For the purpose of this document, a biological incident refers to the occurrence of individual cases or outbreaks involving an infectious pathogen that affects people, regardless of whether it is naturally occurring or deliberately caused. Biological incidents, often leading to declarations of public health emergencies, can occur anywhere within the U.S., sometimes impacting multiple geographic regions simultaneously. Greater movement of people, animals, and goods across local, state, territorial, and international borders increases the risk of exposure to health threats originating both inside and outside of the U.S. Widespread and improper use of antimicrobial (such as antibiotic) treatments and other MCMs are also accelerating the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens.
Planning and preparedness for biological incidents requires consideration of the characteristics that are unique to these events, such as the potential contagious nature of a disease, need for and availability of specialized MCMs and resources to address long-term contamination, or the possibility for an incident to be the result of an intentional attack.
- Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by germs (such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi) that enter the body, multiply, and can cause an infection.1 Infectious diseases may also be referred to as communicable or transmissible diseases.
- Infectious diseases may be transmitted by contact with infected individuals or bodily fluids (such as respiratory droplets, blood, or semen), by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), by ingestion of contaminated water, or by direct or indirect contact with disease vectors (such as mosquitoes, fleas, or mice).
- A contagious disease is an infectious disease that is spread from one person to another.2 Only some infectious diseases are contagious.
During a biological incident, the roles and responsibilities of public health, healthcare, emergency management, and potentially law enforcement officials should be expected to intersect. Hence, success in achieving response and recovery objectives will require the ongoing engagement of a wide variety of partners. Similar to other types of emergencies, most biological incidents are managed locally or regionally by existing response and recovery structures using established coordination processes. Federal support may be available during instances in which SLTT needs exceed the capacity of available resources.