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Since it was first established in 1877, North Carolina ’s public health system has been the state’s first line of defense against disease outbreaks. Over the years, public health has evolved to deal with new issues – in the 1980s it was AIDS, in the 1990s it was West Nile virus. On September 11, 2001 , a new threat emerged – the possibility that someone would knowingly attack the people of the United States by any means. In the weeks following 9/11, that threat was made all the more real by the anthrax attacks.
Bioterrorism became a reality. Public health responded effectively but vulnerabilities in the system were revealed. New expertise was needed. Infrastructure, like the capacity to run lab tests for the presence of bioterrorism agents, was needed. Public health also had to develop new partnerships with law enforcement, hazardous materials teams, and agricultural authorities to address these new issues. Chief among these changes was building the state’s capacity to detect early and respond rapidly to all diseases and public health hazards, whether natural or man-made.
“Epidemiology is the heart and soul of public health,”said Dr. Steve Cline, chief of the state Epidemiology Section. “People may not realize that public health surveillance – the system used to detect and contain naturally occurring diseases – is the same system used to detect and contain outbreaks caused by bioterrorism. Prior to 2001, our state’s epidemiology systems were understaffed and operating with technology left over from the 1970s.”
Meeting this new challenge meant looking to new areas for expertise. Nowhere is that idea more readily apparent than in the person who was hired to head the state’s new Public Health Preparedness and Response office, Dr. James W. Kirkpatrick. Dr. Kirkpatrick previously served as dean and commandant of the U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences. His military experience was important in post-9/11 North Carolina . His staff includes public health experts from various disciplines who work with state, regional and local agencies to help them prepare for acts of bioterrorism and other catastrophic health events.
“We all hope that we never have to use our capacity to fight bioterrorism,“ said State Health Director Dr. Leah Devlin. “We are certainly using this capacity to deal with other events that are occurring. Just last September, public health did groundbreaking work dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. This expanded capacity also allowed us to effectiely address public health issues like SARS and last winter’s influenza outbreak.”
Since the events of 9/11, North Carolina has made many key improvements to the public health system designed to help keep citizens safe and healthy:
These new resources, put in place in response to the threat of bioterrorismism, are there to respond to all public health emergencies as needed. This is core public health capacity that will serve the state for years to come.
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