Health Labs Said Not Ready for Bioterrorism

Many U.S. public health laboratories are not prepared to detect and respond to an act of bioterrorism, the Scripps Howard News Service reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 15).

“There are a lot of vulnerabilities in our system,” said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health.  “The most basic is whether we can rapidly identify a problem and thoroughly investigate disease threats.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reviewed by Scripps indicated a wide range of capabilities among states in detecting and diagnosing incidents of food poisoning.

Health departments have been able to isolate the cause of an outbreak of food poisoning in only 36 percent of cases, Scripps reported.  That figure indicates problems in trying to track a case of bioterrorism.

Health officials in Oregon never figured out that a 1984 salmonella outbreak was caused intentionally by followers of the Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, Scripps reported.  Police found a laboratory and vials carrying salmonella cultures during a raid on the cult compound two years after the incident.

“Our surveillance systems are only as strong as our weakest link,” said chief CDC spokesman Ton Skinner.  “We can do better.  It is important that all state and local health departments have the resources they need” (Thomas Hargrove, Scripps Howard News Service, Nov. 22).

Meanwhile, New Hampshire hospitals last week conducted a bioterrorism drill, the Associated Press reported.

The state’s 26 acute care hospitals participated in the Nov. 15 exercise, along with two rehabilitation facilities, a state hospital and a Veterans Affairs medical center.

There was strong communication among the hospitals, according to an early assessment. 

Officials hope the drill will highlight training needs.  Analysis of the exercise is expected to help hospitals and state agencies determine where improvements are needed in emergency planning, AP reported (Associated Press/Boston Globe, Nov. 21).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.