Japanese government survey finds health centers unprepared for bioterror
Many lack trained teams to respond to small pox and anthrax
We have often reported about America’s failure to develop a comprehensive bioterrorism response plan. In Los Angeles, for instance, a bioterrorism program was recently exposed as a boondoggle when a review found that $200,000 was spent on promotional flashlights and magnets. It is no comfort, however, to learn that other countries have similar problems. A Japanese government survey found that 31 percent of the country’s public health centers do not have medical teams capable of responding to attacks from anthrax and smallpox, and 26 percent do not even have guidelines on how to do so. All this despite government mandates and Japan’s harrowing experience with the Aum Shinrikyo terrorist group.
-read more in this Japan Times report
