Doctors are now 'better prepared'. (Confrontiong Bioterrorism Threat).

Could you distinguish smallpox from chickenpox? Anthrax from influenza?

If you are like many of your colleagues, you may not have complete confidence in your ability to recognize something you have never seen.

But, you know whom to contact for assistance. And, information is readily available. That's a fundamental change from 1 year ago before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and last October's anthrax bioterrorism, in which 18 people were infected and 5 died.

"With all that has been going on, even without specific training, health providers really do know where to go and who can help them," said Charles A. Schabel, Ph.D., the deputy director of the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. "Of course, we can't say for sure, but I think most private physicians would know what to do."

Physicians are the linchpin in bioterrorism preparedness, because with all the best-laid plans, it will still come down to an individual physician's ability to identify a patient with unusual symptoms that will mean the difference between a rapid response, which could save lives, and a more delayed one, bioterrorism experts say.

They note that the first case of anthrax poisoning from a letter was detected not by a government health officer or a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, but by an emergency room physician who was puzzled by what he saw.

Much effort and money has been expended over the past year to ensure that the country is better prepared for a bioterrorism attack. The federal government has given $3 billion to state and local health and emergency services departments to improve readiness.