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TERRORISM AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES A Reference Guide for Media U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES A Message from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created this guide to provide information for media professionals throughout the nation. An abbreviated version of the most essential information from this guide is available in “Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Field Guide for Media,” a compact guide designed to fit in a glove compartment, briefcase, or purse. Both publications are available online at http://www.hhs.gov/emergency. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at HHS will keep the online versions updated with new information on agents, treatments, new learning, and any evolutions in the organization of public health emergency response. We urge you to refer to the Web versions for the latest information. You can order a copy of this guide or the field guide by calling (240) 629-3161 or online at http://www.hhs.gov/emergency. If you have any questions or comments about the guide itself, please contact the HHS Public Affairs Office at (202) 690-6343. Please note: All Web sites were checked and available during the final editing (September 2005) of this manual. TERRORISM AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES A Reference Guide for Media OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services • Washington, D.C. http://www.hhs.gov/emergency September 2005 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guide was produced by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the support of the American Institutes for Research. The following agencies, organizations, and individuals provided expert guidance and review for this guide. Federal Government Agencies U.S. Department of Health and Human Services > Centers for Disease Control and Prevention > Food and Drug Administration > Health Resources and Services Administration > National Institutes of Health > Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Nuclear Regulatory Commission Additional Contributors and Reviewers American Institutes for Research, Health Program, Washington, DC; Silver Spring, MD; Frederick, MD; Chapel Hill, NC; and Atlanta, GA Center for Emergency Preparedness, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC Vincent Covello, Ph.D., Center for Risk Communication, New York, NY D.A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H., The Center for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Baltimore, MD Gerard A. Jacobs, Ph.D., Disaster Mental Health Institute, The University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD National Public Health Information Coalition, Marietta, GA David Ropeik, M.S., Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA Peter Sandman, Ph.D., Risk Communication Consultant, Princeton, NJ Tim Tinker, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., Widmeyer Communications, Washington, DC Virginia Department of Health, Office of Epidemiology, Richmond, VA HHS also wishes to thank the professional media organizations that provided initial analysis of the concept for this guide as well as several independent reviewers whose knowledge of journalism, the media, health care, science, government, and ethics was an important source of insight into the information this guide should provide. ii Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Reference Guide for Media CONTENTS 01 INTRODUCTION 1 02 PLANNING FOR THE UNTHINKABLE: PREPARATION AND RESPONSE IN PUBLIC HEALTH 5 03 BIOLOGICAL AGENTS 39 04 CHEMICAL AGENTS 95 05 RADIATION EMERGENCIES 115 06 TERRORISM AND THE FOOD SUPPLY 127 07 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TESTING 135 08 THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 141 09 SELF-CARE FOR MEDIA 157 10 RANGE OF PUBLIC REACTIONS 169 11 RISK COMMUNICATIONS DURING A TERRORIST ATTACK OR OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY 183 12 HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, AND RADIATION EMERGENCIES 195 13 MEDIA CONTACTS 205 APPENDICES 223 Appendix A. Acronyms 224 Appendix B. Selected Web Sites 226 Appendix C. Epidemiology Glossary 232 Appendix D. Descriptions of Selected Sections of Acts Related to Public Health Emergencies 234 Appendix E. Family Disaster Planning—Five Steps to Safety 239 Appendix F. Disaster Supplies Kit 241 Appendix G. Personal Workplace Disaster Supplies Kit 243 Appendix H. Self-Monitoring Checklist 245 Appendix I. Reducing Stress and Renewing Energy 246 Appendix J. Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters 247 INDEX 253 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services iii The information in this guide is a result of the best knowledge available at the time of publication. In the sections describing terrorist agents, an effort has been made to identify issues that are not yet understood or where disagreement exists among experts. We urge you to refer to the Web version of this guide at http://www.hhs.gov/emergency for the latest information. v INTRODUCTION 01 INTRODUCTION his guide is for the people who write the words, who The intention is to meet the need for credible source material T take the pictures, and who tell the stories about the on terrorism and other very real public health threats. events in our world—both ordinary and extraordinary. The reports and images that would shape people’s view of It is intended to provide information about how the public a possible terror attack or other health crisis would have an health system is preparing for and will respond to previously extraordinary impact not only on the readers, listeners, and unthinkable events, such as September 11. More specifically, viewers but also the writers of those stories. The burden is the guide’s intent is to offer the best possible information about great for those who follow, or in some cases lead, first the worst-case scenarios. responders into the unknown and are then asked to emerge calmly with the facts. The efforts of public health agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to prepare for what could happen in the future are While there is a difference between the roles of the public health largely invisible until there is an emerging threat, such as the professional and the journalist, there are also similarities. recent SARS outbreak, or a dramatic event, such as the Both face dangers, both seek the truth, and both see anthrax attacks of 2001. Through this effort, the U.S. communication as a primary goal. However, the intent here is Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to not to merge these two disciplines or even suggest that one provide the best available and most essential up-to-date serve as a conduit for the other. Often, the media and government health-related facts and background information that will be are adversaries due to the nature of their functions in society. needed in the event of a terrorist attack or public health Yet, the hope is that this guide will help to foster transparency emergency. In addition, HHS hopes to reveal the commitment and understanding between government health officials and and often hidden complexity of the public health domain to journalists and to build a bridge that many will need to cross, news people who live in the world of here and now. The goal if the time comes. of this guide is not to tell you how to report or what to think but to serve as a resource at the time of an event and This tool will be most useful in the early phase of a terrorism to provide guidance about what may be some of the most event or major public health emergency but also has relevance important stories ever written. for other public health events, such as disease outbreaks. It is not meant to supplant other works from either private or As ambitious as this enterprise is, it has limits. No one volume governmental sources but rather, to provide a different and can contain everything the media need to know about reporting complementary perspective. What is different here is that this on terrorism and public health emergencies. While this guide guide assembles a wide variety of resources and filters them is the product of some of the best available expertise inside through the lens of public health action immediately following and, in some cases, outside of the government, no one would a major public health event. In addition to collecting extensive claim this is the final word on the subject. It is a work in background information on possible terror weapons and progress and will be updated online as new information agents, there is source material on how public health agencies becomes available. and professionals function in an emergency. Some may look at this volume skeptically as the product There is also a chapter on the risk communication approach of a government agency with an agenda or a bureaucratic used by many public health officials. Communicating risk in mindset. Others may view this guide for reporting on possible the most responsible and accurate way during an emergency apocalyptic events as advancing a kind of doomsday mentality. will be an ongoing challenge for the government—and the media. The intention is neither. Here, the media and public health officials share the same goal— quickly providing the public with accurate information. Achieving this goal is critical to saving lives. 2 01. INTRODUCTION Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Reference Guide for Media Some say that this ‘new normal’ requires a new arrangement. They say the news media and government should pursue a “ ‘partnership’ to get the job done.That is neither practical nor wise.And it won’t happen.The news media have a job to do that requires them to stand aside.