Utah anti-bioterror efforts rank at middle of pack

WASHINGTON — Despite its experience preparing for the 2002 Winter Games, Utah now ranks only in the middle of the pack in its ability to protect residents from a bioterrorism attack, a new study by the Trust for America's Health reported Tuesday.

Deseret Morning News graphicPreparednessRequires Adobe Acrobat.

Utah was one of 20 states to score six out of a possible 10 indicators, including state and local coordination, work-force capability, budget, disease tracking and surveillance, and laboratory capabilities. Two-thirds of the states scored six or fewer. Fourteen states had better scores than Utah's.

Last year, the state received a score of four out of 10, although some of the indicators used were different, said Cory Craynor, risk communication coordinator for the Utah Department of Health.

"We are pleased with the progress. We've made some pretty significant strides, yet at the same time we recognize we have things to do," Craynor said.

North Carolina and Florida scored the highest with nine out of 10 indicators; Alaska and Massachusetts scored the lowest with three.

"With most states still in the middle range of the scale and no states meeting all of the indicators, there are still major areas of vulnerability that leave Americans at risk," the report stated.

Overall, the report found that many basic bioterrorism detection, diagnosis and response capabilities still are not in place.

"This report found that more than three years after 9/11 and the anthrax tragedies, we've only made baby steps toward better bioterrorism preparedness, rather than the giant leaps required to adequately protect the American people," said Lowell Weicker Jr., the trust's board president and former senator from Connecticut.

It may very well fall to former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, President Bush's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, to make bioterrorism and public preparedness a national priority.

During a news conference announcing his resignation earlier this month, departing HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson addressed that issue, saying, "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do," and that a pandemic flu is "a really huge bomb out there that could adversely impact on the health care of the world."