Most medical professions have never diagnosed or treated these diseases and will have difficulty recognizing them since for some diseases the initial effects are similar to common flu. Early identification and proper treatment are needed to avoid mass casualties. Information technology and advanced telecommunications can play a major role in surveillance for biological weapons of mass destruction. High speed computing networks can be used to educate medical professionals and to treat large populations of casualties. This proposal will outline a two-stage program to prepare Maryland for terrorist actions using bio weapons.
Early warning is a key to managing an epidemic and saving lives.
The first indicators of a bioterrorist event may be the onset of disease in humans and animals. Professionals from the health care community must be able to recognize the diseases that may result from bioterrorism. The proposed approach would distribute materials on several web servers. Each server would be responsible for the education of a different segment of the medical population. Servers would support education for physicians, nurses, veterinarians, public health personnel, and phone operators that respond to health emergency calls.