3067.0: Monday, October 22, 2001 - 12:35 PM

Abstract #32360

Assessing the Public Health Response to U.S. Bioterrorism Initiatives

Robert Gould, MD, Physicians For Social Responsibility, 311 Douglass, San Francisco, CA 94114, 408-972-7299, rmgould1@yahoo.com

Utilizing a slide presentation, speaker will discuss the public health and other societal implications posed by the U.S. government's initiatives to combat bioterrorism. Among points to be covered will be a review of the U.S. military's vaccination program against anthrax from the time of the Gulf War through the present attempt to inoculate all members of the armed force against this disease, including the response of the soldiers. Issues of efficacy and safety of the vaccination program will be addressed. Plans for involving the public health community in the campaign against bioterrorism will be explored, including issues relating to: an objective characterization of the bioterrorist threat; alternatives for threat reduction and population protection; differentiation between "defensive" and "offensive" biowar capabilities; as well as the implications of the potential militarization of public health, including effects on civil liberties.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, attendees will be able: 1. To describe medical and public health issues related to proliferation of weapons of biological weapons and related weapons of mass destruction. 2. To describe medical and public health issues related to mass-vaccination and emergency-response programs against anthrax and other organisms considered to be possible agents of bioterrorism. 3. To describe what alternative actions can be taken to help reduce the medical and other public health consequences to bioterrorism

Keywords: Bioterrorism, War

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA