The purpose of the workshop was the same as the Wichita Workshop. The participants concluded that the response template was a good starting point to arrange their response planning and a good reminder list to ensure that all topics were addressed. Among the results of this workshop was the realization that the template could evolve into software that may be utilized in responding to a BW incident. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/DOD) Smallpox Workshop was held in April 2000 in Bel Air, Maryland. The purpose of the workshop was to evaluate the application of the response team template to a contagious disease outbreak. The discussions lead to a process description that was converted into a decision tree format that could be used by local jurisdictions during a disease outbreak. The Dover Workshop was held in Dover, Delaware in July 2000. The purpose of the workshop was to determine how a city and nearby base could work together to respond to a biological incident. The conclusions included the need to define and structure reporting relationships, the need for a central coordinating body for medical resources, and the discovery that a presumed diagnosis may not be correct, which required flexibility in the response. The Revised Decision Tree incorporated the changes and modifications resulting from the workshops conducted under the BW-IRP. Several more decision trees were created as a consequence of this modification process. All the workshops contributed to the BW Response Template. The most important modification to the template was the identification of Public Information as a separate part of the Response Template. All the template activities were updated and reflected the suggestions developed during the workshops conducted as part of the BW-IRP.