Bioterrorism preparedness surveillance and epidemiology

Information for Emergency Responders

• Anthrax
• Smallpox
• Suspicious mail
• Response recommendations

Planning and response recommendations

• CDC Emergency response preparation and planning
• Acute Chemical Emergencies (NEJM, Feb. 19, 2004) (pdf) 98K
• Recognition of illness associated with exposure to chemical agents
• CDC Guidelines: Personal protective equipment for first responders when evaluating chemical threats (Dec. 21, 2001) (pdf) 106K
• NIOSH Emergency response resources
• Medical Treatment of Radiological Casualties (pdf) 334K
• Oregon DHS guidelines for public safety, emergency medical service, and health care personnel for:
  • Personal protective equipment for first responders when evaluating anthrax/powdered substances (Jan. 15, 2002) (pdf) 121K
  • Response to chemical terrorism events (January 10, 2003) (pdf) 106K
  • Decontamination procedures to use in bioterrorist threats involving suspect anthrax/powdered substances (Dec 21, 2001) (pdf) 87K
  • Recommendations on hand-held environmental testers (Oct. 24, 2001) (pdf) 81K)
• Biological and chemical terrorism: strategic plan for preparedness and response
  MMWR, April 21, 2000, Vol. 49, No. RR-4 (pdf) 203K
• Improving local and state agency response to terrorist incidents involving biological weapons U.S. Dept. of Defense, August, 2000 (pdf) 188K

Suspicious Mail / Resources for Mail Sorters

• Oregon State Police protocol for suspicious packages (Oct. 26, 2001) (pdf) 115K
• Oregon Health Services Recommendation: Personal protective equipment for mail sorters (Dec 21, 2001) (pdf) 88K
• US Post Office Information:
  • What to do with suspicious mail
  • suspicious mail alert poster (pdf)
• CDC Advisory: Interim recommendations for protecting workers from exposure to Bacillus anthracis in work sites where mail is handled or processed (Oct. 31, 2001)

Anthrax

• CDC Guidelines
  • Responding to detection of aerosilized Bacillus anthracis by autonomous detection systems in the workplace (MMWR, June 4, 2004)
  • Interim guidelines for investigation and response to Bacillus anthracis exposures (MMWR, Nov. 9, 2001)
  • CDC Advisory: Protecting investigators performing environmental sampling for Bacillus anthracis: personal protective equipment (Nov. 6, 2001)
  • CDC Advisory: Interim recommendations for protecting workers from exposure to Bacillus anthracis in work sites where mail is handled or processed (Oct. 31, 2001)
  • CDC Interim Recommendations for the Selection and Use of Protective Clothing and Respirators Against Biological Agents
  • Template for first responders: a handout to be distributed by responders on-site to people who may have been exposed to anthrax.
    To save your own version of the template, select the MS Word®, Word Perfect®, or generic text link and choose the option to save the file to your computer, or use the "save as" command with the txt file. Then edit the template to customize it with your local contact names and numbers.
• Bioterrorism response protocols for clinical laboratories
• Oregon State Public Health Laboratory anthrax testing guidelines for
  • clinical microbiology laboratories (Oct. 23, 2001) (pdf) 91K
  • environmental microbiology laboratories (Oct. 23, 2001) (pdf) 103K

Smallpox

• CDC smallpox hotline numbers
  • English —1-888-246-2675
  • Spanish —1-888-246-2857
  • TTY—1-866-874-2646
• CDC Smallpox Response Plan and Guidelines (Sept. 2002)
• CDC's Smallpox home page
• CDC's smallpox fact sheet (pdf)
• CDC's smallpox symptoms and treatment guidelines for clinicians (pdf)
• CDC's smallpox vaccine information statements