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Message from Lane County's Public Health Officer

Your local Public Health department is already well trained and prepared to identify unusual outbreaks of illness. Our ability to identify possible bio-terrorism is tested daily as we receive reports of possible contagious disease from physicians, laboratories and the public. Public Health Nurse-epidemiologists are trained to investigate and identify any unusual clusters quickly. We are available 24-hours for emergencies .

"The role of public health is to ensure that treatment and prevention strategies are implemented as rapidly as possible," says Grant Higginson, MD, the Oregon State Public Health Officer. "In the event of a bio-terrorist attack, it would fall to our statewide public health system to identify the agent responsible, determine who was likely to have been exposed, and advise on appropriate medical treatment. Local health department nurses are a first line of defense because they are the ones we depend on to identify and investigate any communicable disease outbreak, including bio-terrorism."

During the last few years Lane County Public Health has worked with the state to better prepare for various emergency scenarios. State public health officials received a $1 million federal grant to expand state laboratory capacity and to improve state-local public health communications. We've worked closely with the state to make improvements at the local level, but more needs to be done, especially to improve communication between public health agencies and health care providers.

Smallpox and Anthrax

Smallpox is a well-known and stable virus. We have small amounts of the vaccine available nationally and can easily manufacture more.

The influenza virus kills from 20 to 40 thousand people every year, including some healthy adults. If you are a person at high risk, (ill with a chronic disease, or asthmatic,) or if you are a senior, or if you are pregnant, be sure to get your flu shot this fall.

There have been NO cases of anthrax and NO letters with anthrax found outside the East Coast. NO letter in Oregon has contained germs. The nasal swab test for anthrax doesn't work very well; Public Health does NOT recommend swabbing noses to test for infection, only to investigate a known exposure. Guidelines now recommend that doctors not be doing nasal swabs, nor should anyone from Lane County need to be treated with antibiotics.

The Public Health Department does not give vaccine for smallpox or anthrax, which cannot be obtained from any commercial source. If you are ill, call or see your personal primary care physician for advice and evaluation. Your doctor will report any case of unusual disease or any unusual cluster of disease to the trained nurse-epidemiologists at you Lane County Health Department

--Sarah Hendrickson, M.D., Lane County Public Health Officer You can reach the Health Department at 682-4041. For more information on bio-terrorism preparedness and response go to the Department of Health Services Website at  http://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/acd/bioterr/home.htm