In the wake of September 11 and recent anthrax events, our nation's bioterrorism response capability has become an imminent priority for policymakers, researchers, public health officials, academia, and the private sector. Experts from each of these communities and the Forum on Emerging Infections convened for a three-day workshop discussion-the subject of this summary-to identify, clarify, and prioritize the next steps that need to be taken in order to prepare and strengthen bioterrorism response capabilities.
From the discussions, it became clear that of utmost urgency is the need to cast the issue of a response in an appropriate framework that captures the attention and understanding or policymakers and the public to graner sufficient and sustainable support for response initiatives. Such understanding would recognize that the protection of the nation's health is essential to ensuring national and global secutiy. There was much debate, however, on what consitutes an appropriateframework to deliver this message. |
