Emergency response to be tested

The Monmouth County Health Department in conjunction with the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management recently conducted the first of two exercises to test the county's reaction to a state of emergency following a bioterrorism attack.

According to a press release, the ob-ject of the exercises is to test the ability to move medical supplies using alternate means of transportation.

The first exercise took place May 18 and involved the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office, police, and emergency management personnel from Howell, Farmingdale, Keyport and Union Beach.

According to a press release from the Monmouth County Board of Freehold-ers, the drill began with "reports" of large volumes of people flooding area hospitals with flu-like symptoms and a higher-than-normal rate of absenteeism in the schools.

Once a "determination" was made that the cause of the outbreak was pneumonic plague, emergency response was activated to begin receiving medications into the county.

"When it was determined the probable cause of the illnesses being reported was the plague, the health department was able to distribute as many as 3,150 doses of antibiotics to county receiving sites for distribution over the course of the day," Freeholder Robert D. Clifton said.

The second exercise will take place June 1 and will involve Manalapan, Englishtown, Neptune, Oceanport, Wall Township and Long Branch. Residents and visitors to the area will see an increased level of participation of county and local agencies coordinating their efforts in these exercises.

"It is important that the public not be alarmed, and to understand that while this exercise may cause some level of inconvenience, the drill is necessary to help prepare us for a biological terrorist attack," Freeholder Director William C. Barham said.

"First responders are our first line of defense. It is critically important that we test our ability to dispense medications to our first responders as well as to all residents of Monmouth County in the event of this type of attack," he added.

According to Lester W. Jargowsky, the Monmouth County health officer and bioterrorism coordinator, "The preparations for these exercises have been taking place for months. This intense, real-life preparation has given the overall Office of Emergency Man-agement team members an opportunity to sharpen their skills and revisit operational plans. Teamwork and coordination of resources is the key to a successful emergency management response."