Business Wire - November 7, 2001

According to NHI President David Schwartz, the new publication is in response to an urgent need for information being expressed by doctors and other healthcare workers in the wake of the recent anthrax attacks and the increasing likelihood of other bioterror attacks in the future.

"In the midst of these unfolding events it has become clear that our medical system is simply unprepared to deal with the myriad clinical and public health issues raised by the rapid introduction of illnesses that, up to now, most physicians and health facilities have simply never diagnosed and treated," Schwartz said in announcing the new publication. "In response to this crisis - and because of the huge gaps in knowledge and information that become more apparent as each day passes - National Health Information has mobilized its journalistic forces to provide healthcare professionals with the most up-to-date news and reliable guidance available on the medical and public health issues raised by the threat of bioterrorism."

Bioterror Medical Alert is specifically targeted to the clinical concerns of physicians, public health professionals, and other healthcare providers, focusing on diagnosis, treatment, prevention, safety, and disaster preparedness. It will cover not only the current anthrax attacks, but also the many other bioterror threats that physicians and other health professionals must now prepare for, including smallpox, botulism, plague, and dozens of other agents that public health officials are now warning could be next in the terrorist arsenal.

Topics to be covered include:

-- Flu versus anthrax - diagnostic markers

-- Handling "anthrax anxiety" syndrome

-- Smallpox scenarios and medical preparedness

-- Vaccines - pros and cons of widespread vaccination

-- Cipro versus doxycycline

-- Combination therapies for anthrax on the horizon

-- Hospital and office safety practices with anthrax-exposed patients

-- Preparing for smallpox quarantines

-- Food poisoning or bioterror - when to be suspicious

-- Prevention for public safety workers

-- Disaster planning and worst-case scenarios

-- Making a definitive anthrax diagnosis

-- Cipro overuse - public health implications

-- Medical review of smallpox, botulism, plague treatments

-- Hospital infection control in the wake of bioterror attacks

-- Keeping lab workers safe

-- Cutaneous anthrax - how to spot it

-- Keeping up with the CDC's investigators

-- Anthrax transmission - how many spores does it take?

-- How vulnerable are hospitals to attack?

NHI is making the publication available on a free trial basis. The four-issue trial can be requested by calling 800-597-6300, e-mailing a request along with a full physical mailing address to nhi@nhionline.net, or go to www.nhionline.net/products/bma.htm.

CONTACT: NHI Publicatons, Atlanta David Schwartz, 404/607-9500

SOURCE: NHI Publications

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