Bioterrorism

After completion of the course you’ll be able to:

1. Discuss the prospect of domestic terrorism and describe the motivational, technical and organizational factors that may help or hamper the perpetrators.

2. Define indication of intentional release of biologic agent.

3. Describe the precautions laboratory personnel should take when collecting or handling clinical specimens.

4. Discuss the epidemiology of bioterrorism and differentiate between a natural outbreak an intentional attack.

5. List 10 clues that together may constitue proof of intentional use of biological agent.

6. Describe the side effects of taking ciprofloxacin and doxycycline.

7. Describe recommendations made by the CDC for worker safety under engineering controls, administrative controls, housekeeping controls, and personal protective equipment.

8. Implement anthrax worker safety guidelines issued by the CDC.

9. Describe the epidemiology of naturally occurring anthrax.

10. Discuss the diagnosis of inhalational anthrax.

11. Discuss the therapeutic options of anthrax infection.

12. Discuss infection control and decontamination protocols for anthrax.

13. Describe the procedure for handling suspicious packages or envelopes.

14. Provide medication information to patients about ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, penicillin, and amoxicillin.

15. Discuss clinical issues in the prophylaxis, diagnosis, and treatment of anthrax.

16. Describe various phases of the smallpox disease, symptoms, and degree of infectiousness.

17. Answer questions about the smallpox disease and the vaccine.

18. List the categories of people who should not get vaccine.

19. List the steps that one should take after vaccination to minimize the risk of spreading vaccinia.

20. Describe three main kinds of botulism and their mode of transmission.

21. Answer frequently asked questions about botulism.

22. List symptoms of botulism.

23. Describe infant botulism, its epidemiology, source of C. botulinum , and prevention and control.

24. Describe the clinical syndrome of botulism and provide a diagnosis of the disease.

25. Put the use of botulinum toxin as a bioweapon in historical perspective.

26. Describe the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of botulism.

27. List typical symptoms and signs of foodborne botulism.

28. Identify features of an outbreak that would indicate a bioterrorist attack with botulinum toxin.

29. Describe the therapy, prophylaxis and decontamination for botulinum toxin.

30. Answer frequently asked questions about pneumonic and bubonic plague, their signs and symptoms, and treatment.

31. Describe the role fleas play in the spread of plague to humans.

32. Explain the epidemiology of plague.

33. Describe clinical manifestations of bubonic, septicemic, pneumonic, and pharyngeal plague.

34. Discuss signs and symptoms and laboratory confirmation that can establish the diagnosis of plague.

35. Describe the treatment for plague.

36. Outline the strategies for the prevention of plague.

37. Answer frequently asked questions about tularemia.

38. Describe the signs and symptoms of tularemia.

39. Identify epidemiological indicators that would suggest a bioterrorism act of inhalational tularemia.

40. Describe the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of F. tularensis .

41. Provide a diagnosis of inhalational tularemia following its use as a biological weapon.

42. Describe the treatment of tularemia in adults and children.

43. Make recommendations for postexposure antibiotic prophylactic treatment in the event of F. tularensis biological attack.

44. Answer frequently asked questions about the etiology and epidemiology of viral hemorrhagic fevers.

45. Describe various ways of preventing and controlling viral hemorrhagic fevers.

46. Describe the history and potential of HFVs as biological weapons.

47. Describe the clinical manifestations of diseases caused by hemorrhagic fever viruses.

48. Provide a diagnosis of viral hemorrhagic fevers and treatment options including drug therapy.

49. Answer frequently asked questions about ricin, its signs and symptoms, and its potential for bioterrorism.

50. Answer frequently asked questions about nerve agents, GA, GB, GD and VX.

51. Describe the signs and symptoms of nerve agents GA, GB, GD and VX, and their effects on health.

52. List the things people can do to protect themselves against VX and things they should do if they are exposed to VX.

53. Describe the health effects of nerve agents, GA, GB, GD, and VX.

54. Describe the prehospital management of victims of nerve agent attack.

55. Describe the health effects of sulfur mustard on various body systems.

56. Describe prehospital management of victims exposed to sulfur mustard.

57. List general principles of triage for chemical exposures.

58. Describe triage for mustard agent casualties.

59. Describe some of the most common foodborne diseases.

60. Identify instances when a doctor should be consulted for a diarrheal illness.

61. Describe how outbreaks of foodborne disease are detected and investigated.

62. Describe the ways food can become contaminated.

63. List foods that are most associated with foodborne illness.

64. State five simple precautions one can take to reduce the risk of foodborne diseases.

65. Identify persons who are at particularly high risk to contract a foodborne illness.

66. List various ways Escherichia coli O157:H7 is spread.

67. Describe the illness caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7.

68. Answer frequently asked questions about salmonellosis, including how people can catch Salmonella, its health consequences and treatment.

69. List eight things one can do to prevent salmonellosis.

70. List six things a traveler can do to avoid getting cholera.

71. Answer frequently asked questions about shigellosis.

72. List eight tips for preventing the spread of shigellosis.

73. Answer frequently asked questions about brucellosis, such as how it is transmitted to humans, ways to prevent infection, and its treatment.

74. Answer frequently asked questions about typhoid fever.

75. List steps one can take to avoid typhoid fever.

76. Describe symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

77. Identify the kind of injuries that occur in mass trauma events.

78. List the things health departments should do to prepare for and subsequent to mass trauma events.

79. Identify various steps one should plan to escape from home, workplace or hotel.

80. Describe 3 types of burns, their symptoms and early treatment.

81. List signs and symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).

82. Describe the procedure for personal cleaning and disposal of contaminated clothing.

83. Describe the evacuation procedure in the event of a chemical accident or attack.

84. Describe how to prepare to shelter in place in case of a chemical accident or attack.

85. Allay general public’s concerns about the safety of drinking water.

86. Describe emergency room procedures in chemical hazard emergencies.

87. Develop and implement a bioterrorism readiness plan appropriate for a particular healthcare facility.

88. Identify 6 features that should alert healthcare providers to the possibility of a bioterrorism-related outbreak.

89. Describe clinical features of anthrax infection, infection control practices for patient management, and post-exposure management.

90. Describe clinical features of botulism infection, infection control practices for patient management and post-exposure management.

91. Describe clinical features of pneumonic plague, infection control practices for patient management, and post-exposure management.

To assess the effectiveness of the course material, we ask that you evaluate your achievement of each learning objective on a scale of A to D (A=excellent, B=good, C=fair, D=unsatisfactory). Please indicate your responses next to each learning objective and return it to us with your completed exam.