Abstract
The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and the deliberate release of anthrax in the United States had consequences for public health not only there, but also in Europe. Europe's public health systems had to manage numerous postal materials possibly contaminated with anthrax. Our survey aimed to document the response of European public health institutes to recent bioterrorist events to identify the gaps that need to be addressed; 18 institutes from 16 countries participated in this Euroroundup. Bioterrorist threats in Europe were hoaxes only, and should be considered as a "preparedness exercise" from which three lessons can be drawn. Firstly, because of inadequate preparedness planning and funding arrangements, Europe was not ready in October 2001 to respond to bioterrorism. Secondly, although European institutes reacted quickly and adapted their priorities to a new type of threat, they need adequate and sustained support from national governments to maintain their overall capacity. Thirdly, the recent crisis demonstrated the need for increased investment in epidemiology training programmes and the establishment of a technical coordination unit for international surveillance and outbreak response in the European Union.
Highlights
Dans les 24 heures qui ont suivi les attaques terroristes du 11 septembre, les Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ont déployé leurs épidémiologistes pour évaluer les conséquences de la catastrophe et renforcer la surveillance épidémiologique d’éventuels actes de bioterrorisme (BT) [1]
Population and Methods For each European public health institute, key contacts in the area of BT preparedness and response (P&R) were identified with the help of Eurosurveillance editorial board members
All institutes were in charge of communicable disease surveillance and control in their country
Summary
Dans les 24 heures qui ont suivi les attaques terroristes du 11 septembre, les Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ont déployé leurs épidémiologistes pour évaluer les conséquences de la catastrophe et renforcer la surveillance épidémiologique d’éventuels actes de bioterrorisme (BT) [1]. Tous les cas sauf deux ont été directement associés à la dissémination délibérée de spores de charbon. Les systèmes de santé publique européens ont dû traiter de nombreuses lettres contenant des poudres soupçonnées d’être contaminées par des spores de Bacillus anthracis. Aucune attaque terroriste et aucun cas de maladie du charbon ne sont survenus en Europe lors des semaines qui ont suivi ; toutes les menaces bioterroristes se sont révélées être des canulars. La pression sur les pays européens était élevée car ils devaient rapidement consacrer leurs ressources en matière de santé publique pour affronter un nouveau type de menace
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