News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – With tougher security requirements set to take effect next April, few state public health laboratories plan to maintain stocks of certain pathogens considered most tempting to bioterrorists, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and officials with state labs.

In the wake of a newspaper investigation that questioned the value of the federal BioWatch program for detecting dangerous airborne pathogens, some public health officials familiar with the program acknowledge that it's far from perfect, but they say it's not time to scrap it.

(CIDRAP News) – The Obama Administration this week unveiled the nation's first national biosurveillance strategy, designed to detect a range of threats, including bioterror attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, agricultural threats, and foodborne illness outbreaks.

(CIDRAP News) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report last week on the nation's progress in emergency preparedness, highlighting successes in all-hazards planning and gaps in cybersecurity efforts and disaster recovery.

The report is the first in a series of annual reports designed to gauge key capabilities and help national officials set priorities and fill gaps.

(CIDRAP News) – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a status report yesterday on progress states have made toward preparing for a flood of people needing medical care in the wake of an event such as a terrorist attack or an influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – The White House recently issued a lengthy homeland security directive aimed at bolstering the response of federal, state, and local public health systems to national emergencies such as bioterrorist attacks, influenza pandemics, and natural disasters.