Professor presents bioterrorism report

Since Jan. 21, public health officials began shipping 50,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine to at least 11 states, starting the implementation of a program designed to vaccinate medical and emergency workers in the event of a bioterrorist attack.\nSmallpox, a viral infection, was last present in the U.S. in the 1940s and declared eliminated from the world in 1980. However, some countries have been suspected of storing vials of the virus that could easily be used for a bioterrorist attack. Smallpox is highly contagious and easily transmittable through both the air and direct skin contact. Symptoms include a flu-like illness, fever, aches, and pains. A skin rash accompanies the virus on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet that quickly develop into blisters.\nIU professor Dr. Stephanie Kane, said she believes public health should be at the forefront of the increased U.S. effort to detect possible acts of bioterrorism such as the smallpox virus. Kane, an associate professor of criminal justice, presented a paper on the topic incorporating her research in cultural criminology. In her presentation, "Putting Public Health at the Center of Homeland Defense: A Semiotic Analysis of Bioterrorism" Kane argues for a strong public health infrastructure, "not someone out there with a gun." \nKane urged military and law enforcement officials to work together with public health officials. She believes the key to successfully responding to a bioterrorist attack is to place public health departments at the head of the effort and to have "expertise at a local level." Kane expressed concern that some state departments did not have an epidemiologist or health professional on staff to coordinate data on infection patterns. \n"This could certainly become a problem in the event of a bioterrorist emergency," Kane said in a press release. \nVickie Van Devencer, the infection control practitioner at Bloomington Hospital, said the hospital has a plan in place and has been educating their staff. Van Devencer is on the Community Hospital Bioterrorism Planning Committee and also works on the hospital newsletter that informs staff on diseases linked to bioterrorist attacks. \n"The Committee assesses hospital readiness and its capabilities in case of a bioterrorist attack," she said.\nBloomington Hospital, a Phase One hospital for the Monroe County area, has formed a smallpox response team and is asking for staff volunteers to be vaccinated with the virus. In case of a possible smallpox outbreak, Bloomington Hospital would be prepared to treat infected individuals.\nBloomington Hospital also participated in a daylong training session, called the Monroe County Biological Weapons Table Top Exercise on July 15 of last year. The workshop invited local media, police, fire, health, public works and the IU Health Center to attend and participate in bioterrorist mock drills. \nDr. Hugh Jessop, director of the Health Center, explained that the center spent the day going through scenarios to explore the "what-ifs" of a bioterrorist attack and ensuring all facets of Monroe County, IU and Bloomington would be working together and prepared.\n"As a University and town of 50,000 people, not including the students, the first question we asked is will Bloomington Hospital and the Health Center be overwhelmed," Jessop said. \nThe Health Center will also be sending immunization nurses to training at a specialized site within the next two weeks, so staff members can learn how to properly administer the smallpox vaccination. Due to the nature of the vaccination, and possible serious side effects, the vaccination will not be administered to Health Center personnel unless they volunteer.