Specialist teams will be set up across the North-East to fight the spread of deadly diseases and guard against terror attacks.

The experts - who will be drawn from local hospital staff - will be told to prevent and control infections ranging from tuberculosis to horror diseases such as Sars.

They will also be responsible for identifying symptoms of illness caused by food poisoning, a chemical leak or hazards such as power stations, electricity pylons or mobile phones.

And they will act as an early warning system to alert the public to any terror attack and improve the response of the emergency services.

Teams are likely to be set up to cover the same areas as police forces, which means separate bodies for Northumberland, Durham, Cleveland and North Yorkshire.

They will fall under the umbrella of the new Health Protection Agency (HPA), following fears of confusion over who is currently responsible for emergency planning.

Sir William Stewart, the HPA's chairman, said: "The global threats to health have moved on and so must we. It's time to step up our health defences.

"The speed and ease of global travel means there is much greater potential for the rapid transmission of infectious diseases. The SARS experience demonstrated that a new bug can spread around the world in days.

"Alongside this, our climate is changing, bringing the potential of more insect-borne disease, resistance to antibiotics is a growing concern and there is increasing public concern about the long-term effects of chemicals on health.

"The added threat of the deliberate release of harmful agents means we have to ensure our health services are as fully prepared as possible to pick up and respond to any incident."

More than 800 people, mainly in China and Hong Kong, have died from the flu-like Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus this year.

And the spread of TB sparked calls from the Tories for all immigrants entering the UK to be screened for infectious diseases - and denied entry if they were likely to be a burden on the NHS.

The HPA's 80-page plan highlights the need to develop standardised laboratory tests for biological agents, to make sure any chemical attack is spotted quickly.

And it calls for the NHS and local councils to set up systems to investigate "suspicious clusters" of diseases, which could be linked to chemical exposure.

Plans are also underway to develop new swab tests for whooping cough and syphilis to replace risky and time consuming blood tests.

This would end the risk of "needle stick" injuries for staff in clinics, who currently have to use a syringe to test for the sexually transmitted disease.

Another major concern is the risk to health from long-term exposure to chemicals, such as those emitted from landfills, incinerators and industrial sites.