CDC:
We're Prepared for Terror
Agency
Launched Overhaul of Preparedness After 9-11, Anthrax Attacks
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August 28, 2002 > Nearly a year after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the deadly anthrax mailings, the Centers
for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) says it has greatly
improved its ability to handle similar episodes in the future.
Since
last fall, the agency has enhanced its terror preparedness programs,
devoting more money, personnel, and other resources to the effort,
officials said today.
"I
think we are quite well prepared" to handle a biological, chemical,
nuclear, or other terror assault on the country, said CDC
director Dr. Julie Gerberding. "This is part of our core business."
Speaking
at a news conference to trumpet its achievements, Gerberding said
the agency spent the last 11 months scaling up its response capacity,
speeding up its turnaround time for taking samples and analyzing them,
and streamlining its emergency response operations. Should another
disease attack occur, she said, the agency could have its "rapid response"
team at the scene within 12 hours.
In
a gesture of the emphasis it now places on terrorism, the Bush administration
authorized the CDC to award $918 million in grants
to state and local governments to aid their own preparedness systems—a
nearly tenfold increase over last year.
Gerberding
said much of what health officials consider terrorism duties applies
to more conventional disease surveillance and investigation. For example,
this year's West Nile outbreak has offered the CDC
a test bed to implement some of its terror-preparedness changes and
to use its new command center.
The
agency is "using new investments in terrorism to strengthen the public
health foundation," Gerberding said.
The
government has also significantly expanded the number of "push packs"
deployed nationwide. These are huge caches of antibiotics, vaccines,
and antidotes to help treat or prevent bioterror diseases such as
smallpox, anthrax, and tularemia.
The
CDC has also beefed up its lab capacity and can now
analyze 150 chemical agents that present potential terrorist threats,
said Dr. Richard Jackson, director of the agency's National
Center for Environmental Health. The turnaround time for
testing a sample is about 24 hours, said Jackson.
Dr.
James Hughes, who directs the CDC's National Center for Infectious
Diseases, said the agency has "a new way of doing business."
Infection specialists are now closely monitoring pharmacy records
for changes in antibiotics and anti-diarrheal drugs that might signal
an outbreak. The center keeps tabs on 911 calls, poison control centers,
and even veterinary clinics, since animals are often the first to
be affected by a wave of infection, he said.
Gerberding
said health officials also have focused their attention on expanding
and improving the CDC's communications with the public
and with physicians, who may be the first people to detect future
terror attacks.
She
said the agency frequently receives concerned inquiries from physicians
treating patients with suspicious rashes and lesions—suspicions
that have to date proved unfounded.
Still,
she added, "we love those false alarms because it tells us people
are alert and they are looking."
Of
course, the proof of the CDC's approach will be the
way it responds to a future terror attack. And Gerberding admits that
despite the many improvements the agency has made since last October,
it has more room to hone its skills.
"It's
a continuum," she said.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Online
Resources:
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National
Center for Environmental Health
National
Center for Infectious Diseases
