National Disaster Management Guidelines : Management of Biological Disasters

Contents: Foreword. Acknowledgements. Glossary of common terms. Executive summary. 1. Introduction. 2. Present status and context. 3. Salient gaps. 4. Guidelines for biological disaster management. 5. Guidelines for safety and security of microbial agents. 6. Guidelines for management of livestock disasters. 7. Guidelines for management of agroterrorism. 8. Implementation of the guidelines. 9. Summary of action points. Annexures. Core group for management of biological disasters.

From the foreword: "The intent of these guidelines is to develop a holistic, coordinated, proactive and technology driven strategy for management of biological disasters through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and effective response in the event of an emergency. The document contains comprehensive guidelines for preparedness activities, biosafety and biosecurity measures, capacity development, specialised health care and laboratory facilities, strengthening of the existing legislative/regulatory framework, mental health support, response, rehabilitation and recovery, etc. It specifically lays down the approach for implementation of the guidelines by the central ministries/departments, states, districts and other stakeholders, in a time bound manner.

The national guidelines have been formulated by members  of the Core Group, Steering and Extended groups constituted for this purpose, involving the active participation and consultation of over 243 experts from central ministries/departments, state governments, scientific, academic and technical institutions, government/private hospitals and laboratories, etc."