Infectious disease threats loom in U.S.(Brief Article)

2002 AUG 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The threat of infectious diseases is looming over the United States bringing heightened awareness of bioterrorism, vaccine supply, and antimicrobial resistance, health officials said at a press conference sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

They discussed the reality of these threats and outlined the technological advances and current and future preparedness efforts needed in the United States.

"The biggest issue that the U.S. faces in handling the long-term threats of biological terrorism is having a broad plan to prevent, deter, and respond," said Scott P. Layne, MD, associate professor of epidemiology, University of California-Los Angeles School of Public Health.

Managing the threats posed by biological terrorism can be seen in three phases. The response phase involves getting our neglected public health infrastructure, emergency medical services, hospitals, and doctors better prepared for natural outbreaks and manmade events.

The deterrence phase involves putting rogue countries and organizations on notice that, if their weapons are ever used against us, we will pinpoint their origin and act with guaranteed force.

The prevention phase involves getting federal law enforcement and national security agencies to assume a more proactive role in biological security. The response phase is the least difficult to implement.

he deterrence and prevention phases are the most difficult and require new efforts to monitor suspicious persons within our borders and increased human intelligence operations abroad.