Tuesday, November 27, 2001
Health staff here review CDC's smallpox response
Plan anticipates bioterror threat
By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a draft of its smallpox response plan Monday and asked that state, local and private health officials assess it.
Ohio and Kentucky health officials have begun to review the nearly 100-page plan. It provides a framework for reporting, vaccination and quarantine procedures in the event of a smallpox outbreak.
The plan does not call for mass vaccination in advance of an outbreak because the risk of side effects from the vaccine outweighs the risk of someone actually being exposed to the virus.
The basic pieces of infectious disease, communicable disease control are in place and have been continuously in place, said Cincinnati Health Commissioner Malcolm Adcock.
My guess is that the new things will have to do with the availability of the vaccine and the distribution of the vaccine.
Dr. Adcock expects to review the draft with state and other officials as a team in the coming weeks.
Though the World Health Assembly certified the world free of smallpox in 1980, concern over possible use of the smallpox virus and other agents in a terrorist attack prompted the CDC to upgrade national public health capabilities for responding to biological terrorism.
The updated guidelines extendapproaches such as ring vaccination isolating confirmed or suspected cases, and vaccinating people who have come in contact with infected persons.
These and other strategies were used successfully 30 to 40 years ago to control smallpox outbreaks and contributed to the eradication of the virus worldwide, health officials said.
Randy Hertzer, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, said state bioterrorism experts, employees from the public health laboratory and infectious disease personnel are checking the document.
We haven't been through the whole thing yet, he said, adding that he expects Ohio health officials to provide a response to the CDC in several weeks.
Rice C. Leach, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said it makes sense to be prepared for widespread distribution of biological agents.
It's not all horrible, he said. But we've got some hurry-up work to do.
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