How would Indiana respond to global smallpox outbreak?

Ebola. Pandemic flu. And now the Zika virus. These emergencies all test the mettle of the world’s public health officials.

Those who would face such a challenge must have some sense of what to do.

“We need to be prepared, and quite frankly, the country is underprepared,” said U.S. Rep Susan Brooks, who Wednesday convened a group of about 40 public health workers and other would-be first responders to run through a training exercise at the Fishers Public Library.

Dr. W. Craig Vanderwagen, former assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led the thought experiment into how to handle a blossoming smallpox outbreak that starts in Europe and rapidly spreads overseas.

Each of the participants received a small device that allowed him or her to vote on how to respond to thorny questions posed as the outbreak rages. The participants were asked to put themselves in the shoes of the top state public health official.

“The purpose of this is to help the rank and file people … think about the impact of infectious disease coming into our environment and what we would do,” Vanderwagen said before the exercise began. “It’s more what should we be doing at a big level. They learn the reasoning behind some of the policy decisions.”

Here's how the exercise unfolded over 90 minutes, putting the health officials in the hot seat of making life-or-death decisions:

Outbreak, Day One: A breaking news update reports that “multiple” cases of smallpox have been reported in several European countries, including The Netherlands, Turkey, and Sweden. The update notes the outbreaks are the work of terrorists.

Once eradicated from the population, smallpox is now not included in the routine vaccination list, and more than a third of the United States population lacks any protection against this deadly disease.

With a seven- to 17-day incubation period, smallpox may lurk in a potentially infectious person for more than two weeks without any way of being detected.

see more at: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/04/06/how-would-indiana-respond-global-smallpox-outbreak/82711638/