Pdr Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1563634260 ISBN 13: 9781563634260

Publisher: Physicians Desk Reference Inc, 2002

Synopsis

A guide for health care professionals offers information necessary to provide emergency care in the event of a biological or chemical attack, discussing symptoms associated with more than fifty toxic agents and the appropriate clinical response.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Foreword

There have been varying degrees of concern about the possibility of chemical or biological warfare for many years. The United States abandoned its biowarfare program in 1969, but others have continued or started such programs. Perhaps the largest was the program of the Soviet Union, which had very sophisticated science and 60,000 employees prior to its disassembly with the collapse of the Soviet Union. There is now good evidence of substantial bioweaponry in at least six countries, including Iraq. There is also substantial concern about the use of such weapons by terrorists.

Estimates of the danger have been quite divergent. On the one hand, mathematical analyses by WHO and other organizations have shown that anthrax spores, for example, delivered by aerosol in the right meteorological conditions over Washington, D.C. could produce mortality and morbidity that is comparable to a nuclear bomb. Furthermore, the technology necessary to accomplish this heinous task is relatively modest, consisting primarily of proper “milling” to produce spores in particles of one to five microns. On the other hand, despite such concerns, there were many skeptics who felt that this would never happen, or that those attempting it would be too inept to accomplish the task. For example, although the Am Shinryko, a terrorist group in Japan, delivered an aerosol of anthrax spores near Tokyo in 1993, there were no deleterious consequences because they used the veterinary strain, which is inactivated for vaccine purposes. Nevertheless the Am Shinryko subsequently gained appropriate notoriety with the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system.

The potential impact of bioterrorism in the U.S. became a universally accepted issue on October 3, 2001 with the initial case of lethal inhalation anthrax in Florida. By year’s end, there were 22 confirmed cases of intentional anthrax, with five deaths. Although this experience seems incredibly modest compared to prior estimates based on different delivery systems, the impact was extraordinary. There were a total of 32,000 persons with possible exposures who received antimicrobial prophylaxis; Washington, D.C. established a network of communication between emergency rooms with hourly conference calls; and New York City established a round-the-clock hotline that required substantial medical expertise in dealing with difficult issues both medically and psychologically.

The anthrax experience was relatively modest in terms of its medical toll, but it brought into sharp focus the limitations of the medical care system in dealing with mass casualties and the companion issues of triage, medical management, prophylaxis, and public hysteria. Medical care is inherently a local or regional issue, involving health care systems and medical care providers located at or near the site of attack. Although this effort needs to be orchestrated with public health officials and law enforcement agencies, due to their obvious interrelated roles, it is up to the health care professionals on the scene to deal with either small- or large-scale events with medical consequences. We will be the ones who detect the cases, manage the medical problems, and give the prophylaxis.

It is for such times of emergency that this book has been prepared. It is designed not as a text or treatise, but a ready reference for on-the-spot consultation in a suspected terror attack. It makes no attempt to provide encyclopedic information on each microbial agent or toxin. Instead, it focuses on the telltale signs that serve to identify the nature of the attack and the key elements of an effective clinical response.

Included are the essential facts you’ll need to know about incubation, progression, prognosis, and recovery, together with hands-on guidelines for necessary decontamination and infection control. Also presented, in condensed form, are the highlights of supportive care. For indicated treatments, you’ll find detailed information on dosing, administration, and significant precautionary measures; and for the most useful antibiotics and vaccines, the book provides you with complete prescribing information.

It is a great misfortune that a reference such as this needs to be published. But in the event it should ever become necessary, we hope it will help you mitigate and contain the attack as calmly, confidently, and effectively as possible.

John G. Bartlett, MD Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

From the Inside Flap:

...Provides an easily usable, rapid reference guide to both biological and chemical warfare/terrorist agents. The 1-2 page synopsis on each agent provides any health care worker with a quick initial review. Additional emphasis of sections such as distinguishing influenza from anthrax and precautionary measures during a bioterrorism attack are especially useful.

Christopher P. Holstege, M.D. Medical Director Division of Medical Toxicology Department of Emergency Medicine University of Virginia

About this edition

• Publisher: Physicians Desk Reference Inc
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1563634260
• ISBN 13: 9781563634260
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 404
• Editor: Bartlett John G., Sifton David W., Kelly Gwynned L.