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2 Infectious Disease Threats
Pages 23-41

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From page 23...
... ABILITY OF MICROORGANISMS TO INFECT PEOPLE The human race is continually exposed to microorganisms. Our water, soil, and air are laden with microorganisms that adapt continuously to the environments; a small proportion of those organisms cause infectious diseases.
From page 24...
... Many biological agents considered to be the most serious disease threats enter the body via the respiratory system. In some c uses, only direct envirommental exposure would cause disease (there is no person-to-person transmission)
From page 25...
... , The Umted States, the Soviet Union, Canada, Great Bntain, South Africa, Iraq, Japan, and others have had national biological weapons programs, and there has been limited use of biological weapons in warfare dating back to B.C. 600 (NRC, 2004; Wheelis, 1999a, b)
From page 27...
... 27 0 ul 8 ~ ' ~ ad 00 ~ ~ c I ~i o :^ a I 8 ~ ~ ~ 8 i an ~ ~ c c, c ~ 2 c 0 = ·2 ..
From page 28...
... , CDC's Category B agents are moderately easy to disseminate, result in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates, and require specific enhancements of CDC'sdiagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance. The Category B agents include brucellosis (Brucella species)
From page 29...
... At the first meeting of the Committee on Standards and Policies for Decontammatmg Public Facilities Affected by Exposure to Harmful Biological Agents, the study sponsors asked the committee to consider three agents: variola major virus (smallpox)
From page 30...
... anthracis spores were sent by mail, resulted in 11 cases of cutaneous anthrax with no fatalities and in 11 cases of inhalational anthrax with 5 deaths (Atlas, 2001)
From page 31...
... Factors likely to mcrease infection rates included more mtense exposure to B anthracis spores through direct contact with unprocessed goat hair, weakened immune system, or concurrent disease (two patients with inhalational anthrax were suffenug from chronic pulmonary disease)
From page 32...
... anthracis spores. Plague Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bactenum Y
From page 33...
... . Dunug World War 11, Japan carried out biological weapons attacks using plague-infected fleas.
From page 34...
... Those who have less than 48 hours of antibiotic treatment should follow "respiratory droplet precautions"—wearing gowns, gloves, and eye protection—and wear a surgical mask. The working group also recommended avoidance of unnecessary close contact with patients with pneumonic plague until the patients have had at least 48 hours of antibiotic therapy and have shown clinical improvement.
From page 35...
... Smallpox belongs to the genus Variola. The mortality rate for variola major is about 40%.
From page 36...
... anthtaais. NATURAL BACKGROUND Several potential agents of bioterronsm occur naturally worldwide.
From page 37...
... Because tularemia cannot persist in the environment, its natural background is not likely to compromise decontamination efforts. As far as we know, although botulinum spores persist in the soil, they do not pose a public health threat.
From page 38...
... anthracis spores might have characteristics that closely resemble the natural form, they are not likely to be found as natural background in indoor facilities. Therefore, the concept of natural background is not applicable to the case of B
From page 39...
... First, it is unlikely that a detectable natural background of the harmful agent would be present in indoor public facilities. Indoor air-monitoring equipment installed in many facilities has not detected those agents.
From page 40...
... Emerging infectious Diseases 8(10)
From page 41...
... USAMRIID (U.S. Ammy Medical Reseawh institute of infectious Diseases)


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