State sends out information paper on smallpox

More than 320 newspapers across Iowa are carrying a special supplement this week that’s designed to answer people’s questions about the state’s preparedness for smallpox and other bioterrorist threats. Kevin Teale, spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, says the eight-page tabloid supplement is about the size of a Sunday paper’s T-V guide.Teale says the supplements contain about 15 articles from a variety of sources — articles from public health on the state’s efforts to combat bioterrorism, advisories from the state’s homeland security office, state hospitals, and more.Teale says the supplements focus on government efforts to be prepared but also detail steps families and individuals can take. He says the information packets should reach virtually every Iowan.The information is also available on-line at “www.idph.state.ia.us”.