http://www.immunizationinfo.org/
U.S. News & World Report (www.usnews.com)
(11/19/01) Vol. 131,
No. 21, P. 52; Hawkins, Dana
The Rapid Syndrome Validation Project (RSVP) and the “sentinel”
system used by New York City are devices being developed to assist physicians
and other health care professionals in identifying epidemics or bioterrorist
attacks. RSVP is a web-based program
that notifies public health officials when high numbers of certain symptoms
appear in a geographic area, while the sentinel alerts the public health
department to increased nonprescription sales, lab results, and 911 calls that
address flu-like symptoms. RSVP only
send the symptoms and patient’s zip code to public health officials, which
allows patients’ specific information to remain confidential while giving
officials enough time to treat patients adequately for bioterrorist
diseases. The best solution would be
sensors that can sniff out bioterrorist agents, but those devices have not been
developed.
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INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.