The Texas Department of Health is in the process of hiring people to fill three positions created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.The positions are being filled at each of the state's regional offices, including the Region 7 office in Temple, and are for an epidemiologist, nurse epidemiologist and public health technician.Region 7 Director James Morgan said the positions, funded by the state, are designed to help local health departments increase preparedness for an attack using weapons of mass destruction and the monitoring and surveillance of infectious diseases.Morgan said there are only a select number of biological agents that can be used in a bioterrorist attack."But in the process of preparing for those, we will also be prepared for an outbreak of strep," he said. "The new positions will help us deal with all manner of infectious diseases in a more timely and efficient manner."All eight regional offices of the Texas Department of Health are forming similar three-person teams. A team of four will coordinate the regional efforts from the department's central office.Funding of $2 million over the next two years comes from the budget of the Health and Human Services Commission, which includes 13 state agencies. by Clay Coppedge