BioWatch and public health surveillance

By National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Committee on Effectiveness of National Biosurveillance Systems, BioWatch and the Public Health System

Subjects: Population Surveillance, Biological Warfare, Prevention, Methods, Safety measures, Biohazard Release, Evaluation, Biological warfare, Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation Studies, September 11 terrorist attacks, 2001, Terrorism, Bioterrorism, Public health surveillance, Prevention & control, Anthrax, Biological Warfare Agents

Description: Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax letters, the ability to detect biological threats as quickly as possible became a top priority. In 2003 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced the BioWatch program--a federal monitoring system intended to speed detection of specific biological agents that could be released in aerosolized form during a biological attack. The present volume evaluates the costs and merits of both the current BioWatch program and the plans for a new generation of BioWatch devices. BioWatch and Public Health Surveillance also examines infectious disease surveillance through hospitals and public health agencies in the United States, and considers whether BioWatch and traditional infectious disease surveillance are redundant or complementary.