Institute for Continuing Education

Healthcare Professionals and Bioterrorism

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Identify and discuss the history, epidemiology, microbiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of:
• Anthrax, Small Pox, Botulism, and the Plague

Course Information

Ever since anthrax was spread across a wide reach of the nation last fall, bioterrorism has become a common household term. Will you as a caregiver be prepared in the event of another bioterrorist attack?

RCPs and Nurses are in the first line of defense in combating biohazard substances because inhalation is the major pathways for toxic and biological agents to infect humans. The airway is one of the primary routes infectious agents follow to enter the body, and the harm caused by the agent would impact the respiratory system first, so RCPs and Nurses need to be alert.

Tom Johnson, MS, RRT, program director of respiratory care and professor at Long Island University in New York, was an officer during the Vietnam era. He trained military personnel about chemical warfare. Thirty years later, he teaches RCPs and Nurses about bioterrorism and how they need to be prepared in the event of a biological disaster.

Johnson urges all RCPs and Nurses to recognize potential bioterrorist agents. “During the Gulf War, biowarfare became an issue, and I realized I was ignorant and did not know anthrax was already weaponized.” Bioterrorism is not a new idea. “We have had the threat of bioterrorism for a long time in history,” he said.

Today’s need is different. Caregivers need to be prepared and knowledgeable in bioterrorism in order to treat patients in the best manner possible.