About terrorist agents
In the hands of terrorists, biological and chemical agents have the potential to kill or incapacitate large numbers of people. Increased terrorist activity and the proliferation of such weapons make it imperative that medical personnel, who will be on the front lines of a response, be prepared to handle an event.

About the program
“Terrorism: Medical Response” prepares personnel in the medical community to be pro-active in preparing for and responding to a terrorist incident. It characterizes the various categories of biological and chemical agents, outlines symptoms of exposure, and describes general indicators of a terrorist event. The elements of an emergency plan for hospitals and public health are outlined, including staffing issues, resource needs, state and federal assistance, and legal and security issues.

The program stresses the importance of surveillance for early detection of an outbreak, and examines the three types of surveillance: epidemiologic, organization and technical. It explains the incident command and unified command systems for managing incidents and also covers hazmat protocols, including use of protective clothing. Both gross and technical decontamination are portrayed. Other topics covered include:

• lockdown of medical facilities

• cohorting victims

• use of Standard Precautions

• treatment of patients

• handling evidence

• dealing with mass fatalities
  

A companion Leader’s Guide outlines a seminar that includes objectives, pre- and post-seminar testing, classroom and field exercises, and reference materials that will be of interest to responders.

About the series
“Terrorism: Medical Response” is part of a timely video/DVD series on terrorism response. This series is designed for local emergency personnel who are likely to be at the scene of a terrorist event for hours or days before federal response agencies arrive. Other programs in this series include “Terrorism: 1st Response,” “Terrorism: Chemical Weapons”, “Terrorism: Biological Weapons” and "Terrorism: Roll Call Edition."

Other programs useful for counterterrorism training include "Response to Anthrax Threats," "ICS: The Incident Command System," and "Bomb Threat."