Health emergencies

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "Emergency Response Card for Sarin." Interim Document March 20,2003. 

Institute of Medicine (2003) Microbial threats to health emergence, detection, and response. National Academies Press, Washington... 

Botulism is a potent neurotoxin produced from Clostridium botulinum that is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium. There are three different types ofbotulism Foodborne botulism occurs when a person ingests a pre-formed toxin that leads to illness within a few hours or days. Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because the contaminated food may still be available. Infant botulism occurs in a small number of susceptible infants each year who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tract. Wound botulism occurs when wounds are infected with C. botulinum that secretes the toxin. Approximately 100 cases of the three types of botulism are reported within the United States each year about 5 percent are wound botulism, 25 percent are foodborne botulism, and a full 70 percent are infant botulism. Death can result from respiratory failure, but those who survive may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years. 

How many people would have to get smallpox before it is considered an outbreak One suspected case of smallpox is considered a public health emergency. Smallpox surveillance in the United States includes detecting a suspected case or cases, making a definitive diagnosis with rapid laboratory confirmation at CDC, and preventing further smallpox transmission. A suspected smallpox case should be reported immediately by telephone to state or local health officials. They should immediately obtain advice regarding isolation of the patient or patients, and on laboratory specimen collection. State or local health officials should notify CDC immediately at (404) 639-2184 or (404) 639-0385 if a suspected case of smallpox is reported. 

Vaccine liability issues were also covered in Section 304 of the Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002as amended in April 2003, in which Congress enacted liability protection for manufacturers of smallpox vaccines. Vaccine liability can be handled in four different ways the government can substitute itself as the defendant, it can decide nobody need be liable and provide no-fault compensation, it can indemnify manufacturers after they have been sued and lost, or it can alter the normal rules of litigation. In the HSA, the government substitutes itself as the defendant if the HHS Secretary declares an actual or potential bioterrorist incident or other actual or potential public health emergency makes advisable the administration of a covered countermeasure," such as a vaccine. Secretary Tommy Thompson issued the first such declaration on January 24, 2003. 

The IHR (2005) require Member States to notify WHO of all events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern and to respond to requests for verification of information regarding such events. This will enable WHO to ensure appropriate technical collaboration for effective prevention of such emergencies or containment of outbreaks and, under certain defined circumstances, inform other States of the pubhc health risks where action is necessary on their part. 

To assess events occurring in their territory and to notify the WHO of all events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern... 

Determining whether or not a particular event reported by a state under the regulations constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, with advice from external experts if required Developing and recommending the critical health measures for implementation by states/parties... 

Smith, A. H., Lingas, E. O. and Rahman, M. (2000). Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh a public health emergency. Bull World Health Org, 78(9), 1093-1103. 

Atakan Z, Davies T. ABC of mental health. Mental health emergencies. BMJ 1997 314(7096) 1740-2. 

Gostin, Lawrence O. 2004. Pandemic Influenza Public Health Preparedness for the Next Global Health Emergency. American Journal of Law, Medicine Ethics Winter 565-573. 

Institute of Medicine. 1992. Committee on Emerging Microbial Threats to Health. Emerging Infections Microbial Threats to Health in the United States, eds. Joshua Lederberg, Robert E. Sharpe, and Stanley C. Oaks Jr. Washington, DC National Academy Press. 

Though usually entirely curable with relatively inexpensive medications, TB kills almost as many as AIDS does each year. Declared a global health emergency by the... 

By definition, Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) encompasses both the public and the private sector and also encompasses systems in agriculture, food, water, public health, emergency services, government, defense industry, information and telecommunications, energy,... 

Seven months after that, the industry lost again, this time in a fight over World Trade Organization rules allowing poor countries to make and acquire generic versions of expensive brand-name drugs if they determine there s a public health emergency. 

Visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness at http //www.hhs.gov/ophep/. What is the purpose of this agency Find the National Disaster Medical System (http //www.ndms.dhhs.gov/index. html). Why was this system developed, and what are the responsibilities of the teams How do you join a team How are teams notified of current national conditions ... 

For purposes of a national health emergency, such as pandemic influenza, the NRP outlines the broad objectives of the federal government as... 

Has primary responsibility for public health and medical emergency planning, preparations and response to a naturally occurring outbreak from an emerging infectious disease and its own authority to declare a public health emergency. 

Other Departments and Agencies Support public health emergencies according to their outlined roles and responsibilities in ESF and support, and incident annexes. 

The MSEHPA would address the issue of confidentiality in two ways. First, access to health information of a person who has participated in medical testing, treatment, vaccination, isolation, or quarantine programs or efforts by the public health authority during a public health emergency is limited. Only persons who will provide treatment, conduct epidemiological research, or investigate the causes of transmission may gain access to this information (MSEHPA, 2002, 607(a)). 

Ethically, the restriction of movement of a potentially infectious person is highly problematic. It violates the core of the ANA Code of Ethics, respect for the inherent dignity of individuals—the nurse s primary commitment to the patient (ANA, 2001). In the event of a public health emergency, a nurse may have a corresponding obligation to the community. The nurse should work to resolve the dilemma in such a way to ensure patient safety, guard the patient s best interests and preserve the professional integrity of the nurse (ANA, 2001, p. 10). 

Historically, nurses have responded quickly during public health emergencies. The events following 9/11 provide a case in point. Hospitals in and around New York City mobilized disaster teams, ready to receive casualties. In New York City, nurses saw the World Trade Center collapse and immediately reported to work (New York State Nurses Association, 2002). Around the state and in neighboring states nurses mobilized to receive casualties. This response was, in part, the routine disaster plan of every hospital in the New York City region, but above and beyond disaster plans, nurses went to work. Within hours the New York State Nurses Association was fielding calls from nurses across the country volunteering to help out in any way they could. 

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