title: Legal preparedness for bioterrorism.
abstract: Responding to a terrorist biological weapon attack poses new challenges not only for the public health response community but also to the very construct of public health police powers as we know them today. States are debating the merits of revising and updating these powers in order to ensure an effective and legally appropriate response. This article covers three aspects of the policy debate: the experience in one state from a legislative perspective, a discussion from an academic viewpoint, and one example of the role of enhanced powers from the response perspective.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Gene W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: S Peter
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parmet
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Misrahi
mesh_terms: D001694:Biological Warfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002959:Civil Defense / Q000458:organization & administration; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D006077:Government Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008281:Maine; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States