Trust for America's Health Initiatives

Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness

Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness

Health emergencies pose some of the greatest threats to our nation, because they can be difficult to prepare for, detect, and contain. Important progress has been made to improve emergency preparedness since September 11, 2001, the subsequent anthrax attack, and Hurricane Katrina; three events that put severe stress on our public health system. However, major problems still remain in our readiness to respond to large-scale emergencies and natural disasters. The country is still insufficiently prepared to protect people from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or acts of bioterrorism, leaving Americans unnecessarily vulnerable to these threats.

TFAH publishes an annual report on public health preparedness called, Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, which examines America's ability to respond to health threats and help identify areas of vulnerability. TFAH also offers a series of recommendations to further strengthen America's emergency preparedness.

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Policy and Advocacy

For TFAH position statements and letters, congressional hearings, briefings and testimony, and additional policy and advocacy materials, click here.

Press Releases

June 6, 2013
TFAH Releases “The Truth about the Prevention Fund”

April 12, 2013
TFAH’s Statement on the Reallocation of Portions of the Prevention and Public Health Fund

March 20, 2013
On Third Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, TFAH Launches Story Bank of Prevention Success Stories from Around the Country

March 4, 2013
Trust for America’s Health Statement on the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act

January 29, 2013
New Report Provides High-Impact Recommendations to Improve Prevention Policies in America

More press releases

Resources

Selected items from TFAH's Resource Library:

Emergency Preparedness Criteria -- Save the Children
1.2 million Gulf Coast residents evacuate in anticipation of the storm...163,105 children in Louisiana and Mississippi are displaced following the storm...50,000 children in the region do not attend school during the 2005-06 school year six months after Katrina...the last of 5,192 children is united with family...37 percent of Louisiana Children experience clinically-diagnosed depression, anxiety, or behavior disorder.

Half of Americans Could Be Obese By 2030… Or We Could Invest In The Prevention Fund
Half of Americans could be obese By 2030...or we could invest in the Prevention Fund. An analysis conducted by the National Heart Forum, based on a peer-reviewed model published last year in The Lancet, estimates that that 50 percent of Americans are on track to be obese in the next 20 years.1 Obesity could even top 60 percent in 13 states. Right now, 36 percent of Americans are obese.

Public Health Preparedness 101
Over a decade ago, the nation faced tremendous threats during the September 11th and anthrax tragedies. Medical and public health professionals were immediately called on to respond to the crisis, and responded heroically—despite limited resources. It quickly became clear that public health system needed to be updated in order to respond to emergent health threats, giving rise to the notion of public health preparedness: the ability of our public health system to quickly, effectively, and actively respond to any health disaster that may strike. Prevention, identification, and containment of disease outbreaks, bioterrorism, and natural disasters remain pivotal components of a public health system which is prepared to address the needs of the country.

TFAH's Serena Vinter, Dara Alpert Lieberman and Jeffrey Levi author Harvard Law and Policy Review Journal Article:Public Health Preparedness in a Reforming Health System
The 2009–2010 H1N1 novel influenza A pandemic revealed serious underlying gaps in our nation’s ability to respond to public health emergencies.1 H1N1 is the latest in a string of public health crises Americans have faced in the past decade, which have included a nationwide food-borne disease outbreak in June and July of 2008, natural disasters like the California wildfires in August 2007 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and man-made disasters including the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax mailings in October of the same year. These public health emergencies have tested our nation’s ability to respond to threats.

The National Report Card on Protecting Children During Disasters,
A Major Gap in More than Half of the States' Disaster Preparedness Regulations for Child Care Facilities Puts Many Vulnerable Children at Risk, Save the Children Reports. Called "The National Report Card on Protecting Children During Disasters," the report assesses all 50 states and the District of Columbia on four basic disaster preparedness and safety standards for children in child care and at school. Three of the standards focus on child care facilities and the fourth is for schools.

More resources