Health

Emergency Preparedness

Public Health's Role

One of Polk County Health Department’s roles is to respond to disasters and assist communities in recovery ...

Read full article ... "Disaster Response - Public Health's Role".

Quarantine and Isolation

Sign up to be Medical Reserve Corp Volunteer!

For more information, please contact Mandy Penning at mandy.penning@polkcountyiowa.gov or (515) 286-2005. 

Disaster Planning Resources

Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says: A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be changed to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person and some, like anthrax, cannot (CDC.gov).

The following fact sheets contain information on possible bioterrorism agents:

Extreme Heat