New Initiative Will Improve Bioterrorism Preparedness Of Health Workforce

Congress has asked the nation's bioterrorism experts to target new mechanisms to increase the level of preparedness for the health workforce. Vaccines, drugs, diagnostic devices and medical surveillance are all crucial tools in the fight against bioterrorism and emerging infectious disease, but experts say these are not enough. Until now, preparedness efforts have focused primarily on material solutions such as protective gear and information analysis; there has been much less emphasis on training the health workforce who will use this equipment.