The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidelines for all state and local health departments on public health issues, including bioterrorism. In the event of a bioterrorist event, Montgomery County and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are prepared to follow procedures for quickly protecting the public’s health.
Montgomery County has been preparing to respond to a variety of possible bioterrorism events by coordinating plans with other county, regional, state and federal agencies.
In addition,
A public health nursing corps has been established, comprised of county nurses who have volunteered to be called out for emergencies, such as mass distribution of antibiotics or mass immunizations or any other immediate need for a large number of nurses.
Key medical staff at all local hospitals have been trained to recognize specific bioterrorism symptoms in patients and to deliver treatment as prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Metropolitan Washington Association of Infection Control Practitioners have been meeting monthly for the past two years to review CDC protocols, and to establish strong communication links between the hospitals and Public Health Services, resulting in faster identification and response to threats to the public’s health.
A surveillance system has been established by Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia to collect information from all local hospitals to help identify any unusual disease occurrences. Data are analyzed daily by medical experts so they can spot any deviation from the normal patterns. (For example, cases of flu are higher at certain times of the year. At what point is an increase higher than usual and a cause for concern rather than the normal peak?) This will help public health officials identify early any possible bioterrorism events.
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Bioterrorism