Needs of the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program (BPRP) With Regard to Public Health Information Technology

In order to understand how public health information technology (IT) can aid public health preparedness in terms of bioterrorism preparedness and associated emergency response, it is apt to start with a definition of bioterrorism. In establishing the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program (BPRP), located under the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), internal to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) framed the context of bioterrorism as the use or threatened use of biological agents or toxins against civilians, with the objective of causing fear, illness, or death