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SubjectType: No Catagory
From:
Date: 08 Nov 2001
Time: 20:29:35
Remote Name: 10.10.17.75
The Director of the HESD (Honolulu Emergency Services Department) gave an overview of the creation and current abilities of the local preparedness effort for a biological attack.
Presidential Decision Directive 39 made available training and funds for local emergency response for nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional attacks. Locally, a group of the HESD (EMS), HFD, HPD, OCDA, Medical Examiner, HI National Guard, SDOH (EMS Systems & Hazard Evaluation & Emergency Response, Mental Health) & State Dept of Defense - CD, FBI, NDMS Fed Coord Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, Healthcare Association of HI, and the American Red Cross all got together to form the Metropolitan Medical Response System Planning & Development Committee. This group has established emergency plans for the mass prophylaxis and immunization, mass patient care, and early recognition and surveillance.
Currently the group has a proactive surveillance program that includes the "BTA Test Strip" for anthrax (a high tech 95% accurate easy to use test), a biocapture BT-550 unit (a portable bio-aerosol collection system to check for airborne particles), and a pharmaceutical cache. In the near future there will be available a Mobile Laboratory (a converted Handi-Van) to allow extensive onsite testing, standoff air-samplers (stand alone units which process up to 1000 liters of air per minute which will allow Honolulu to monitor the environment for biological weapon release in sensitive and high density areas) and will greatly increase the local cache of pharmaceuticals.
Salvatore S.
Lanzilotti, Ed.D.
Honolulu Emergency Services Department
City & County of Honolulu
(808) 831-4351
slanzilotti@co.honlulu.hi.us
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