Anthrax Q & A: Reporting
If tests
confirm that I was potentially exposed to Bacillus anthracis or
have anthrax, how will it be reported to the proper authorities?
Your doctor should IMMEDIATELY report any suspected isolate of Bacillus
anthracis or any suspected case of anthrax to your local or state
public health department. The state public health department is available
to your doctor for consultation 24 hours a day. If local or state health
department officials suspect that cases of illness may be due to a bioterrorist
incident, they will notify CDC and an investigation will be conducted.
If the investigation confirms that a bioterrorist incident has occurred
or is thought probable, the FBI will be notified. Public health officials
will also involve other response partners using a preestablished notification
list. The CDC bioterrorism Web site displays the protocol that health
officials will use for further reporting:
emergency.cdc.gov/emcontact/protocols.asp.
How should
healthcare workers respond to suspected exposure to a bioterrorist agent?
Who should healthcare workers call first, second, third? CDC, FBI, local
police, local health department?
Healthcare providers, clinical laboratory personnel, and infection control
professionals who notice illness patterns and diagnostic clues that might
indicate an unusual infectious disease outbreak associated with intentional
release of a biologic agent should report any clusters or findings to
their local or state health department. (Guidelines for recognizing a
number of biologic agents, including anthrax, plague, botulism, smallpox,
inhalation tularemia, and hemorrhagic fever, are described in CDC’s
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 50, No. 41, dated October 19, 2001.)
Page last modified November 20, 2002