First published on January 26, 2011
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, doi:10.1001/dmp.2011.1
© 2011 American Medical Association
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (Publish Ahead of Print[PDF])
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a colleague
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mills, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Savoia, E. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mills, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Savoia, E. S.

Concepts in Disaster Medicine

Mass Arsenic Poisoning and the Public Health Response in Maine

Dora A. Mills, MD, MPH, Anthony J. Tomassoni, MD, MS, Lindsay A. Tallon, MSPH, Kristy A. Kade, MPH and Elena S. Savoia, MD, MPH

Author Affiliations: Dr Mills is with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Tomassoni is with the Yale-New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response, Ms Tallon is with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Emergency Preparedness Bureau, and Ms Kade and Dr Savoia are with the Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness.

Created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Maine's Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness within the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention undertook a major reorganization of epidemiology and laboratory services and began developing relationships with key partners and stakeholders, and a knowledgeable and skilled public health emergency preparedness workforce. In 2003, these newly implemented initiatives were tested extensively during a mass arsenic poisoning at the Gustav Adolph Lutheran Church in the rural northern community of New Sweden, Maine. This episode serves as a prominent marker of how increased preparedness capabilities, as demonstrated by the rapid identification and administration of antidotes and effective collaborations between key partners, can contribute to the management of broader public health emergencies in rural areas.

Key Words: arsenic poisoning • preparedness capacity • public health emergency • public health preparedness • rural preparedness