Transcript Tarrant County: A Public Health Approach to Combating Bioterrorism

Tarrant County:
A Public Health Approach to
Combating Bioterrorism
Tarrant County Public Health
Peggy Wittie, PhD
Epidemiology Surveillance & Response Manager /
Bioterrorism Preparedness Coordinator
Overview
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Commonalities with Other Counties
• Satellite Systems for Downlinking
• RedBat
• Redundant Communication Ssytems
• Regional Media Campaign
• Cross County Cooperation
Overview – cont.
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Differences with Other Counties
• Quadrant Health Teams
• Operable Broadcast FAX
• Evaluation of 2 Syndromic Systems
• Laboratory Capacity
Health Response Teams
(HRT)- Organization 
4 quadrants in county
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At least 1 satellite office in each quadrant
with a HRT
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Each team has one Epidemiology
Investigator and one Health Response
Nurse
Health Response Teams
- Functions 
Assist community partners in bioterrorism
preparedness
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Assist and train Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERT)
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Investigate potential bioterrorism risks and
threats
Texas Health Alert Network
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Statewide, secure intranet
Connects 65 Regional & Local Public Health
Departments
Texas Health Alert Network
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Provides secure network for communicable disease
reporting system / maintenance only by public health
professionals
Maintains physician, veterinarian, pharmacists, ICPs,
EMTs, & hospital laboratory contact database
Broadcast FAX can be used to send alerts to 1450
FAX numbers of Tarrant County providers
Provides additional workstation resources
Syndromic Surveillance
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Two hospitals are currently partners
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Software for seven additional hospitals that are
interested in joining
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Will conduct evaluation of syndromic surveillance to
study trends
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Comparison of EMSystems and RedBat Syndromic
Surveillance Systems
Syndromic Surveillance
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Buying webserver to facilitate web-based
reporting
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EMSystems—developing email-based
reporting system
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Novell—developing integrated browser-based
communicable disease intake form for direct
input into TxEDSS & NEDSS
Communications Equipment
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Ten hand-held radios (800 MHz) linking
TCPHD with public safety agencies (law
enforcement, fire, & emergency management)
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Four hand-held radios (450 MHz) linking
TCPHD with smaller, local fire and HazMat
agencies
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Satellite phones
BT Training
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Tarrant County has conducted assessment of
staff BT training needs
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Developed strategic plan, Public Health Ready,
to train public health workforce
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BT trainers will train workforce to assure
readiness & cross-training
Environmental Health
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Industrial Hygienist available for indoor air
quality assessments
Industrial Hygienists critical to investigations
of anthrax scare in Washington, DC
HazMat teams had no training heating vents,
air conditioning controls, air flow patterns,
structural integrity of buildings
BT Laboratory Capacity
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Will receive certification as “Confirmatory
Lab”
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Will do confirmatory tests for Category A
agents, except smallpox, and certain toxins
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For smallpox, do screening tests, such as for
monkey pox
Regulatory & Food Borne
Laboratory Capacity
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North TX Regional Lab for 39 counties—for
Milk & Dairy
Water testing for cities in 39 county area
without own labs
Can do enteric pathogen testing – shigella,
salmonella, Ecoli 0157
Looking at cooperative agreements between
commercial and government laboratories to
build surge capacity