Singles: What about safety and a bioterrorist attack? More about singles and safety:
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This is what one state's (Texas) department of health has to say about safety in US now. Chemicals or microorganisms turned into weapons at the hands of terrorists is a picture many people have not had or did not want to imagine until recently. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, this scenario has many singles asking: "Who or what is going to protect me and my family?" State Epidemiologist Dennis Perrotta at the Texas Department of Health (TDH) says many answers lie in a strong and flexible public health system at local, state and national levels. "Knowing about and responding to a virus or a bacterial agent
that is affecting people is the nature of public The key is rapid detection of unusual occurrences, he said. "The sooner we identify any disease outbreak, the quicker we can bring together local, state and federal resources and the more lives we will save. We stay in touch with doctors and other health care providers, monitoring their reports and investigating unusual occurrences," Perrotta said. "We make sure that prevention and control measures are in place." Teams at TDH have been working on bioterrorism response for several
years, according to Perrotta. "We Perrotta draws a distinction between chemical and biological attacks. "Chemical attacks cause injuries almost
immediately and will elicit an immediate emergency response," he
said. "In response to bioterrorism, as with any other epidemic, public health plays a critical role," he added. After the events of Sept. 11, TDH issued an alert to doctors, hospitals and other health care professionals around the state, reminding them to be especially watchful for suspicious symptoms and infections and to immediately report these to the local or state health department, 24 hours a day. Following are some frequently asked questions that TDH has received
recently and the answers about What is bioterrorism? Bioterrorism is the dispensing of disease microbes by individuals, groups or governments for the express purpose of causing harm for ideological, political or financial gain. What are the chances that a bioterrorist attack will occur in my
hometown? No one really knows How many bacteria and chemicals agents do I have to worry about?
Among the myriad chemicals and microbes from which to choose, only a few
dozen agents are likely candidates. Fortunately, spreading What about smallpox? Is there a vaccine I can get for me and my
family? Smallpox vaccinations |
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