28 February 2003

Bioterrorism: are we prepared?

Bioterrorism: the current threat will take place on 3-4th April at the Royal Society of Medicine, in association with the New York Academy of Medicine. Speakers from both sides of the Atlantic include:

Would your doctor know what to do?
Dr Robyn Gershon, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, USA, - Preparing Physicians and Public Health Professionals
Diseases like smallpox, anthrax and plague have been so rare in the past that for most doctors, learning how to recognise and deal with them involves starting from scratch. With many people people convinced that such an attack is only a matter of time, is the UK health service prepared? Dr Gershon will share information and practical advice based on her work with physicians in New York, which highlighted how keen the doctors were to learn but also how intensive training has to be.

Would you know what to do? Scientific advice on the best way to prepare for catastrophe
Dr Tom LaTourrette, RAND USA, - Citizen preparedness
One of the most frightening things about the bioterrorist threat is its lack of predictability. Dr LaTourrette will describe current planning within the US government along with ongoing RAND research that addresses individual strategies for catastrophic terrorist attacks. His focus will be on potential scenarios involving chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons and methods for developing effective strategies. He will share a way of approaching individual preparedness for a broad range of types of terrorist attacks.

Without biotech rules "literally everyone will be in lethal danger"
Dr John Steinbruner, University of Maryland, USA, - Revealing results to the enemy
Medical and agricultural research into beneficial products is unavoidably producing results that could be "exceedingly dangerous," claims Dr Steinbruner. He argues that management of increasingly powerful biotechnology requires protective oversight on a global basis. He will suggest practical ways of setting up an international body to license "highly consequential" research and regulate who is entitled to access its results. If we fail to take the threat seriously now, he warns, terrorists of the near future will be able to kill not tens of thousands, but tens of millions of victims.

The inside story on the US anthrax attacks
Dr James M Hughes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention USA, - The Anthrax Story: what happened and what we learned
What changes have been made since the anthrax attacks in September 2001? Dr Hughes will describe the way the US public health system responded then and the way attitudes have changed since. He will argue that the anthrax threat reinforced the need to improve surveillance, research, and response mechanisms, not just to fight bioterrorism but also to protect the public from naturally occurring infections, especially emerging new diseases.

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