Toward a Containment Strategy for Smallpox Bioterror

Toward a Containment Strategy for Smallpox Bioterror
Author: Joshua M. Epstein
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2004-04-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780815796459

In the United States, routine smallpox vaccination ended in 1972. The level of immunity remaining in the U.S. population is uncertain, but is generally assumed to be quite low. Smallpox is a deadly and infectious pathogen with a fatality rate of 30 percent. If smallpox were successfully deployed as an agent of bioterrorism today, the public health and economic consequences could be devastating. Toward a Containment Strategy for Smallpox Bioterror describes the scientific results and policy implications of a simulation of a smallpox epidemic in a two-town county. The model was developed by an interdisicplinary team from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Brookings Institution Center on Social and Economic Dynamics, employing agent-based and other advanced computational techniques. Such models are playing a critical role in the crafting of a national strategy for the containment of smallpox by providing public health policymakers with a variety of novel and feasible approaches to vaccination and isolation under different circumstances. The extension of these techniques to the containment of emerging pathogens, such as SARS, is discussed. About the Authors Joshua M. Epstein and Shubha Chakravarty are with the Brookings Institution. Derek A. T. Cummings, Ramesh M. Singha, and Donald S. Burke are with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease

Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2007-07-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309107695

In recent public workshops and working group meetings, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has examined a variety of infectious disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, including those caused by influenza (IOM, 2005) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (IOM, 2004). Particular attention has been paid to the potential pandemic threat posed by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which is now endemic in many Southeast Asian bird populations. Since 2003, the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza has caused 185 confirmed human deaths in 11 countries, including some cases of viral transmission from human to human (WHO, 2007). But as worrisome as these developments are, at least they are caused by known pathogens. The next pandemic could well be caused by the emergence of a microbe that is still unknown, much as happened in the 1980s with the emergence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and in 2003 with the appearance of the SARS coronavirus. Previous Forum meetings on pandemic disease have discussed the scientific and logistical challenges associated with pandemic disease recognition, identification, and response. Participants in these earlier meetings also recognized the difficulty of implementing disease control strategies effectively. Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease: Workshop Summary as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.

Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Live Variola Virus

Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Live Variola Virus
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 126
Release: 1999-04-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309173191

In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that smallpox had been eradicated. In 1986, WHO's international Ad Hoc Committee on Orthopox Virus Infections unanimously recommended destruction of the two remaining official stocks of variola virus, one at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the other at the VECTOR laboratory in Siberia. In June 1999, WHO decided to delay the destruction of these stocks. Informing that decision was Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Variola Virus, which examines: Whether the sequenced variola genome, vaccinia, and monkey pox virus are adequate for future research or whether the live variola virus itself is needed to assist in the development of antiviral therapies. What further benefits, if any, would likely be gained through the use of variola in research and development efforts related to agent detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. What unique potential benefits, if any, the study of variola would have in increasing our fundamental understanding of the biology, host-agent interactions, pathogenesis, and immune mechanisms of viral diseases.

New Horizons in Modeling and Simulation for Social Epidemiology and Public Health

New Horizons in Modeling and Simulation for Social Epidemiology and Public Health
Author: Daniel Kim
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2021-01-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1118589424

An introduction to state-of-the-art modeling and simulation approaches for social and economic determinants of population health New Horizons in Modeling and Simulation for Social Epidemiology and Public Health offers a comprehensive introduction to modeling and simulation that addresses the many complex research questions in social epidemiology and public health. This book highlights a variety of practical applications and illustrative examples with a focus on modeling and simulation approaches for the social and economic determinants of population health. The book contains classic case examples in agent-based modeling (ABM) as well as essential information on ABM applications to public health including for infectious disease modeling, obesity, and tobacco control. This book also surveys applications of microsimulation (MSM) including of tax-benefit policies to project impacts of the social determinants of health. Specifically, this book: Provides an overview of the social determinants of health and the public health significance of addressing the social determinants of health Gives a conceptual foundation for the application of ABM and MSM to study the social determinants of health Offers methodological introductions to both ABM and MSM approaches with illustrative examples Includes cutting-edge systematic reviews of empirical applications of ABM and MSM in the social sciences, social epidemiology, and public health Discusses future directions for empirical research using ABM and MSM, including integrating aspects of both ABM and MSM and implications for public health policies Written for a broad audience of policy analysts, public planners, and researchers and practitioners in public health and public policy including social epidemiologists, New Horizons in Modeling and Simulation for Social Epidemiology and Public Health offers a fundamental guide to the social determinants of health and state-of-the-art applications of ABM and MSM to studying the social and economic determinants of population health.

Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents

Bioterrorism and Infectious Agents
Author: I.W. Fong
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2010-03-18
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1441912665

Compiled by two leading experts in the field, this volume provides a concise, timely, and authoritative review of some of the most problematic infections of the new century. It presents issues and new ideas for preventing and controlling infectious diseases.

Infectious Disease Informatics and Biosurveillance

Infectious Disease Informatics and Biosurveillance
Author: Daniel Zeng
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 531
Release: 2010-11-16
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 144196892X

This book on Infectious Disease Informatics (IDI) and biosurveillance is intended to provide an integrated view of the current state of the art, identify technical and policy challenges and opportunities, and promote cross-disciplinary research that takes advantage of novel methodology and what we have learned from innovative applications. This book also fills a systemic gap in the literature by emphasizing informatics driven perspectives (e.g., information system design, data standards, computational aspects of biosurveillance algorithms, and system evaluation). Finally, this book attempts to reach policy makers and practitioners through the clear and effective communication of recent research findings in the context of case studies in IDI and biosurveillance, providing “hands-on” in-depth opportunities to practitioners to increase their understanding of value, applicability, and limitations of technical solutions. This book collects the state of the art research and modern perspectives of distinguished individuals and research groups on cutting-edge IDI technical and policy research and its application in biosurveillance. The contributed chapters are grouped into three units. Unit I provides an overview of recent biosurveillance research while highlighting the relevant legal and policy structures in the context of IDI and biosurveillance ongoing activities. It also identifies IDI data sources while addressing information collection, sharing, and dissemination issues as well as ethical considerations. Unit II contains survey chapters on the types of surveillance methods used to analyze IDI data in the context of public health and bioterrorism. Specific computational techniques covered include: text mining, time series analysis, multiple data streams methods, ensembles of surveillance methods, spatial analysis and visualization, social network analysis, and agent-based simulation. Unit III examines IT and decision support for public health event response and bio-defense. Practical lessons learned in developing public health and biosurveillance systems, technology adoption, and syndromic surveillance for large events are discussed. The goal of this book is to provide an understandable interdisciplinary IDI and biosurveillance reference either used as a standalone textbook or reference for students, researchers, and practitioners in public health, veterinary medicine, biostatistics, information systems, computer science, and public administration and policy.

Applied Spatial Modelling and Planning

Applied Spatial Modelling and Planning
Author: John R. Lombard
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317406729

This book highlights the extraordinary range of areas to which geographical analysis and spatial modelling can bring lessons and insights. It shows how these techniques have been used to address ‘real world’ issues that are of concern to international organisations, public agencies and businesses, as illustrated by actual funded projects that geographers have developed collaboratively with end-users. Applied Spatial Modelling and Planning shows how much geographical research is policy relevant to a wide variety of agencies through the use of GIS and spatial modelling in applied geography. The book’s chapters contain a cross-section of innovative applications and approaches to problem solving within five major domains of the dynamics of economic space, housing and settlements, population movements and population ageing, health care, and the environment. Using a number of case studies on the use of GIS and spatial modelling, this book demonstrates the fact that much of what is done by quantitative geographers is not only relevant within academia, but also has use in policy work. This book will appeal to an international audience interested in cutting-edge spatial modelling to better understand the processes involved in solving real problems.

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Publisher: IOS Press
Total Pages: 3525
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