Overview

September 2001 ushered in a new era in public health preparedness. Following the devastating attacks on September 11, the possibility of bioterrorism became a reality with the intentional distribution of a deadly form of Bacillus anthracis through our mail system. Twenty-two people were diagnosed with anthrax and five of them died. What role did public health play in preventing additional cases? What was done right? What could be done better? Join us as we share Arlington, Virginia's response to the anthrax crisis, their best practices, and the lessons they learned.

Goal

To provide information on current strategies in bioterrorism preparedness and discuss the lessons learned from the response to the 2001 anthrax terrorist events.

Objectives

• Identify three lessons learned from the 2001 response to the anthrax cases.
• Describe the key elements of public health's response to bioterrorism.
• Identify three public health resources available to health departments to prepare for bioterrorism.
  

Target Audience

Public health leaders, managers, and professionals from local and state health departments, federal agencies, hospitals, clinics, academic institutions, emergency management services, and others who are involved in planning a response to the threat of bioterrorism

No presenter except for Dr. Rex Archer has a financial interest or other relationship with manufacturers of commercial products, providers of commercial services, or commercial supporters.  Dr. Archer is a co-developer of the software package Cerner HealthSentry, but it will not be discussed during this program .

No presenter in this program will discuss the unlabeled use of commercial products or products for investigational use.