Mass, Bioterrorism, Codes Flashcards
Poses a risk to national security. What criterion does the CDC use to determine which agents should be included?
Category A BioAgent. Easily disseminated/transmitted from person to person. High mortality/major public health impact. Might cause panic/social disruption. Require special action for the public. Shelter in place, stay where you are!
Produces an intense pulse of heat, light, air pressure, radiation. Produces fallout (radioactive materials that can be carried long distances by the wind). Great destruction, death and injury, and have a wide area of impact.
Nuclear emergency involves explosion of a nuclear weapon/improvised nuclear device (IND).
Contaminated food/water, fallout, blast injury/death, moderate/severe burns, flash blindness, ARS (acute radiation sickness)
Mix of explosives, e.g. dynamite, w/ radioactive powder or pellets. Aka radiological dispersal device (RDD). Cannot create an atomic blast like an IND/nuclear weapon.
When it explodes, the blast carries radioactive material into the surrounding area.
Main danger from a dirty bomb comes from explosion which causes serious injuries and property damage, not radiation. Only people who are very close to blast site would be exposed to enough radiation to cause immediate serious illness. Radioactive dust/smoke can spread farther away, could be dangerous to health if people breathe in the dust, eat contaminated food, drink contaminated water. Acute radiation sickness near site.
Radioactive material that is hidden from sight to expose people to radiation without their knowledge. Can be hidden from sight in a public place (e.g. under a subway seat, in a food court, or in a busy hallway).
Radiological Exposure Devices (RED), or hidden sealed sources.. Dangers depend on type/amount of radioactive material, how long people were near the device, what body parts were exposed. Pts. exposed to high levels of radiation could develop s/s of ARS, radiation burns.
Health effects may take hours, days, weeks to appear. Effects range from mild to severe, such as death or cancer. Some may not experience any effects.
Accidents in this area that has safety and security procedures in place and are closely monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Could release dangerous levels of radiation over an area (called a plume).
Radioactive materials in the plume from the nuclear power plants can settle, contaminate people who are outdoors, buildings, food, water, livestock. Can also get inside the body if pts. breathe it in, eat/drink something that is contaminated. Those living close to the nuclear power plants who are exposed to radiation could experience long-term effects such as cancer.
Radioactive material is transported by trucks, rail, and other shipping methods. Shipments involving significant amounts of radioactive material are required to have documentation, labels, and placards identifying the cargo as radioactive.
Main dangers of transportation accidents involving radiation are contact with/exposure to material. Very unlikely that accidents involving transport of material will cause any radiation-related injuries/illnesses.
Workplaces like health care facilities, research institutions, and various manufacturing operations use radiation sources. If radiation sources are used improperly, or if there are malfunctions of safety controls, accidents can happen.
Effects from an occupational accident involving radiation range from no to very serious effects depending on type/amount of material, how long pts were near material/how long it was in or on the body, how close pts were to it, what parts of the body were exposed
What are the five possible health effects of radiation exposure and contamination? Which three are long-term?
ARS (acute radiation sickness), CRI (cutaneous radiation injury). Long-term are cancer, prenatal radiation exposure, mental health
People will only get ARS if what?
The radiation dose was high
The radiation was able to reach internal organs (penetrating)
The person’s entire body, or most of it, received the dose
The radiation was received in a short time, usually within minutes
What does the nurse need to know about a biologic threat?
S/s. Differential diagnosis (what makes it different? how to distinguish from common disease). Dx procedures/lab protocols. Prophylaxis/treatment. Mode of transmission. PPE. Incubation period (how long does it take for s/s to show after contraction). Persistency, how hard is it to kill. Lethality, how often it kills pt. after contraction.
Anthrax infection?
When anthrax spores get inside the body, they become active, the bacteria can multiply, spread out in the body, produce toxins (poisons), cause severe illness.
Breathe in spores, eat or drink something contaminated, or get spores in a cut or scrape in the skin.
