Prof. Cummings Edits Book on Public Health Preparedness

Dr. Curtis E. Cummings, MD, MPH, associate professor at the Drexel University School of Public Health and Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication, outlines, in his newly-published book, "Strengthening National Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agent Threats," how a coordinated public health response to a terrorist attack should be a high priority for all countries.

Co-edited with Dr. Elisaveta Stikova, a professor at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in the Republic of Macedonia, the book is the proceedings of various lectures and presentations given at the Advanced Study Institute of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in June 2006. The publication provides insightful research, and recommendations to NATO and its allies of ways to enhance their national preparedness and response plans to chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats.

The lessons learned from the book are applicable to any country and city in the world.

According to Dr. Cummings, the recommendations would be of interest to medical clinicians, researchers, scientists and policy makers across the globe.

"There is a heightened awareness of the threat posed by terrorists using CBR agents. Given the range of threats, the book outlines how public health preparedness and response requires expertise and collaboration between countries, as well as communication between any particular country’s public health, medical and other ministries," said Dr. Cummings.

Authors of the book’s chapters include an international group of public health officials, medical officials, military personnel, homeland security officers and public health students who presented at the Advanced Study Institute last year.

"The book includes the opinions of those directly responsible for preventing, preparing for and responding to a terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction," said Dr. Cummings.

The book, published by IOS Press, is Volume 20 of the publisher’s NATO Security through Science Series.

For an outline of the book’s authors and topics, as well as select abstracts of chapters, please visit the IOS Press website.