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The Family Physician’s Role in Responding to Biological and Chemical Terrorism

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Fundamentals of Family Medicine

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Abstract

The September 11, 2001 events in New York City and Washington D.C. abruptly changed our perspectives about the likelihood that terrorists could direct weapons of mass destruction against civilian communities in the United States. On October 4, 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their state and local partners reported a case of inhalational anthrax in Florida.1 Over the following several weeks, public health authorities reported additional cases from Florida and New York City. Investigations revealed that the intentional release of Bacillus anthracis was responsible for these cases.2 By November 9, 22 cases (17 confirmed and 5 suspected) of bioterrorism-related anthrax were reported from Washington D.C., Florida, New Jersey and New York City.3 Ten of these cases were the inhalational form, resulting in 4 deaths; the other 12 cases were cutaneous anthrax. Of the 10 inhalation cases, most were people who had processed, handled, or received letters containing B. anthracis spores.

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Authors
  1. Alan L. Melnick
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Robert B. Taylor M.D. (Professor of Family Medicine) (Professor of Family Medicine)

  2. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Alan K. David M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  3. Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Scott A. Fields M.D. (Professor and Vice Chairman) (Professor and Vice Chairman)

  4. Department of Family Medicine, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

    D. Melessa Phillips M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  5. College of Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Joseph E. Scherger M.D., M.P.H. (Dean) (Dean)

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Melnick, A.L. (2003). The Family Physician’s Role in Responding to Biological and Chemical Terrorism. In: Taylor, R.B., David, A.K., Fields, S.A., Phillips, D.M., Scherger, J.E. (eds) Fundamentals of Family Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21745-1_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-21745-1_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95479-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-21745-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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