Across North Carolina, seven Public Health Regional Surveillance Teams (PHRST) have been formed in response to the nation's Bioterrorism preparation effort. These teams are funded by a $22.9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

New Hanover County is hosting one of these teams. The Public Health Regional Surveillance Team - Region 2 or PHRST-2 serves the following seven counties in Southeastern North Carolina:

New Hanover, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Duplin, Onslow, and Pender

PHRST-2 will work with these counties to strengthen public health infrastructure within the region in order to detect, identify, investigate, and control illness due to biological, chemical, or nuclear terrorist attacks.

PHRST-2 will help these counties prepare for and respond to chemical, nuclear, biological terrorism events, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health threats in Southeastern North Carolina through elaborative planning, education, investigation, and surveillance.