Public Health Response to Biological and Chemical Weapons

Public Health Response to Biological and Chemical Weapons PDF

Author: Organisation mondiale de la santé

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2004-01-21

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 9241546158

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This is the second edition of this publication which focuses on the public health aspects of the possible deliberate use of biological or chemical agents. Issues discussed include: the key principles for public health planning, risk assessment, hazard identification and evaluation, risk management strategies, and response planning as part of existing national emergency plans, disease surveillance and early warning systems, the national and international legal framework, and international sources of assistance. Technical annexes cover a range of issues including chemical agents, toxins, biological agents, principles of protection, precautions against the sabotage of drinking water, food and other products, information resources and the affiliation of WHO Member States to the international treaties on biological and chemical weapons.

Surveillance and Detection

Surveillance and Detection PDF

Author: Barbara F. Bullock

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13:

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Perhaps the most frightening apparition of our times is the possibility that a biological agent (bacterim, virus, or toxin) will be used to attack our unprotected civilian population and inflict mass casualties. Until the Fall of 2001, anthrax attacks delivered through the mail to various U.S. senators, to the Governor of New York, and to various media offices, the previously expected use of a weapon of mass destruction against the United States has been a nuclear device that explodes or a chemical cloud that is set adrift. However, today, of all the weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological), the biological weapons are the most feared by many defense experts but these are the ones that our country is least prepared to deal with Like the concept of a "nuclear winter," the potential destructiveness of a biological attack can come in many forms and is presently very hard to detect and control, and its results could be catastrophic. The unleashing of biological agents against an unprotected civilian population also, in some cases, constitutes the ultimate medical disaster with the capability to completely overwhelm the present health care system. Patients might go to health facilities in unprecedented numbers and demands for intensive care could well exceed available medical resources. Discerning the threat of bioweapons and appropriate responses to them are critical if we are to prevent the devastating effects of bioterrorism.

Strengthening National Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agent Threats

Strengthening National Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agent Threats PDF

Author: C.E. Cummings

Publisher: IOS Press

Published: 2007-06-29

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1607502453

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Ensuring a coordinated public health, laboratory, and medical response to a natural disaster, an accidental release or a deliberate use of a chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) agent is a high priority for all countries. This publication contains the proceedings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Advanced Study Institute (ASI). The ASI, and this publication, provides NATO and its allies with ways to enhance their national preparedness and response plans to CBR threats. The recommendations should be of interest to clinicians, researchers, and other scientists motivated by special interest in public health preparedness, as well as by national and NATO leaders and policy makers who are positioned to make a difference. Public health response to emergencies requires extensive, coordinated, considered efforts of the combined military and civilian public health resources of all NATO nations and NATO Partner nations.

Biological, Chemical, and Radiological Terrorism

Biological, Chemical, and Radiological Terrorism PDF

Author: Alan Melnick

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-12-03

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0387472320

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Offering in-depth coverage of biologic, chemical, and radiologic agents, this timely book helps family physicians understand their role in preparing for and responding to terrorist events. The text considers the physical and psychological impact on providers and patients who are directly affected as well as spillover effects. It also examines the structure, function, and planning efforts of the public health system at the local, state, and federal levels. Emphasis is placed on how physicians can work with health officials on the delivery of preventive and therapeutic measures.

Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism

Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism PDF

Author: P. Gopalakrishnakone

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-01-22

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789400758681

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Biological toxins are an important part of our world, a reality with which we need to cope, so in parallel with understanding their mechanisms of action and thereby improving our fundamental knowledge, there are successful efforts to utilize them as therapeutics against some debilitating human and animal diseases. In view of the complexity of different types of biotoxins and the broad range of toxin structure, physiology, utility, and countermeasures including regulatory issues, it was thus aimed to compile a book on biotoxins and bioweapons. This reference work in the Toxinology handbook series gathers together knowledge from around the globe about naturally inspired and manufactured biological weapons. The authors describe how they work; how authorities may detect their presence, prevent their use, and diagnose their impacts; and the means by which medical and paramedical professionals may treat victims. Also described are how they have been used to further our knowledge and what insights they have given us into evolutionary and physiological processes. Finally, it is also discussed how these toxins can be used as therapeutics and what the implications of such therapeutics are to their use as biothreat agents. This volume provides a reference accessible to scientists, educators, and medical experts alike with an interest in biotoxins, focusing on the major toxins used as bioweapons. Regulatory agencies will also benefit from the information provided in this book. Some in the intended audience may need to understand how they elicit their effects and how we can defend ourselves against them. Others may be interested in the sometimes colorful histories that surround this subset of biotoxins that can be and, in some cases, have been used as weapons.

Bioterrorism: The History of a Crisis in American Society

Bioterrorism: The History of a Crisis in American Society PDF

Author: David McBride

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-07-30

Total Pages: 848

ISBN-13: 1000806766

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Although at the start of the 21st century bioterrorism was newly feared by the public at large, it is one threat that institutions have attempted to anticipate for years. Originally published in 2003, and now with a new introduction, this unique 2-volume collection provides a multi-disciplinary resource on the challenges bioterrorism poses for American society and institutions, from both legal and political institutions, on one hand, to public health and medical institutions on the other. Volume one documents and analyses the challenge bioterrorism poses to these political, economic and legal institutions, putting bioterrorism into its historical context as a problem discussed and anticipated by government for decades. Volume two documents the challenges bioterrorism poses to public health and public policy as a weapon of disease and fear. The materials in these volumes provide case histories and discourse by specialists relating to the ways that the bioterrorism threat has been perceived and approached by US health and law institutions.

Chemical and Biological Terrorism

Chemical and Biological Terrorism PDF

Author: Committee on R&D Needs for Improving Civilian Medical Response to Chemical and Biological Terrorism Incidents

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-02-26

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0309523141

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The threat of domestic terrorism today looms larger than ever. Bombings at the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City's Federal Building, as well as nerve gas attacks in Japan, have made it tragically obvious that American civilians must be ready for terrorist attacks. What do we need to know to help emergency and medical personnel prepare for these attacks? Chemical and Biological Terrorism identifies the R&D efforts needed to implement recommendations in key areas: pre-incident intelligence, detection and identification of chemical and biological agents, protective clothing and equipment, early recognition that a population has been covertly exposed to a pathogen, mass casualty decontamination and triage, use of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, and the psychological effects of terror. Specific objectives for computer software development are also identified. The book addresses the differences between a biological and chemical attack, the distinct challenges to the military and civilian medical communities, and other broader issues. This book will be of critical interest to anyone involved in civilian preparedness for terrorist attack: planners, administrators, responders, medical professionals, public health and emergency personnel, and technology designers and engineers.

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