Trust for America’s Health partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to release “Outbreaks: Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases 2014” this month. The report uses the recent outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD) to identify shortcomings in the nation’s ability to manage severe infectious disease threats. The study...
“In today’s globally connected society, an infectious disease epidemic anywhere can soon become an emergency everywhere.” On October 6, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry issued Executive Order RP79, authorising the creation of the Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. This task force is a direct result of the Ebola cases...
Intelink, the United States Intelligence Community’s group of secure intranets, maintains a blog publication of multiple open-source unclassified articles, documents, maps, and directives relating to the current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak. This publication is the Intelink Ebola Digest. Updates have occurred weekly since September 8, 2014. Sources in the...
Ebola virus disease (EVD, also known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) causes an acute, serious illness that carries a fatality rate of around 50%. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), EVD first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Sudan, the other in Democratic Republic of Congo, more...
Severe disease pandemic can disrupt the security and stability of the United States, and it is essential to be prepared for such an event. Many quarantine and disease preparedness programs have been reviewed lately in light of the Ebola outbreak in Africa. On August 26, 2014, the Department of Homeland...
Executive Order (EO) 13674 of July 31, 2014, publishes a revised list of quarantinable communicable diseases, modifying EO 13295. “Based upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Acting Surgeon General, and for the purposes set forth in section 1 of Executive Order...
This summer, Brazil is expected to attract an estimated 600,000 international tourists and three million domestic travelers during the World Cup from June 12, 2014 to July 13, 2014. Because the World Cup is one of the largest international gatherings, it poses a higher risk for infectious disease outbreaks, a...
On May 12, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the United States. (The first case was reported in Chicago on May 2, 2014.)The case of a Florida man diagnosed with MERS-CoV was confirmed on May 11....
The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) has released a report to examine the United State’s policies involving the response to infectious disease threats. The report, titled “Outbreaks: Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases” examines 10 indicators in each state that offer a “composite snapshot” to show how well prepared states are...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have published a report titled, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013. The report provides a “snapshot of the burden and threats posed by the antibiotic-resistant germs having the most impact on...
