NEWS

Friday’s Public Health Grand Rounds broadcast to focus on bioterrorism preparedness

CHAPEL HILL -- The response to the threat of bioterrorism will be the subject of Friday’s (Sept. 27) webcast and satellite broadcast of "Bioterrorism Preparedness: A Progress Report," the latest edition of Public Health Grand Rounds.

The 2 p.m. EST broadcast, free to all who wish to register, is a co-production of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

"The lessons learned since September 11, 2001, have been invaluable as we strive to improve the nation’s public health readiness," said Joe Henderson, associate director for terrorism preparedness and response at the CDC. "Equipped with this knowledge and the unprecedented financial support from Congress, we are faced with a tremendous opportunity to reinvigorate our core business to best protect America’s health. Timing and action are critical."

The fall months of 2001 ushered in a new era in public health preparedness, said Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Public Health and host of Public Health Grand Rounds. Following the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, the possibility of bioterrorism became a reality in early October with the distribution of a deadly form of Bacillus anthracis through the nation’s mail system. Twenty-two people were diagnosed with anthrax, and five of them died.

"In the wake of this tragedy, the spotlight of public attention has been on the public health infrastructure and its ability to respond to threats of this nature," said Roper. "These are longstanding concerns of the public health community, and we have made major progress toward better preparedness over the past year. This program allows us to examine our progress and see what challenges remain."

The hourlong live program will explore public health’s response to the anthrax dilemma, the role public health played in preventing additional cases, what public health workers did right and what they could have done more effectively.

Patterned after medical grand rounds, the Public Health Grand Rounds satellite broadcast and webcast series, launched by the School of Public Health and the CDC in 1999, presents a pre-taped case study and elicits the opinions and viewpoints of a panel of experts in the field. Friday’s "case" describes the response of officials in Arlington, Va., to the anthrax crisis, local public health and public safety best practices, and lessons learned from the experience.

Roper and Henderson will be joined on the panel by Dr. Rex Archer, director of health in Kansas City, Mo., and chairman of the Bioterrorism Committee for the National Association of County and City Health Officials; and Dr. Hugh H. Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy at UNC’s School of Public Health.

The broadcast will be of particular interest to leaders and other professionals representing the field of public health, local and state health departments, federal agencies, hospitals, clinics, academic institutions, emergency management services, and other organizations involved in planning a response to the threat of bioterrorism.

Viewers may submit questions to the panel at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online. The panelists will respond, live, to as many questions as time will permit, with further discussion online following Friday’s broadcast.

To locate a downlink site, to register or to view the webcast, click on www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu (registration is only available online). Continuing education credit will be offered for various professions based on one hour of instruction. An online registration and evaluation must be completed to receive the appropriate continuing education credit.

Previous Public Health Grand Rounds topics have included bioterrorism, asthma, genetics, breast cancer screening, disaster preparedness, West Nile virus, food safety, urban sprawl and obesity. The next broadcast, scheduled for Jan. 31, will focus on the use of technology in the delivery of public health services.

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Note: Donna Davis, project director for Public Health Grand Rounds, may be reached at (919) 843-9261 or donna_davis@unc.edu.

UNC School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu

UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415