Bioterrorism and Weapons of Mass DestructionPage 7 of 8

5. Health Alert Network

CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN) is CDC’s primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; federal, state, territorial, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.

CDC’s HAN collaborates with federal, state, territorial, and city/county partners to develop protocols and stakeholder relationships that will ensure a robust interoperable platform for the rapid distribution of public health information (CDC, 2015).

A vast majority of the state-based HAN programs have over 90% of their population covered under the umbrella of HAN. The CDC website provides links to each connected state and local jurisdiction. Check with your state’s HAN program to signup. In addition, persons who wish to sign up to receive HAN Update Alerts from CDC can do so on the CDC website.

Alert Message Types

CDC HAN messages range from informational updates of general interest to alerts that require immediate action. Examples of the different types of alerts listed below, as well as archives of past alerts, may be found on the CDC Health Alert Network website.

  • Health Alert: provides vital, time-sensitive information for a specific incident or situation; warrants immediate action or attention by health officials, laboratorians, clinicians, and members of the public; and conveys the highest level of importance.
  • Health Advisory: provides important information for a specific incident or situation; contains recommendations or actionable items to be performed by public health officials, laboratorians, and/or clinicians; may not require immediate action.
  • Health Update: Provides updated information regarding an incident or situation; unlikely to require immediate action.
  • Info Service: provides general public health information; unlikely to require immediate action. (CDC, 2015).

Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

1600 Clifton Road

Atlanta, GA 30329-407

Phone: 800 232 4636 (CDC-INFO)

TTY: 888 232 6348

cdcinfo@cdc.gov

http://www.cdc.gov

Emergency Preparedness and Response

http://emergency.cdc.gov/

Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS)

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)

PO Box 117, MS-39, Oak Ridge, TN 37831

865 576 3131 • 24-hour number 865 576 1005 (ask for REAC/TS)

http://orise.orau.gov/reacts/default.aspx

Ready.gov

http://www.ready.gov/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

http://www.dhhs.gov/

Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM)

Comprehensive Resource Site for Healthcare Providers

http://www.remm.nlm.gov

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.dhs.gov

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