Arizona is among most states in being only partly prepared to deal with terrorist attacks or a disease pandemic, according to a report released by a public health research group.

But several Arizona officials, including Governor Napolitano, said the report is using outdated or incorrect information, and the Grand Canyon State actually is much better prepared for such catastrophic events.

Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit public health research group, released the 2004 edition of its report, “Ready Or Not≠ Protecting the Public’s Health in the Age of Bioterrorism.”

The report sets out 10 key “indicators” for gauging how prepared the states and the District of Columbia are for dealing with the outbreak of a major disease or a terrorist attack involving biological agents.

Approximately two-thirds of the states met only five or six of the 10 indicators; Arizona was among 11 states to meet five of the 10.

Trust for America’s Health gave Arizona passing scores for:

• Maintaining or increasing state spending on public health.

• Having fewer than 25 per cent of its public health work force eligible to retire in five years.

• Having enough laboratory scientists to test for anthrax or plague.

• Having legal authority to quarantine.

• Having a pandemic flu plan.

According to the report, Arizona:

• Hasn’t spent or obligated at least 90 per cent of its fiscal year 2003 federal homeland security funds.

• Doesn’t have local concurrence with the state’s bioterror preparedness plan.

• Doesn’t have sufficient biosafety-level 3 labs, which, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories, have enough equipment and staff to be able to handle “infectious agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease as a result of exposure” via inhalation.

• Doesn’t have a disease tracking system in day-to-day use through which information can be monitored via the Internet.

• Hasn’t increased flu vaccination rates in adults 65 and older since 2002-03.

In the 2004 report from Trust for America’s Health, 34 states and the District of Columbia scored higher than in 2003, while nine states scored the same and seven states’ scores declined.

“The scores demonstrate continued incremental progress; however, preparedness is still lagging behind goals and expectations,” a news release accompanying the report states. “With most states still in the middle range of the scale and no states meeting all of the indicators, there are still major areas of vulnerability. Overall, the report found that many basic bioterrorism detection, diagnosis and response capabilities are still not in place.”

Ms. Napolitano said Dec. 15 in her weekly news conference that she still hadn’t seen the report, released the day before, but after talking with Department of Health Services Director Catherine Eden and state Homeland Security Director Frank Navarette, she concluded, “There are some major inaccuracies in the report.”

“Arizona actually meets all the criteria in the report,” Ms. Napolitano said.

She said that the latest federal Homeland Security budget reduces funding to Arizona by 35 per cent.

The state anticipated that cut, and has attempted to operate more efficiently by creating a regional Arizona security plan rather than operating community-by-community, she said.

“I think we’re going to be able to absorb those cuts without too much of an impact…but this certainly isn’t a healthy trend for the federal government to be reducing homeland security dollars,” the governor said.

Arizona has received about $115 million in federal homeland security grants since 2002. —