All emergency service/military/medical personnel are potentially subjected to biohazards/infectious diseases during the course of their duty. In light of these hazards, ERRI is proud to present additional information regarding these concerns.
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Infectious Disease Links we can recommend:
General Resources:
Information About
Anthrax and BioterrorismBird Flu (H5N1) Concerns Continue to Multiply
VIET NAM/GERMANY: Reports emerged on 01 February 2004, that World Health Organization (WHO) officials suspect that two sisters who recently died from avian influenza may have contracted the virus from their brother, making the infection the first suspected case of person-to-person transmission. The parents of the children were also apparently infected with the virus. WHO officials have been very concerned about the prospect of the virus being transmitted from "person to person" due to concerns of a potential "pandemic." Authorities are still testing to identify the actual method of transmission.
In related news, health officials suspect that two women who recently returned from Thailand may have contracted the bird flu virus (avian influenza). After displaying symptoms one of the women has been hospitalized while the other remains under observation, but has not yet shown any symptoms. The potential outbreak in Europe comes after a wave of infections and approximately 12 deaths in Asia, and would be the first case contracted within Europe this year. Click here for a "Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Outbreak" (H5N1) page on the CDC website...
Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome
(Atypical Pneumonia)
Special Report
by EmergencyNet News, (W/ Extensive Reference from the U.S. Center For
Disease Control)
11 Feb 2003 to Present
Small Pox Information
Fact on the the Disease ( printable .pdf also available on webpage)
The Smallpox Vaccine - overview ( printable .pdf also available on webpage)
13 Dec 2002: President Bush Delivers Remarks on Smallpox (with additional fact sheets)
Smallpox: What you need to
know...Answers on the risks, benefits of the vaccine
Q & A from MSNBC
Hepatitis-C (HCV) Information: (March, 2000)
Due to the recent interest of a number of emergency responders and response agencies, the following references are provided with regard to Hepatitis C
EBOLA Net Resources
"Backgrounders" on Potential Biowarfare/Infectious Disease Agents from DoD
CDC BIOTERRORISM REPORTS
The CDC has issued a special edition (Vol. 5, No. 4: July–August, 1999) of its Emerging Infection Diseases series. In this issue are numerous excellent articles concerning the threat of a possible bio-terrorist attack on the United States. It is highly recommended reading by ERRI analysts and can be accessed at:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/index.htm
Articles, Recommendations, and Information
CDC/ASIA: The incidence of a
particularly lethal variation of influenza in Southeast Asia is probably
greater than has been reported so far, a flu expert at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.
Since January 2004, an estimated 69 people, primarily in Vietnam, have
contracted a type of influenza commonly referred to as "bird flu." The
fatality rate among those reported to have the disease is about 70 per cent.
But Dr. Keiji Fukuda said he suspects there are more cases.
Update:
Notice to Travelers about Avian Influenza A (H5N1)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
since the beginning of March 2005, an additional 10 cases of human infection
with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus have been confirmed by the Ministry of
Health in Vietnam; 3 of the cases were fatal. The official notification to
WHO of these recent cases, some of which date back to late January, is based
on new reporting procedures established by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health
in collaboration with WHO staff. CDC is in communication with WHO and
continues to closely monitor the H5N1 situation in Asia. CDC has not
recommended that the general public avoid travel to any of the countries
affected by H5N1.
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/avian_flu_ah5n1_031605.htm
Key Facts About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and
Avian Influenza
A (H5N1) Virus – updated
The question: ‘How are bird flu viruses different
from human flu viruses' has been updated on this page.
03 June 2001
ALLIANCE, OHIO:
Meningitis Causes Massive Public Concern
More than 10,000 people, some fearful of contact with their family and friends, lined up at hospitals for preventative antibiotics after a meningitis outbreak killed two high school students and left a third teen-ager seriously ill. Health officials began handing out antibiotics on Saturday when an 18-year-old female was hospitalized with an unidentified strain of Neisseria meningitis. She was listed in serious condition. A 15-year-old boy died on 23 May, and a 16-year-old female died on 25 May after being diagnosed with identical strains of Neisseria meningitis.
With some medical experts suggesting that treating 10,000
people with antibiotics is unnecessary and engaging in "over-reaction,"
Atlanta-based Center For Disease Control (CDC) officials are reportedly
enroute to Ohio to assist local authorities in determining the seriousness and
implications of the three cases diagnosed so far. While everyone wants to err
on the side of caution, most infectious disease specialists recommend that
only those actually closely exposed to a person with known or suspected
meningitis should be given prophylactic medications.
Click
here to access a CDC factsheet on Meningitis
Source: U.S. Center For Disease Control (CDC)
"Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of wild and domestic animals. It primarily affects cattle and pigs, but infections can also occur in sheep, deer, and other cloven-hooved animals.
Infections in humans are extremely rare. The disease has not been reported in the United States since 1929. However, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease is occurring in the United Kingdom and has received considerable attention in the media recently.
For general information about foot-and-mouth disease, please visit the "Foot-and-Mouth Disease" page at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/fmd/index.html on the US Department of Agriculture Web site.
For information about the outbreak of this disease in
the United Kingdom, please visit the "Foot and Mouth Disease"
page at http://www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/default.htm
on the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Web site."
Resource Notification:
November 6, 2000
The General Accounting Office (GAO) today released the following reports and correspondence:
REPORTS:
1. Influenza
Pandemic: Plan Needed for Federal and State Response. GAO-01-4, October 27.
(requires .PDF Adobe Acrobat reader)
10 June 2000
New West Nile Fears Arise Following Discovery of Dead Birds
The discovery of three crows found dead of the West Nile virus in New York and New Jersey has dashed any hopes that the mosquito-borne virus may have died out over the winter. Two dead crows found in Rockland County tested positive for the virus. The third was found in River Edge, New Jersey, Last year, West Nile -- first misdiagnosed as St. Louis encephalitis -- killed six people in New York City and one in Westchester and sickened more than 60 others. It also was blamed for hundreds of bird deaths -- mostly crows -- in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. None said it would automatically mean a return to the widespread aerial spraying that was undertaken last year.
03 Aug 2000
PHILADELPHIA, PA:
Firefighters/Paramedics Rally to Protest CDC Report on Hepatitis-C Report
More than 1,800 firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, upset by a recent CDC report (see URL below) that alleges that emergency responder's exposure rates to the debilitating and potentially deadly hepatitis-C virus are no greater than the general population, rallied and peacefully marched to the Liberty Bell in protest in Philadelphia on Thursday.
"We stand behind our science," said Deblina Datta, MD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Hepatitis Branch. "We have a scientific agenda, which is to present the best available science," she said. "I think our study was based on scientific findings and I think we presented our findings." (Photo: Courtesy of Kevin Turner/ Firehouse.Com)
Resource Notification - 01 Aug 2000:
Hepatitis C Virus Infection
CDC's MMWR on "Hepatitis C Virus Infection among firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics" ERRI's infectious disease specialists have not had time to review it or comment on it yet, but due to intense interest in this topic, we wanted to pass it along for your immediate review... The URL is:
More information, articles, and recommendations...Coming Soon!
Page Moderator: Liz Staten-BS, EMT-P, Designated Infectious Disease Officer, Chicago Fire
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