General Overview

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County of San Diego Health Human Services Agency
General Overview BioWatch Detections in San
Diego County
Shirley A. Jett, MSN, RN, PHN Lead, Bioterrorism
Preparedness Planning and Readiness Strategic
National Stockpile Coordinator
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Overview of BioWatch in United States

• National Security Directive 298
• Dept. of Homeland (DHS) Security
• Program
• Established 2003
• Operational in multiple cities since 2003
• Multiple partners CA DHS, DHS, CDC,
• FBI, EPA, LHD

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Key Aspects of the BioWatch Program

• Early warning system
• Rapid detection of biological materials
• Assists local public health to determine
• presence, location and extent of a
• biological agent release
• Laboratory Response Network (LRN) PH
• Lab PCR-verified results

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Overview of BioWatch in San Diego County

• Began March 2003
• Over 5000 samples processed
• Multiple local sensor sites
• Local LRN Public Health Lab
• Managed by Local BioWatch Advisory
• Committee (BAC)
• PH Lab, Epidemiology, HazMat, FBI, EMS,
  EPA

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BioWatch Detections in San Diego County

• 2- PCR verified positive detections
• Occurred one day in December and one day in April
• At one sensor site (same site for both
• detections)
• PCR- verified positive for Brucella
• Brucella species narrowed down to either canis
  or
• neotoma

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BioWatch Response in San Diego County

• Notification
• Internal local Public Health
• DHS, CDC, FBI, CA DHS, US Navy
• Phase I II environmental sampling
• Additional lab testing local, CDC, LLNL
• Epidemiological assessment
• Threat assessment (FBI, Border, etc)

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Phase I Sampling
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BioWatch Response Considerations

• Location of the sensor
• semi-rural, semi-commercial area, transports,
  construction

• Agent detected (Brucella)
• Endemic in San Diego County
• Most human cases related from dairy products from
  Mexico
• Species Neotoma and Canis rare human infection
• Long incubation period
• Low risk of death

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BioWatch Response Considerations

• Notifications
• Threat assessment
• Animal surveillance information
• Biosurveillance Local Epidemiology
• Weather pattern/Plume modeling

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BioWatch Event Conclusion

• Outcome Incidental Detection
• Basis
• No known terrorist act
• Environmental background?
• Single site detection

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BioWatch Event Lessons Learned

• This was a local response
• Local Health Officer lead for event
• Conduct Phase I II sampling at the same time
• Fairly smooth notification response -
  preplanning
• efforts paid off
• national conference call within 1.5 hours of
  determination
• Ongoing BAC meetings helpful
• Ongoing assessment of environmental background
• for Brucella

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For further information contactJeffrey Johnson
at 619-531-4945

• Thank you
• Questions?