Following The 9/11 And Anthrax Terrorist Attacks, Studies

These men and women risked their lives to try to save the thousands of men, women, and children trapped inside the Murrah building. In assumption people would think this traumatic experience of trying to recover lives after the explosion would not only be very heartbreaking, but very traumatic also. Surprisingly, from all the rescue workers only 13% (24/181) were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (North). A test was approved and ran by the Washington University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board (North). This test involved the first group of firefighters who were involved with the bombing victims (North). These firefighters are the ones who helped recover bodies and body parts from the rubble of the bombing (North). “Two-thirds (68%) reported feeling somewhat or very upset by either or both of these activities, although many (36%) described removing the bodies as providing a sense of relief and closure to their evacuation work. Firefighters acknowledged feeling somewhat or very upset by contact with body parts (54%) and body fluids (36%), but encounters with children’s remains (72% of total sample) had the highest rating of associated upset”

Post-Traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD, is on a rise in our country and expected to rise more in the coming years (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). PTSD is a psychiatric disorder than can result from the experience or witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). According to the Evidence based article examples of PTSD are terrorist attack, violent crime and abuse, military combat, natural disasters, serious accidents or violent personal assaults (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). PTSD has also been liked to possible exposure to environmental toxins such as Agent Orange or electromagnetic radiation (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005).

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, “PTSD can make people feel very nervous or ‘on edge’ all the time. Many feel startled very easily, have a hard time concentrating, or have problems sleeping well” (Association, 2016). These conditions make it hard for first responders to continue working resulting in “overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment to the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment” (Cigognani, 2009,

Emergency rescue personnel witnessed the loss of loved ones, furthermore during recovery and rescue efforts they were limited in the amount of debriefing and clinical mental support they received. Priorities at the time focused on saving lives, while mental deterioration was taking place in many simultaneously. “A study published in the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine found a 71.8% prevalence of PTSD among exposed first responders as opposed to 51.4% among their unexposed counterparts” (Bills et al., 2008). In a 9-year longitudinal cohort study with data gathered from 27,449 participants, including a population of police officers and firefighters among other rescue workers; the cumulative results yielded a 9.3% incidence of PTSD, 8.4% panic disorder, and 7.0% depression, with the higher rates found among those with direct exposure (Wisnivesky et al., 2011). Besides risk factors that contribute to developing PTSD, underestimating its pathophysiological effects can exacerbate the condition. According to Boscarino and Adams (2009), even though 90% of adults have experienced at least a traumatic event in their life; only a small percentage develop PTSD. This further validates the concept of the influence of underlying risk factors post

One of the most common personal problems faced by first responders is PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a prolonged stress response caused by serious and sometimes dangerous emotional events that interfere with daily functioning. Those who suffer from TPSD tend to avoid socializing, have flashbacks of the event, and are emotionally tense (“The Link Between PTSD…”, 2017). Considering the definition and what first responders do, it is understandable that they develop this problem. It is also not confounding to know that they face a 95% increase in their risk of developing it when a fellow employee dies, by being the victim of some form of abuse, or after dealing with psychiatric patients (Khashaba et al., 2014). It is rather common that first responders will become the victim of some type of abuse, either due to premeditated aggression from people who are biased against uniformed workers or by patients who have conditions that make them involuntarily hostile, such as postictal patients who are recovering from a seizure. While both are very stressful events, a study

PTSD’ is a mental illness, found most commonly effecting the mental state of individuals that have been exposed to confronting and/or traumatic events. Paramedics are people who in their everyday lives deal with low and high key events that can take a huge toll on their mental state ability. They are constantly sighting poor health and health conditions, trauma to another human, and the tragedy of death. (1)Despite being identified as a “high risk” occupational group, there is a lack of data concerning the prevalence of emotional problems among emergency ambulance personnel. The lack of data to support the PTSD levels of Paramedics is concerning especially when their work requires high level of concentration to perform precise procedures that

Since September 1, 2001, America has been involved in warfare in the Middle East with over 2.2 million men and women serving in combat zones experiencing more tours, higher levels of perceived risk and more cultural integration within ranks than ever seen in history (Crocker, Powell-Cope, Brown & Besterman-Dahan, 2014). According to Clark-Hitt, Smith and Broderick (2012) 14% of returning veterans are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which they define as “an anxiety disorder that may occur following exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened”. In a military setting these events could consist of an environment of repeated bombing or threat of death, watching a comrade die, killing another human-being, even witnessing immoral violence on a daily basis. According to work done by Polusny et al. (2008) exposure to traumatic events can be a contributor to the perception of a lesser health status, an increase in physical health illness and increasing health care utilization and cost. Polusny et al. (2008) focused their research on the relationship between natural disaster trauma and physical health with a finding that natural disasters that produce PTSD symptom clusters do effect an individual’s physical health as well as the health care of the effected community for some time after said disaster. This paper however focuses on PTSD as it pertains to physical symptoms of American soldiers

The occurrence of a traumatic event does not produce the negative reactions for most people, but rather the amount of exposure to the event (MacGeorge et al., 2007). The higher the amount of exposure the more severe the distress and reactions. Those who had little exposure to the event can still experience negative outcomes and adverse effects on their health. Stress can be healthy to us as it allows us to focus on the matter at hand and get work done. However, stress can also be damaging to our physical and mental health. Prolonged stress can produce lasting emotions that surpass the original source. Depression and anxiety can even occur to those with a low exposure because of the stress associated with the events. Physical health can also be damaged from the symptoms of stress in a long-term environment. Those who had a direct exposure of the attacks more commonly experienced disorders such as PTSD and clinical depression. (MacGeorge et al., 2007). Those who had a low exposure had a higher sense of closure, the feeling that a bad experience has ended and a normal life can be lived again. This high closure resulted in higher psychological well-being, and those who had a lower closure were found to have psychological distress (Adler & Poulin, 2009). People who had a higher closure to the events of 9/11 were able to put aside the adverse impact and move on with their lives. They were able to put away the stress and worry, while those who had a low closure clung to the events and held longingly on to the

Welcome to week 4! This week we are discussing what consequences face the Nation if our chosen threat isn’t adequately addressed and whether we believe that it is being addressed adequately now. Of the six security challenges that are mentioned in the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, I have chosen to discuss biological threats. Biological terrorism is a scary prospect that should be a growing concern for the country. The reason for this is the ease at which a bio attack can be put into action. Depending on the level of intricacy of the attack, the effects could be isolated to one area or become a pandemic that spreads across the United States. Bioterrorism comes in many forms but as a general explanation biological

What I gathered from this week’s lesson is that agroterrorism is a cause for concern in the United States and ranges in the audience, much like every other issue, from those who believe it is a very real possibility, like Tommy Thompson, to those who feel like there is nothing to really worry about. The potential effects of agroterrorism in the United States could be a serious enough to affect a large number of people. It seems to be an effective and low-key technique to induce biological pathogens at one location, by only one individual, which in turn could affect thousands, if not more.

Honestly, the threat of a biological attack is very real. Take this threat back just twenty years ago with the Japanese Sarin Cult, that it was discovered that they had within their inventory of biological weapons Ebola and Anthrax (Wright, 2008). How they gain access to these deadly viruses is somewhat unknown, but still they were obtained. Currently, research organizations and laboratories that carry these viruses are monitored and the security around the faculties is very advanced. But the Ebola virus made its way from Africa to the United States, not too long ago and who is to say that that particular outbreak was not a “dress rehearsal” for an attack on a particular region?

The essential feature to understanding the scientific basis and clinical expression of PTSD is the idea that characteristic symptoms develop following exposure to one or more traumatic events. A traumatic event was originally hypothesized as a catastrophic stressor that was outside the range of what a human would regularly experience (APA, 1980). Criterion A for PTSD indicates that exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence is required to make the diagnosis (APA, 2013). There are four ways by which a person can experience trauma and meet criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD. A person could directly experience the traumatic event, directly experienced traumatic events in criterion A include, but are certainly not limited to being taken hostage, torture, natural disasters, and severe motor vehicle accidents. Interestingly terminal medical conditions are not necessarily considered traumatic unless they are unexpected and calamitous such as waking up in the middle of surgery (APA, 2013). Another way an individual can experience trauma is by witnessing the event in person

There have been many cases of bioterrorism, but one of the main cases occurred in 1984 in the United States. Some of the followers of a religious group wanted three seats in their local court. Worried that they might not win the seats, the followers decided to use Salmonella to incapacitate the voting population, so they can win the seats. It was inserted into salads at a very popular salad bar in the area. 751 people were infected in this attack, but no one died (Wikipedia, 2016). Terrorists can now use the simplest of things to get to us, but the source of it is the virus. Lawrence showed us how a genetically-modified measles virus, originally designed as a cure for cancer, turned into a virus and nearly wiped out the worldwide population. But, what if this was done on purpose? When comparing the number of cancer patients to the American population, the cancer patients take up less than 1% of the whole population. However, measles is contagious, so the real percentage of those who would be affected would be higher than 1% (American Cancer Society, 2016). So, if this “cure” was made with the intention of wiping out a population, this would have been a great success to

Disasters provide an opportunity to explore their psychological effects on first responders, witnesses, and survivors. Each disaster had some, but not necessarily all, of the following effects. PTSD was the most frequently observed psychological symptom in each disaster discussed (Carol, Oliver, & Pandya, 2012). Those who survived Hurricane Floyd had experienced stress, irregular sleeping patterns, shock, and survivor’s guilt (Carol et al., 2012). Many of the survivors and responders of the Texas Explosions and Virginia Tech shootings experienced major depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and anxiety disorders (Carol et al., 2012).

The U.S. is perhaps known for its abundance and accessibility of food. The U.S. agriculture remains as one of the driving factor of the nation’s economy generating over $991 billion in 2001 (Chalk 2003, 2). Additionally, agricultural and food industries are important to social, economic and political stability of the U.S (Chalk 2003, 2). However, the nation’s agricultural and food industries are vulnerable in biological threats such as agroterrorism. Agroterrorism is a subset of bioterrorism and its main targets are crops and livestock.