Читать книгу Health Service Support in a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Environment - United States. Department of the Army - Страница 32

a. A biological attack (such as the enemy use of bomblets, rockets, spray or aerosol dispersal, release of arthropod vectors, and terrorist or insurgent contamination of food and water) may be difficult to recognize. Frequently, it does not have an immediate effect on exposed personnel. All HSS personnel must monitor for BW indicators such as—

 Increases in disease incidence or fatality rates.

  Sudden presentation of an exotic disease.

 Other sequential epidemiological events.

b. Passive defensive measures (such as immunizations, good personal hygiene, physical conditioning, using arthropod repellents, wearing protective mask, and practicing good sanitation) will mitigate the effects of many biological agent intrusions.

c. The HSS commanders and leaders must enforce contamination control to prevent illness or injury to HSS personnel and to preserve the facility. Incoming vehicles, personnel, and patients must be surveyed for contamination. Ventilation systems in MTFs (without CPS) must be turned off if BW exposure is imminent.

d. Decontamination of most BW contaminated patients and equipment can be accomplished with soap and water. Soap and water will not kill all biological agents; however, it will remove the agent from the skin or equipment surface. See Appendix G for specific patient decontamination procedures.

e. Treatment of BW agent patients may require observing and evaluating the individual to determine necessary medications, isolation, or management. See FM 8–284 for specific treatment procedures for BW agent patients.

f. Medical surveillance is essential. Most BW agent patients initially present common symptoms such as low-grade fever, chills, headache, malaise, and coughs. More patients than normal may be the first indication of biological attack. Daily medical treatment summaries, especially DNBI, need to be prepared and analyzed. Trends of increased numbers of patients presenting with unusual or the same symptoms are valuable indicators of enemy employment of BW agents. Daily analysis of medical summaries can provide early warnings of BW agent use, thus enabling commanders to initiate preventive measures earlier and reduce the total numbers of troops lost due to the illness. See FM 4–02.17 for information of medical surveillance procedures. See FM 8–284 for preventive, protective, and treatment procedures.