Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness; Draft HHS Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) Strategy for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats 1

Résumé

The United States faces serious public health threats from the deliberate use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)--chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN)--by hostile States or terrorists, and from naturally emerging infectious diseases that have a potential to cause illness on a scale that could adversely impact national security. Effective strategies to prevent, mitigate, and treat the consequences of CBRN threats is an integral component of our national security strategy. To that end, the United States must be able to rapidly develop, stockpile, and deploy effective medical countermeasures to protect the American people. The ultimate goal of this HHS Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Strategy (PHEMCE Strategy) is to establish the foundational elements and guiding principles that will support medical countermeasure availability and utilization for the highest priority CBRN threats facing our nation.