Call-Tracking Data and the Public Health Response to Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Mott, Joshua A. ; Treadwell, Tracee A. ; Hennessy, Thomas W. ; Rosenberg, Paula A. ; Wolfe, Mitchell I. ; Brown, Clive M. ; Butler, Jay C.
• Description:
  After public notification of confirmed cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emergency Operations Center responded to 11,063 bioterrorism-related telephone calls from October 8 to November 11, 2001. Most calls were inquiries from the public about anthrax vaccines (58.4%), requests for general information on bioterrorism prevention (14.8%), and use of personal protective equipment (12.0%); 882 telephone calls (8.0%) were referred to the state liaison team for follow-up investigation. Of these, 226 (25.6%) included reports of either illness clinically confirmed to be compatible with anthrax or direct exposure to an environment known to be contaminated with Bacillus anthracis. The remaining 656 (74.4%) included no confirmed illness but reported exposures to "suspicious" packages or substances or the receipt of mail through a contaminated facility. Emergency response staff must handle high call volumes following suspected or actual bioterrorist attacks. Standardized health communication protocols that address contact with unknown substances, handling of suspicious mail, and clinical evaluation of suspected cases would allow more efficient follow-up investigations of clinically compatible cases in high-risk groups.
• Subjects:
  Anthrax Bioterrorism Databases, Factual Dispatch Hotlines Humans Population Surveillance Public Health
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 8(10):1088-1092.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Name as Subject:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  10
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:103ba71c981c70c46a4beca0c19f10b4905befb52aff74695d8e5f9235554583
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/3109/cdc_3109_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 250.33 KB ]