Surveillance Program:

   In the event of a naturally occurring infectious disease outbreak or an intentional bioterrorism incident, the ability to rapidly detect that the event has occurred will be paramount. The rapid discovery of a biological issue will severely reduce the number of individuals impacted by the event. Efficient environmental sampling equipment is just in the beginning stages of development and would more than likely not assist in the detection of an infectious disease outbreak. Therefore, Wyandot County Health Department has begun to implement a comprehensive infectious disease surveillance program. 

The program involves network-building initiatives with various agencies at the local and state level, as well as, sophisticated disease investigation and tracking software employed by a contracted epidemiologist. Together, the two elements of the surveillance programs will enable the health departments to rapidly detect and respond to any infectious disease incident whether natural or intentional in nature. The following is a list of partners in our surveillance program:

• Wyandot Memorial Hospital

• Ohio Department of Health/ Health Alert Network

• Ohio Department of Agriculture

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources

• Wyandot area family practitioners

• Wyandot area veterinarians

• Wyandot area pharmacies

• Wyandot area agricultural facilities

• Wyandot area police, fire, and EMS agencies

Countermeasures:

   The local health department's role in ensuring the safety of the populace is demonstrated in its function in employing weapons of mass destruction countermeasures. When it is deemed necessary to perform countermeasures, such as vaccinations or antibiotic distribution, health departments have been tasked to implement the task. Health departments at the local level have been providing the smallpox vaccine to smallpox response team personnel since January 2003. As more vaccines and treatments are developed and released, Wyandot County Health Department will provide education and distribution procedures for the proper employment of such countermeasures.

All Hazards Disaster Preparedness:

Over the past several decades, the number of natural and manmade disasters has increased in the United States. As more and more people move into disaster prone areas, the ability to rapidly and effectively respond to these disasters has become a significant role of the local health department. It has been found that the number of individuals who seek medical attention profoundly increases days after the disaster has passed. Infectious disease problems related to damaged sanitation systems and polluted drinking water as well as novice homeowners utilizing power tools and unsafe debris removal techniques overwhelm the local health care system after a disaster. The Wyandot County Health Department is meeting these potential situations by revamping our emergency operations procedures to include medical response capabilities as well as post-disaster education, and environmental testing programs. These updated programs will undoubtedly decrease the number of post-disaster injuries and illnesses. The types of disasters we are most likely to encounter in Wyandot County are listed below.

• Civil Disorders

• Drought

• Earthquakes

• Floods

• Hazardous Materials Incidents

• Nuclear/Radiation

• Pipeline explosions

• Tornadoes/Severe Storms

• Winter Storms
   

Weapons of Mass Destruction Response:

Throughout the 1990's the US government noted a dramatic increase in the proliferation and usage of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. During the anthrax attacks in late 2001, it was quickly realized that there were major shortfalls in our country's ability to respond to large-scale WMD attacks. Since then, the infrastructure of the country's local health departments have been drastically upgraded to enable the local health department to prepare and respond to WMD incidents. Locally, the Wyandot County Health Department has been working on the following initiatives:

• Upgrading of IT, GIS, and telecommunications infrastructure allowing the health departments to effectively respond 24-hours a day

• Implementation of a multidiscipline surveillance system

• Coordinated training, preparedness exercises and mutual aid agreements with ODH and other local health departments within proximity to Wyandot County

• Providing technical assistance to the various Wyandot County law enforcement, fire department, and EMS agencies

• Implementation of Homeland Security countermeasures

• First responder and health care education programs

• Public information dissemination
   

 Pharmaceutical Distribution:

In the event of a large-scale infectious disease outbreaks or WMD usage, the pharmaceutical inventories in Wyandot County would be quickly depleted. In response to this vulnerability at the local level, the federal government has established the Strategic National Stockpile. The stockpile is operated by the Center for Disease Control and consists of twelve "12-hour push packs" which are randomly placed around the country. The push packs contain hundreds of thousands of doses of pharmaceuticals and a full compliment of medical equipment that would be needed for a wide-range of infectious disease problems. Aptly named 12-hour push packs, the packs are located throughout the United States so they can be delivered anywhere within 12 hours of being requested. Once delivered, the Wyandot County Health Department will be responsible for receiving, warehousing, and distributing the pharmaceuticals. The following is a list of projects that have begun in Wyandot County to prepare for mass pharmaceutical distribution:

• An inventory has been taken of the par levels of antibiotics and other key pharmaceuticals/ medical supplies available in Wyandot County. This will allow the Health Departments and the county EMA to create models in order to better assess particular situations when the stockpile would be automatically requested.

• Workgroups have begun to work through the details and legal issues establishing receiving and distribution points.

• Protocols are being established to allow for distribution of pharmaceuticals to special segments of the county (elderly, nursing homes, non-English speaking individuals, etc)

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