Atlantic Storm

Atlantic Storm was a ministerial exercise simulating the top-level response to a bioterror incident. The simulation operated on January 14, 2005 in Washington, D.C. It was created in part to reveal the current international state of preparedness and possible political and public health issues that might evolve from such a crisis.[1]

The project was sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Organization efforts were provided by the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins University, and the Transatlantic Biosecurity Network.[2]

Scenario

In the scenario, smallpox was released in the following major cities in a covert attack: Istanbul, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Frankfurt, New York City, and Los Angeles. Cases were initially reported in Germany, Turkey, Sweden, and the Netherlands, but the pathogen was exported to other nations within hours. Specifically, the 51 cases confirmed in these four nations grew to 3,320 cases with transatlantic spread after no more than 4.5 hours. This rapid spread of disease forced the attending representatives to grapple with a quickly escalating crisis and revealed difficult tensions between domestic politics and international relations. The scenario was propelled by continual briefings by “Summit Staff”, breaking news segments from the “Global News Network”, and private updates for representatives from their “national advisors”.

Key participants

Role Played by
Prime Minister of Canada Barbara McDougall
President of the European Commission Erika Mann
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Werner Hoyer
President of France Bernard Kouchner
Prime Minister of Italy Stefano Silvestri
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Klaas de Vries
Prime Minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek
Prime Minister of Sweden Jan Eliasson
President of the United States Madeleine Albright
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Nigel Broomfield
Director General, WHO Gro Harlem Brudtland
Executive Secretary of the Summit Eric Chevallier

[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Center for Biosecurity". Atlantic Storm. 2005-01-14. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  2. ↑ "Atlantic Storm | A Tabletop Exercise". www.centerforhealthsecurity.org. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  3. ↑ "Center for Biosecurity". Atlantic Storm. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.