CDC exercise focuses on challenges posed by pandemic | 03.19.2008 | 09:32:32 | Views: 6028 | ID: March 19 '08: The Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota (CIDRAP), reported that a recent pandemic response exercise conducted by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta was the fourth in a series of similar exercises begun in January 2007. The exercises looked at the multiple challenges facing federal, state and local officials who would be working to mitigate the spread of a disease. About 1,000 participants from the CDC as well as local, state and federal agents were involved in the exercise last week. "The 2-day event took place in the Director's Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) on the third floor of the gleaming CDC headquarters on the Atlanta campus," CIDRAP reported. Some of the challenges facing officials were: how to track and try to slow the spread of a pandemic; delivering vaccines to school children; the question of how to use, or if to use antivirals; and whether to restrict interstate travel. Some other observations posed: how fast would the pandemic spread; what would be a likely mortality rate; what time of year the illness occurred and whether there were other secondary illnesses involved; whether face masks should be used; and a call to the community to stockpile enough food and water for two weeks. National Blueprint Tags: Public Health & Medical, Legal & Intergovernmental, Response & Containment.
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