Public Health Home Page
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Emergency Preparedness: Frequently Asked Questions |
| Should I buy a gas mask? |
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No. A mask would only protect you if you were wearing it at the exact moment a bioterrorist attack
occurred. Unfortunately, a release of a biological agent is most likely to be done “covertly,” that
is, without anyone knowing it. That means you would not know ahead of time to put on your mask. To
wear a mask continuously or “just in case” a bioterrorist attack occurs is impractical, if not
impossible. |
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To work effectively, masks must be specially fitted to the wearer, and wearers must be trained in
their use. This is usually done for the military and for workers in industries and laboratories
who face routine exposure to chemicals and germs on the job. Gas masks purchased at an Army
surplus store or off the internet carry no guarantees that they will work. In addition, gas masks can be dangerous. There are reports of accidental suffocation when people have used masks incorrectly, as happened to some Israeli civilians during the Persian Gulf War. • |
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| Should I have my own supply of antibiotics? |
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Personal supplies of antibiotics for use in the event of a biological attack are not
recommended for several reasons. There are a number of different germs that might be
involved in a bio-emergency event: anthrax, botulism, cholera, pandemic influenza, plague,
Q fever, Salmonella, SARS, smallpox, tularemia and viral hemorrhagic fever to name a few.
Many antibiotics are effective for a variety of diseases, but there is no single antibiotic
that is effective against all diseases. Consequently, no single pill can protect against all
types of germs to which you might be exposed. |
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Keeping a supply of antibiotics on hand poses other problems because antibiotics have
a limited “shelf life” before they lose their strength. The likelihood of a biological
attack in any given community is low and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has large supplies of antibiotics ready for emergency distribution if needed. Shortages
of medications needed for persons with serious infections who require treatment could
occur if individuals hoard antibiotics. Like many medicines, antibiotics should only be
taken under medical supervision. |
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| Is it safe for me to drink water from the tap? |
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It would be extremely difficult for a bioterrorist to contaminate our drinking water supplies
to cause extensive illness. There are two reasons. First of all, because of the large volume
of water in reservoirs, anything deliberately put into the water supply would be greatly
diluted. Secondly, water treatment facilities routinely add chlorine in order to kill harmful
germs. Information about the safety of water supplies in some of cities/towns in Johnson County can be found at |
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