Since the Anthrax letter attacks that occurred in October 2001, the possibility of a large-scale bioterrorism attack has become greater.
Unfortunately, these attacks taught us that our country was ill-prepared to respond effectively to such a threat. To correct this, the federal government passed the Public Health and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. This Act has provided grant money to state and local health departments to improve their long-neglected infrastructure and emergency response capabilities.
Over the past several decades, the number of natural and manmade disasters has increased in the United States. As more people live in disaster-prone areas, threats to human life, health, and property increase. Responding to health threats that result from these disasters is the role of the local public health department.
The number of people who seek medical attention after a disaster greatly increases. This is probably a result of many different situations produced by the original disaster. These situations include an increase in diseases due to broken sanitation systems, fecal and chemical contamination, the scarcity of clean wash water for good hand hygiene, contaminated drinking water, or from eating food that hasn’t been cooked thoroughly or kept at a cold enough temperature. There could also be an increase of carbon monoxide poisoning from the use of generators or space heaters without proper ventilation, accidents resulting from inexperienced people using power tools to clean up debris, and other injuries from clean-up and recovery efforts. These extra illnesses and injuries can stress the already over-burdened health care system.
The Madison County-London City Health District distributes emergency preparation and post-disaster education materials and conducts environmental testing programs.
The following are examples of disasters that could occur in Madison County:
Winter Storms
Tornadoes and severe storms
Extreme weather conditions, such as extreme heat or cold, high wind, and drought
Hazardous materials releases or spills
Major transportation accidents such as school bus, airplane, tractor-trailer or tanker crashes, or train derailments
Floods: Click here to access a Flood Clean-Up Manual
Pandemic Influenza and other infectious disease outbreaks
Suspicious white powder mailings
Infrastructure failure (extended electrical outages, fuel or medicine supply interruptions, or communication outages)
Widespread agricultural animal diseases
Pipeline explosions
Civil disorders
Major structural collapse
Earthquake
Nuclear or radiation emergencies
Throughout the 1990's the US government became aware of a dramatic increase in the proliferation and use of nuclear, biological, chemical, explosive, and radiological weapons worldwide. During the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, public officials quickly realized that there were major gaps in our country's ability to respond to large-scale weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.
Since 2002 the Madison County-London City Health District has been awarded a portion of the Public Health and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act grant funds to develop Homeland Security countermeasures and improve the ability to respond to public health and other emergencies. Some of the new responsibilities include:
1. Developing an all-hazards emergency response plan that includes rapid mass immunization and distribution of antibiotics to the entire population of Madison County within 48 hours in order to ensure their well-being and safety.
2. Creating and implementing a “Strategic Plan” for continuous improvement of planning, training and emergency response
3. Developing a “Continuity of Operations” plan that identifies the essential services the Health District provides and how they will continue during an emergency
4. Working with local agencies to update the County Emergency Operations Plan. Some examples of this include the addition of a “Strategic National Stockpile” Activation Attachment, creating a plan to respond to infectious disease outbreaks or an influenza pandemic, creating a plan for community coordinated mass care, and an Agriculture and Animal Annex to the County Emergency Operations Plan.
5. Participating in departmental, community, and regional drills and exercises to test the emergency plans.
6. Instituting a 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year emergency on-call pager to receive infectious disease reports and other potential public health emergencies
7. Forming partnerships and mutual aid agreements with local, regional and state first response agencies
8. Acquiring a multi-agency radio communications system that is compatible with other local and state agencies
9. Implementing other interoperable communications systems, including 21st Century information technology equipment and training
10. Assessing community vulnerabilities and threats
11. Implementing a multi-discipline rapid infectious disease detection, investigation, and management system so that the spread of disease can be controlled as soon as possible
12. Training staff members through better access to on-line, on-demand courses covering topics like incident command, epidemiology, and weapons of mass destruction.
13. Educating first responders, health care professionals, volunteers, and community members about the best way to protect and prepare themselves and their families for a public health emergency; paying special attention to reach out to the most vulnerable groups
14. Recruiting, registering and training a local Medical Reserve Corps that is ready to assist the community in the event of an emergency
15. Rapidly informing and warning the public of specific actions they should take to prevent or curtail a public health emergency
16. Coordinating smallpox vaccinated response teams
The rapid discovery of a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak, such as pandemic flu or an intentional release of a biological agent, will be crucial in order to reduce the number of people affected by it. Madison County-London City Health District has implemented a multi-discipline, comprehensive infectious disease surveillance program.
The program involves many agencies at the local, state and regional level, and uses sophisticated disease investigation and tracking technology.
In addition, the Madison County-London City Health District tracks unusual increases in the sales of over-the-counter fever, stomach, respiratory, and flu medications. These data can provide an early warning that widespread illness is occurring before medical diagnoses are made. An increase in these sales will trigger an investigation into the source of the illness, so that controls can be put in place to slow or stop the spread of the disease.
The following are some of the Madison County-London City Health District’s emergency response planning partners:
Madison County Hospital
Madison County Emergency Management Agency
Madison County family practitioners
Madison County veterinarians
Madison County pharmacies
Madison County industries
Area law enforcement agencies
Area fire and emergency medical services departments
London City and Madison County school districts
London and Madison County correctional facilities
Volunteer organizations including the Medical Reserve Corps, Crisis Response Team, and Citizens Emergency Response Team
Mental health agencies Senior centers and extended care facilities
American Red Cross
Social service agencies
Health departments in neighboring counties
The Ohio Department of Health
In the event of a large-scale infectious disease outbreak or WMD attack, pharmaceutical inventories in Madison County would quickly be depleted. In response to this local vulnerability, the federal government has established the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). This stockpile is managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contains hundreds of thousands of doses of pharmaceuticals as well as medical equipment and supplies. It is stored in various locations throughout the United States that are within a 12-hour range of every state health department. Requesting this resource requires the coordinated effort of multiple local and state agencies and the authority of the governor.
Over the past several decades, the number of natural and manmade disasters has increased in the United States. As more people live in disaster-prone areas, threats to human life, health, and property increase. Responding to health threats that result from these disasters is the role of the local public health department. 
Throughout the 1990's the US government became aware of a dramatic increase in the proliferation and use of nuclear, biological, chemical, explosive, and radiological weapons worldwide. During the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, public officials quickly realized that there were major gaps in our country's ability to respond to large-scale weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats. 
The rapid discovery of a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak, such as pandemic flu or an intentional release of a biological agent, will be crucial in order to reduce the number of people affected by it. Madison County-London City Health District has implemented a multi-discipline, comprehensive infectious disease surveillance program. 
In the event of a large-scale infectious disease outbreak or WMD attack, pharmaceutical inventories in Madison County would quickly be depleted. In response to this local vulnerability, the federal government has established the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). This stockpile is managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contains hundreds of thousands of doses of pharmaceuticals as well as medical equipment and supplies. It is stored in various locations throughout the United States that are within a 12-hour range of every state health department. Requesting this resource requires the coordinated effort of multiple local and state agencies and the authority of the governor.
