Brussels, 08 February 2002
A guidance document on the use of medicinal products in the event of a bio-terrorist attack has been produced at the request of the European Commission, the Enterprise DG, the European agency for the evaluation of medicinal products (EMEA) and its scientific committee.
The document has been prepared by the EU committee for proprietary medicinal products (CPMP) and contains information on treatment in the event of anthrax, the plague, tularaemia, smallpox, viral haemorrhagic fever or botulism being introduced to Europe.
The document does not offer full instructions on the management of patients, as medical staff are recommended to consult existing national guidance in the event of an attack. In addition, not all of the medicinal products mentioned in the document are authorised or available in all EU Member States, and not all are authorised for treating these particular diseases.
The document will be updated on a regular basis to take account of new scientific knowledge and include information on additional pathogens.