Latest Clinical Information On Bioterrorism Threats

BALTIMORE, March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an article published and posted online today, senior scholars at the UPMC Center for Health Security review the clinical aspects of diseases caused by 5 major pathogens that can be used as bioweapons. The article, "Clinical Management of Potential Bioterrorism-Related Conditions," was published and posted online today on the website of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The authors—Amesh Adalja, Eric Toner, and Tom Inglesby—review the clinical management of conditions resulting from exposure to the category A agents that merit the most concern as potential bioterror agents: anthrax, smallpox, pneumonic plague, botulism, and tularemia. The authors describe the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these 5 diseases.

The authors note that most of these conditions can occur in nature, and thus clinicians need to be aware of the symptoms, but they also need to be alert to unusual patterns of infection in order to identify a bioterrorism incident.

"The anthrax attacks in the US occurred nearly 14 years ago," notes Dr. Adalja, "so they have fallen off doctors' radar screens. Many clinicians have never seen or treated a case of anthrax or smallpox. Physicians need to be reminded of the possibility for these diseases to occur as a result of a deliberate action and to collaborate with public health officials to take steps toward preparedness."

The authors are of Amesh A. Adalja, MD, and Eric Toner, MD, Senior Associates at the UPMC Center for Health Security, and Thomas V. Inglesby, MD, Director and CEO of the UPMC Center for Health Security, Baltimore, Maryland.

The article, titled "Clinical Management of Potential Bioterrorism-Related Conditions," appears today in the New England Journal of Medicine (http://www.nejm.org/).

The UPMC Center for Health Security is an independent nonprofit organization that works to protect people's health from the consequences of epidemics and disasters and to ensure that communities are resilient to major challenges.

CONTACT:
Matt Watson
PH: 443-573-4501
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE UPMC Center for Health Security

Related Links

http://www.UPMCHealthSecurity.org