For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Martino
Phone Number:  (215) 895-1186
Date: 11/09/01

Anthrax Attacks Jolt America's Public Health Infrastructure

---- A University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Health Tip ----

The nation's public health infrastructure has prided itself in responding to a range of health threats, from tuberculosis to cancer to the West Nile Virus.  But America's assortment of health agencies was not prepared for the recent anthrax attacks on America.

"We discovered overnight that the country's public health infrastructure is inadequate," said Dr. Robert Field, director of the health policy program at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.  "The anthrax attacks showed us that we still need an infrastructure to handle infectious diseases," says Field.  "We thought we had conquered most of them and that we should switch our focus to chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer.  The anthrax attacks proved us wrong.  We did conquer many infectious diseases and did some miraculous work, but, as anthrax demonstrated, the job is still not done."

Public health work is not always glamorous, says Dr. Field, noting that much of it involves tedious tasks such as door-to-door interviews to track down the sources of epidemics.  It's time-consuming and can be expensive, requiring a great deal of government financial support.

"What this amounts to is detective work," adds Field.  "For instance, with the anthrax attacks, public health workers have to figure out the path of the anthrax and how it was engineered and spread.  It's a laborious and lengthy process to trace how people have been infected, but it's a necessary job.  Much of this trench work is done by city municipal health departments, which are woefully under-funded."

 So is it time to push the panic button?  Dr. Field says it is not, but it is time to push the planning button.  He says health experts from across the country should convene to plan strategies to re-build the public health infrastructure and to share information on potential epidemics.

"The information we had about anthrax was very out-of-date," says Field.  "What was done with the anthrax bacteria is beyond what we had imagined.  We don't know exactly what we're dealing with, and information sharing is crucial.  Things we assumed were safe are not safe anymore.  Who would have thought we could become sick from our mail?"

Dr. Field believes that more public health facilities and clinics are needed to reach a broader range of patients, particularly in poorer neighborhoods.  "If we need to distribute antibiotics on a wide scale to treat anthrax, tuberculosis or other diseases, these centers will prove essential.  We need a greater public health presence in neighborhoods and communities across the country."

To arrange an interview with Dr. Field, contact John M. Martino at (215) 895-1186 or e-mail: j.martin@usip.edu.

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