Biological Weapons: Biological Weapon

707 Words3 Pages
Biological weapon, by definition, is the releasing of pathogens or biotoxins to living organisms as to cause disease in them. Also known as “the poor man’s atomic bomb”, it is relatively cheap and easy to produce compared to atomic bomb, yet the damage it causes is no less hazardous. Examples of biological weapon include smallpox, Ebola, anthrax and botulinum toxin. Biological weapons can spread rapidly in a dense population by the use of animal vector such as mosquito and by contaminating the air and water supply, and therefore, is an effective tool to induce fear in the public, and cause social disruption and economic damage. To prevent mass destructions cause biological weapons, 170 countries have signed the Biological Weapons Convention…show more content…
Main role of SRPG is to strategically prepare and plan response for any CBRN attack. The group is consist of representatives from variety of departments including Fire Services Department (FSD), Department of Health (DH), Civil Aid Service (CAS) and Hong Kong Police Force as main. Experts and specialists are invited for advises and supports when necessary. In addition to preparing response, SRPG also focus on government CBRN exercises. individual department exercises are held regularly with annual inter-departmental (what). Aim of these exercises are to raise awareness about perils of CBRN and to provide providing practical experience to individuals. Furthermore, SRPG can examine effectiveness of protocols under real life situation. SRPG also organize Incident Advisory Group which functioning any time of the day (maintains its function all times). The group consist of experts from variety of departments including police, fire service, department of health and so on. Main role of advisory group is to provide technical and operational support to any group needed in times of biological attack. SRPG enables government to respond quickly to the incident with support from variety of departments to minimize the…show more content…
There are few main parts of their hazmat contingency plan: recognition of hazmat, assessment of the conditions, protection of staff and facilities, identification of the hazmat and subsequent decontamination. [1] Upon biological attack, the hospitals are responsible to recognize and assess the nature and impact of the incident as to make important decision on subsequent management of casualties. After that, appropriate protection of staff and facilities are essential as to prevent secondary contamination within the hospital areas. Decontamination like washing the patients will be carried out in a contamination reduction zone, and staff who handle the patients will be protected by appropriate protective equipment (PPE), with four levels of protection protecting the respiratory system, eyes, skin and mucous membrane of the staff. For hazmat agent identification, an online intranet database “ChemWatch” is available for hospitals and clinical workstations to access, which provides detailed descriptions and treatment of different hazmat. Moreover, there are structured annual training programs organized by the Hospital Authority for hospital staff in training their skills on dealing with hazmat incidents. Therefore, it is believed that hospitals should have sufficient knowledge and skills in dealing with

More about Biological Weapons: Biological Weapon

Open Document