Responding to bioterrorist smallpox in San Antonio

George Miller, Stephen Randolph, Jan E. Patterson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

We used discrete-event simulation to help the San Antonio public health and acute medical care communities to plan their response to a bioterrorist attack. The analysis, based on a scenario positing an attack with aerosolized smallpox, indicated the resources and strategies needed for an effective response. We found that a mixture of public-health measures designed to stop the spread of the disease would form a more robust and effective response than any single measure. However, unless the attack is very small, the public-health system is unlikely to be able to prevent a surge in demand for acute care that will require community-wide coordination of resources, a definitive patient-triage policy, and temporary treatment practices. The San Antonio communities are integrating our recommendations into their plans.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)580-590
Number of pages11
JournalInterfaces
Volume36
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2006

Keywords

  • Health care: epidemiology
  • Simulation: applications

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Strategy and Management
  • Management Science and Operations Research
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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