Bioterrorism Project

INTRODUCTION

Bioterrorism are terrorist attacks that use biological agents instead of nuclear weapons and bombs. There are many dangerous viruses and bacteria that can be released into the city that can lead to disease and even death. We do not have a cure or vaccine for many of these infectious biological agents.

TASK

You are a part of a team that has been working locally for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) near Walnut, California. Walnut has just been warned of a possible bioterrorist attack in their city and the CDC has decided to move your team into assess the situation. Your team will present recommendations to a city council to prepare for the bioterroist attack. Your group will be assigned a biological agent to research. Then, within your group, decide who is going to assume the following roles. Use the questions appearing under each role to assist you in your research. While you are responsible for completing the work in your role in the group, you will also be responsible for drawing up recommendations, along with the other members of your team, on how to combat this serious issue.

1) MICROBIOLOGIST

• Is it a viral or bacterial pathogen?

• How does it infect an individual?

• Is it air-borne, food-borne, or water-borne?

• What is the incubation time before a person is contagious?

• How contagious is the disease/pathogen?

• Why is the pathogen so dangerous?

• What does the pathogen look like?

2) CARTOGRAPHER

• What is the rate of infection? (How fast is it spreading?)

• After infection, how long does it take before a person is contagious?

• What is the city’s population?

• Is the city urban and densely populated or is it rural and isolated?

• What is the frequency of occurrence? (ex: 1 in 100 people)

·  Which other areas/cities/countries have been infected before?

3) PHYSICIAN

• What are the symptoms of the disease?

• What do the symptoms look like?

• What happens to the body as the disease progresses?

• In what ways can the disease be treated, if any?

• How might the city protect itself from an attack?

• What are some preventive measures that can be taken?

4) ADMINISTRATION

• How can the city become prepared for the attack?

• What kinds of “bioterrorist attack kits” can be made?

• Include a map of the city.

• What are possible evacuation routes, if applicable, from the city before the attack? (Label the

routes on the city map)

• What are possible quarantine procedures after the attack?

• How can the city safeguard food or water from any kind of attack or contamination?

Even though each person is responsible for researching a particular aspect or role and his/her own report, you must work together to produce a coherent and organized presentation for the city council meeting.

PROCESS

The end product of this project will be a GOOGLE SLIDE ORAL PRESENTATION at a city council meeting recommending what to do in case of a bioterrorist attack. Each “CDC team member” of the team will be responsible for his/her section of research while the recommendation will be arrived at through the cooperative efforts of the entire group that you are working with.

1. First, as a group you will be assigned a biological agent (Smallpox, Anthrax, West Nile Virus, Ebola, or a current threat as described by the CDC). Get together with the other members of your group and decide who will assume the responsibilities of each of the four roles. Do some "brainstorming" on what ideas may be included in your presentation. Develop a plan of action to determine the organization, contents, and "look" of your presentation.

2. Using the sites provided by the teacher, begin to research your project. Locate the information necessary to answer the questions listed under your role in the Task section. As you will be a Google slide presentation, find some pictures that you can use to help illustrate your section, if applicable. Don’t forget to cite the links.

3. Take notes as you do your research. Bookmark any sites that you find useful so that you can refer to them again quickly if necessary. Keep in mind the rules defining plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when you steal or use the ideas or writings of another and present these writings or ideas as your own. Use quotes when necessary and don’t forget to identify where you got your information from whether it is a website, books, magazines, etc.

4. After you have completed your research, begin organizing your information. Make sure that you answer all questions specific for your role. Assume the person listening to your presentation has no knowledge of your topic.

5. Once each member has completed his/her section, meet with your group to share information of your section. This is a great time that you can ask the other members of your group for advice on revising your information.

6. As a group, organize a Google slide presentation for the city council meeting. Use the ideas from all the research you have gathered. Keep in mind the questions outlined in each role. Be as creative and convincing as possible.

7. Submit your group’s Google slide presentation to Google Classroom. Save the file name in the following format "Per 1 Anne Bob Cathy" (period + all member’s first names). I need to have received your file by the day of your presentation. You can also submit it early if you finish early.

WEB RESOURCES

* CDC- Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response

https://emergency.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/

* US Food and Drug Administration – Counterterrorism

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/emergencypreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugpreparedness/default.htm

* National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/emerging-infectious-diseases-pathogens

* Univ. of Iowa

http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/bioterrorism.html

* CDC- Emergency Preparedness and Response

https://emergency.cdc.gov/bioterrorism/prep.asp

* American College of Physicians

* PBS: Bioterror

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bioterror/

* LA county Public Health Department

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/Bioterrorism.htm

* Medline Plus

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/biodefenseandbioterrorism.html

* City of Walnut Emergency Preparedness

http://www.cityofwalnut.org/for-residents/public-safety/emergency-preparedness

REFERNCE PAGE

** For examples of citing your references using the MLA format, use the websites below:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

http://www.citationmachine.net/mla/cite-a-book

(You will need to include a REFERENCE page in your report!! You need a minimum of 4 references)

Bioterrorism Project Rubric

Awesome
5 / Proficient
4-3 / Acceptable
2-1 / Unacceptable
0 / Self-
Assessment / Teacher
Assessment
Quality of information / Covers topic thoroughly, includes details that support the topic / Includes essential information, includes some supporting details / Includes most essential information, details are somewhat sketchy / Lacks essential information
Organization / Well organized and coherent, topics are in logical sequence, includes clear introduction and conclusions / Organized, some topics are out of logical order, conclusions are generally clear / Some organization, topics jump around, conclusions are unclear / Not organized, topics make no sense
Grammar and spelling / All grammar and spelling are correct / Only one or two errors / More than two errors / Very frequent grammar and/or spelling errors
Visual design / Visually appealing, clean simple layout, text is easy to read, graphics enhance understanding of ideas / Visually attractive, text is easy to read, colors enhance readability, graphics and special effects do not distract from understanding ideas / Text is sometimes hard to read, sometimes graphics or special effects distract from understanding / Text is very difficult to read, layout is cluttered and confusing
Citations / At least 4 citations in MLA format are included / At least 4 citations are included, but not in MLA format / Less than 4 citations (either in MLA format or not) are included / No citations are included
Oral presentation / Well prepared, speaks clearly, makes eye contact with audience, delivers with ease, invites questions / Engages audience, fluid delivery, uses different approach other than simply reading screen, invites questions / Clear and understandable, uses limited delivery techniques / Not clear, not understandable
Time Frame / Presentation falls within required time frame / Presentation falls within required time frame, but used filler words / Presentation exceeds maximum time frame / Presentation is less than minimum time frame
Teamwork / Willingly accepts and fulfills individual role in group, sensitive to feelings and needs of group members / Fulfills individual role within group without prompting, respectful of others / Works toward group goals with occasional prompting, maintains positive attitude / Works toward group goals only when prompted, needs occasional reminders to be sensitive to others
Total /
/40 /
/40