History of
Emergency Preparedness: Local
Emergencies
•Cryptosporidium
– Milwaukee (1993)
•Arsenic
– Maine (2003)
| Speaking Points |
|
| •Reiterate that all response is local |
|
| •The investigation and control of epidemics is the responsibility of
local public health officials |
|
| •Approach to large scale emergencies such as bioterrorism is the same
as the more routine response employed during any epidemic |
|
| Narrative |
|
| The investigation and control of ongoing epidemics and the
prevention of future epidemics is up to public health officials. |
|
| Some examples of local emergencies include the Milwaukee
cryptosporidium epidemic in 1993, where 40,000 people became ill following
exposure to contaminated water. |
|
| The local public health response was key during the arsenic
poisoning that occurred in Maine in April 2003. |
|
| These are all examples of emergency actions, though we may not
think of them as such. Yes, they
disrupt routine, but the average public health officer does not think of
response to cryptosporidium epidemic as an emergency in the same sense as a
bioterrorist event. Though epidemics
such as this are more routine than a potential larger scale disaster such as
a bioterrorist event, the overall public health approach to emergency
response is the same. |
|