Public Health Preparedness

What is Bioterrorism?

Bioterrorism is the intentional release of a biological agent (bacteria, virus, germ, etc.) to cause illness or death. Biological agents can be found in nature and also created in laboratories. Terrorists can disperse these agents in air, water, and food.

Some examples of bioterrorism agents include: small pox, anthrax, plague, and botulism. To find out more about these agents and others go to:

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist.asp and http://bioterrorism.slu.edu/bt.htm.

Public Education

The Cass County Health Department offers free educational materials and presentations regarding bioterrorism preparedness. In order to request materials or set-up presentations for your organization please call (816) 380-8441.

Planning

The Cass County Health Department is continually reviewing and updating our Public Health Emergency Preparedness Plan in order to better prepare and protect Cass County citizens.

Strategic National Stockpile (SNS)

The SNS is a stockpile of medicines and medical equipment and supplies maintained by the federal government. These supplies are for use during a public health emergency (bioterrorism, flu outbreak, natural disaster) in which all local resources have been used. The SNS can be deployed within 12 Hours to anywhere in the United States. For more information about the SNS go to:

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/stockpile/index.asp#means .

What Can YOU Do?

Prepare Yourself

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have developed a great program to help you prepare for both a terrorist event and a natural disaster. This program is called Ready In 3. Ready In 3 focuses on three core principles of preparedness:

Create a Plan - Your family might not be together when emergency happens. That’s why it is important to have a plan in place. Sit down and talk to your family about how you will reach each other in different situations. Click here in order to download the family plan. Prepare a Kit – During an emergency, you may not be able to get food or water for days or weeks, and your electricity may not be working. The following items should be part of your emergency kit and kept in a container that can be easily carried if you need to leave home:

Water
Canned or Dried Food
Battery-powered Radio
Flashlight
Extra Batteries
Prescription Medications
First-Aid Kit

You will also want to create a kit for your car and work. And don’t forget to include your pets when creating these kits.

Listen for Information – Listen for information about what to do and where to go during an actual emergency. It is important to stay calm in an emergency. Get as much information about the situation as possible. If there is no electricity, make sure to have a battery-powered radio with extra batteries so you can listen for updated and instructions.

In order to order materials or get more information regarding Ready In 3 go to: http://health.mo.gov/emergencies/readyin3/

Volunteer

Another way that you can become involved in helping to prepare would be to become a public health volunteer. As a public health volunteer you would be trained to help in a public health emergency. If you are interested please call 816-380-8441 for more information.

Links:

http://www.redcross.org/preparedness/cdc_english/home.asp

http://www.ready.gov/

Want more information?

Please call (816) 380-8441 if you have questions or would like more information regarding bioterrorism preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness Planners:

Amanda Prough Office: 816-380-8441 Email: dowlaa@lpha.mopublic.org

Caitlin Walls Office: 816-380-8440 Email: wallsc@lpha.mopublic.org