Articles: pandemics.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Oct 2015
ReviewGlobal Health Security Demands a Strong International Health Regulations Treaty and Leadership From a Highly Resourced World Health Organization.
If the Ebola tragedy of West Africa has taught us anything, it should be that the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) Treaty, which gave unprecedented authority to the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide global public health security during public health emergencies of international concern, has fallen severely short of its original goal. After encouraging successes with the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic, the intent of the legally binding Treaty to improve the capacity of all countries to detect, assess, notify, and respond to public health threats has shamefully lapsed. Despite the granting of 2-year extensions in 2012 to countries to meet core surveillance and response requirements, less than 20% of countries have complied. ⋯ The bottom line is that the global community can no longer tolerate an ineffectual and passive international response system. As such, this Treaty has the potential to become one of the most effective treaties for crisis response and risk reduction worldwide. Practitioners and health decision-makers worldwide must break their silence and advocate for a stronger Treaty and a return of WHO authority.
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Health Technol Assess · Oct 2015
Development of processes allowing near real-time refinement and validation of triage tools during the early stage of an outbreak in readiness for surge: the FLU-CATs Study.
During pandemics of novel influenza and outbreaks of emerging infections, surge in health-care demand can exceed capacity to provide normal standards of care. In such exceptional circumstances, triage tools may aid decisions in identifying people who are most likely to benefit from higher levels of care. Rapid research during the early phase of an outbreak should allow refinement and validation of triage tools so that in the event of surge a valid tool is available. The overarching study aim is to conduct a prospective near real-time analysis of structured clinical assessments of influenza-like illness (ILI) using primary care electronic health records (EHRs) during a pandemic. This abstract summarises the preparatory work, infrastructure development, user testing and proof-of-concept study. ⋯ The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme. MGS is supported by the UK NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections.
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Internists should expect to be the first contact for patients with rare, but highly contagious, life-threatening illnesses. Although certainly not encountered often, it is associated with significant consequences. Thus, physicians should be familiar with viral hemorrhagic fevers: filoviruses cause Ebola and Marburg fever, arenaviruses cause Lassa fever and South American hemorrhagic fevers, and the bunyaviruses cause among others Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Furthermore, physicians should be familiar with highly contagious respiratory infections, such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, pneumonic plague, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
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In order to mitigate human and financial losses as a result of future global pandemics, we must plan now. As the Ebola virus pandemic declines, we must reflect on how we have mismanaged this recent international crisis and how we can better prepare for the next global pandemic. ⋯ This editorial discusses many issues including priority emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases; the challenges of meeting international health regulations; the strengthening of global health systems; global pandemic funding; and the One Health approach to future pandemic planning. We recommend that the global health community unites to urgently address these issues in order to avoid the next humanitarian crisis.
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Observational Study
Corticosteroid therapy in critical illness due to seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Survey data suggest that Canadian intensivists administer corticosteroids to critically ill patients primarily in response to airway obstruction, perceived risk for adrenal insufficiency and hemodynamic instability. ⋯ Observational data revealed that hemodynamic instability and airway obstruction were associated with corticosteroid therapy in the critical care setting, similar to a recent survey of stated practice. Efforts to determine the effects of corticosteroids in the ICU for these specific clinical situations are warranted.