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Cities, states get 'A' for preparation

Last update: February 20, 2008 - 8:46 PM

In the first report of its kind, U.S. health officials said the nation's states and cities made a strong effort to prepare for a flu pandemic, bioterrorism or other emergency health crisis, but big challenges remain.

"I think in terms of effort and progress, an 'A,'" said Dr. Richard Besser of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when asked to assign a letter grade.

"In terms of amount of work to be done, I would say that's absolutely enormous."

It was the government's first assessment of the payoff from its investment of more than $5 billion since the terrorist attacks of 2001 to make the country better prepared for a variety of public health emergencies.

The report looked at the staffing, laboratory capability and other resources of state, local and territorial health departments for handling bioterrorism or other disasters.

The number of state and local health departments able to detect biological agents grew to 110 in 2007, up from 83 in 2002. Labs able to detect chemical agents increased to 47, from zero in 2001, the CDC found.