BALTIMORE, March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an
article published and posted online today, senior scholars at the
UPMC Center for Health Security review the clinical aspects of
diseases caused by 5 major pathogens that can be used as
bioweapons. The article, "Clinical Management of Potential
Bioterrorism-Related Conditions," was published and posted online
today on the website of the New England Journal of
Medicine.
The authors—Amesh Adalja, Eric
Toner, and Tom Inglesby—review the clinical management of
conditions resulting from exposure to the category A agents that
merit the most concern as potential bioterror agents: anthrax,
smallpox, pneumonic plague, botulism, and tularemia. The authors
describe the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these 5
diseases.
The authors note that most of these conditions can occur in
nature, and thus clinicians need to be aware of the symptoms, but
they also need to be alert to unusual patterns of infection in
order to identify a bioterrorism incident.
"The anthrax attacks in the US occurred nearly 14 years ago,"
notes Dr. Adalja, "so they have fallen off doctors' radar screens.
Many clinicians have never seen or treated a case of anthrax or
smallpox. Physicians need to be reminded of the possibility for
these diseases to occur as a result of a deliberate action and to
collaborate with public health officials to take steps toward
preparedness."
The authors are of Amesh A.
Adalja, MD, and Eric Toner,
MD, Senior Associates at the UPMC Center for Health Security, and
Thomas V. Inglesby, MD, Director and
CEO of the UPMC Center for Health Security, Baltimore, Maryland.
The article, titled "Clinical Management of Potential
Bioterrorism-Related Conditions," appears today in the New
England Journal of Medicine (http://www.nejm.org/).
The UPMC Center for Health Security is an independent nonprofit
organization that works to protect people's health from the
consequences of epidemics and disasters and to ensure that
communities are resilient to major challenges.
CONTACT:
Matt Watson
PH: 443-573-4501
Email: mwatson@upmc.edu
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latest-clinical-information-on-bioterrorism-threats-300045530.html
SOURCE UPMC Center for Health Security