Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-09-01Epub Date: 2024-08-13DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0157
Jacob Wiersch, Elizabeth Lenz, Kelly Medero, Adam Sorenson, Jacob Fray, Kim Angell, Caroline C Persson, Maria G Frank, Connie Savor Price
{"title":"A Virtual Assessment Model for At-Home Evaluation of Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Cases.","authors":"Jacob Wiersch, Elizabeth Lenz, Kelly Medero, Adam Sorenson, Jacob Fray, Kim Angell, Caroline C Persson, Maria G Frank, Connie Savor Price","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0157","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0157","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Sudan virus disease outbreak in 2022 prompted the Denver Health High-Risk Infection Team (HITeam) to evaluate and implement novel strategies to respond to viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) events. To improve the VHF response, HITeam members developed a virtual assessment model (VAM) for at-home evaluation of individuals who are suspected of having a VHF. The VAM incorporates aspects of care that would normally be rendered in a high-level isolation unit-including assessment and monitoring, specimen collection, provider consultation, patient and family teaching, and pharmaceutical intervention-into a mobile framework in which team members respond to a suspected case at the individual's home. Building this capability allows for more thorough assessment of a suspect case in the field, as well as the postponement of a decision about activation of the high-level isolation unit until more information is available. Development, testing, and implementation of the VAM required input from an interdisciplinary group of partners that demonstrated the ability of nurses, physicians, laboratorians, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and public health personnel to integrate into 1 cohesive care team. The resulting model recenters VHF care on the patient by allowing the care team to gather critical information in an environment that is more comfortable for the suspect case while keeping communities safe and lowering exposure risks. The VAM has long-term sustainability implications for global VHF programs and provides solutions for broader challenges in healthcare by modeling cost-effective, patient-centered care within the highly nuanced subspecialty of special pathogen care.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"S104-S112"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141975592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-09-01Epub Date: 2024-08-23DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0156
Michaela Niebank, Stefan O Brockmann, Torsten Feldt, Björn-Erik Ole Jensen, Annette Jurke, Agata Mikolajewska, Katja Rothfuss, Jennifer Schauer, Stefan Schmiedel, Miriam Stegemann, Peter Tinnemann, Alexander Uhrig, Timo Wolf
{"title":"The Role of High-Level Isolation Units in Response to High-Consequence and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Experience of the German STAKOB Network.","authors":"Michaela Niebank, Stefan O Brockmann, Torsten Feldt, Björn-Erik Ole Jensen, Annette Jurke, Agata Mikolajewska, Katja Rothfuss, Jennifer Schauer, Stefan Schmiedel, Miriam Stegemann, Peter Tinnemann, Alexander Uhrig, Timo Wolf","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0156","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0156","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This case study describes the experience of the German Permanent Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centers for High Consequence Infectious Diseases, known as STAKOB (<i>Ständiger Arbeitskreis der Kompetenz- und Behandlungszentren für Krankheiten durch hochpathogene Erreger</i>). STAKOB brings together public health authorities (competence centers) and high-level isolation units (treatment centers) to collaborate on the clinical management of high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and emerging infectious diseases. The network is coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's federal public health institute. The main tasks of STAKOB are to strengthen HCID clinical and public health management and increase expert knowledge on HCID and non-HCID emerging infectious diseases in Germany. STAKOB enables the exchange of knowledge and experiences; development of guidelines on infection prevention and control measures, clinical management, and therapy; and support for the World Health Organization and other outbreak responses internationally. The past years have shown how important the STAKOB network is for Germany-not only in providing critical care for HCID cases but also increasing capacity to support public health and clinical management of emerging infectious disease cases. However, maintaining several high-level isolation units in Germany requires a high commitment of financial, material, and human resources. Due to the rarity of HCID and emerging infectious disease events, maintaining the appropriate level of preparedness and ensuring sufficient investments is an ongoing struggle. Nevertheless, it is essential to have a network ready to react to HCID and non-HCID emerging infectious diseases in times of a changing biosecurity and infectious landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"S97-S103"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142043924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-03DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0123
Lisa M Koonin, Diana Yassanye
{"title":"How Employers Impact Individual and Community Health During Public Health Emergencies: Rationale for Public Health/Private Sector Partnerships.","authors":"Lisa M Koonin, Diana Yassanye","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0123","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0123","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"330-335"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140858484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-30DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0044
Pelin Tuncer-Göktuna, Benjamin A Fontes, Can Çokçalışkan, Erdoğan Asar, Mehmet Karakaya
{"title":"Implementing an Organizational Culture of Biosafety and Biosecurity in the ŞAP Institute.","authors":"Pelin Tuncer-Göktuna, Benjamin A Fontes, Can Çokçalışkan, Erdoğan Asar, Mehmet Karakaya","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0044","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An organizational culture of biosafety and biosecurity is critical for effective management of transboundary animal diseases. One essential aspect of this work is keeping important pathogens studied in veterinary laboratories under control. Türkiye is among the countries that are both endemic and disease-free for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus, and it has a unique institute dedicated to FMD diagnosis, control, and vaccine production. To build an organizational safety culture within this institute and strengthen awareness of the importance of safe and secure handling of FMD, 4 staff members previously trained in biorisk management developed and provided trainings to all institute staff. The institute's 173 personnel were divided into 3 groups by job description based on direct or indirect work with FMD virus. All 3 groups received training that addressed biosecurity, biosafety, biorisk awareness, and insider threat; the trainings varied in length by group. Three-quarters (n=130, 75%) of all institute staff completed their training and were asked to complete knowledge surveys using a Likert scale survey before and after their training. A majority (n=104, 80%) of those participants completed both the pretraining and posttraining surveys. All 3 training groups' posttraining surveys showed improved awareness above baseline scores, and all 3 groups scores reached the targeted threshold goal. Group 2 demonstrated a realization that some of the knowledge and habits they had acquired through experience were incorrect. Scores for several individual questions decreased at posttraining, and these results will need further evaluation. The overall training results prompted the institute to provide periodic updates to employees to sustain the organizational safety culture. With this study, the institute now has a dedicated group of biorisk management representatives. This work serves as a wake-up call for established institutions that rely on staff experience to foster an organizational culture of biosafety and biosecurity.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"271-280"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141179709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-31DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0095
Maria Magdalena Guraiib, Anna Laura Ross, Andreas Frewer, Dominique Sprumont, Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki, Joan Dzenowagis, Andreas Alois Reis
{"title":"Oversight of Dual-Use Research: What Role for Ethics Committees?","authors":"Maria Magdalena Guraiib, Anna Laura Ross, Andreas Frewer, Dominique Sprumont, Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki, Joan Dzenowagis, Andreas Alois Reis","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0095","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0095","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The World Health Organization (WHO) <i>Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences</i> addresses the governance of biorisks, including dual-use research, for countries. It emphasizes engaging multisectoral stakeholders such as governments, scientific bodies, health and research institutes, standard-setting organizations, funding bodies, and others. Ethics constitutes a key component of the framework. Given the high social impact of such research and the importance of trust, risk, and benefit, national ethics committees could make a valuable contribution by providing ethical guidance in the decisionmaking process. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of national ethics committees in the context of governance and oversight of dual-use research at the national level. We conducted a landscape analysis of the activities of ethics committees in dual-use research oversight. We also searched the WHO database on National Ethics Committees for publications related to dual-use research and/or misuse of life sciences research and gathered additional documentation from national ethics committees websites and through author contacts. Results showed that in the context of the wide range of oversight mechanisms for dual-use research in countries, national ethics committees have contributed to guiding policy and assessing dual-use research risks in only a limited number of countries. Recommendations from those countries include establishing a multistakeholder, coordinated oversight mechanism at the country level; strengthening international linkages to guide, harmonize, and reinforce national and international efforts; and involving ethics committees as an expert resource in the governance and oversight process.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"281-293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141261017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-07DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0114
Willeke A C Duffhues, Dennis G Barten, Harald De Cauwer, Luc Mortelmans, Frits van Osch, Derrick Tin, Marion P G Koopmans, Gregory Ciottone
{"title":"Worldwide Trends in COVID-19-Related Attacks Against Healthcare: A Review of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition Database.","authors":"Willeke A C Duffhues, Dennis G Barten, Harald De Cauwer, Luc Mortelmans, Frits van Osch, Derrick Tin, Marion P G Koopmans, Gregory Ciottone","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0114","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, violence targeting healthcare reportedly increased. Attacks against healthcare can severely hamper the public health response during a pandemic. Descriptive data analysis of these attacks may be helpful to develop prevention and mitigation strategies. This study aimed to investigate trends regarding COVID-19-related attacks against healthcare from January 2020 until January 2023. COVID-19-related incidents occurring between January 2020 and January 2023 were extracted from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition database and screened for eligibility. Included incidents were linked to COVID-19 health measures or were attacks directly interfering with COVID-19 healthcare, including conflict-related attacks. Data collected per incident included temporal factors; country; setting; attack and weapon type; perpetrator; motive; number of healthcare workers (HCWs) killed, injured, or kidnapped; and health facility damage. The study identified 255 COVID-19-related attacks against healthcare, with 18 HCWs killed, 147 HCWs injured, and 86 facilities damaged. The highest attack frequency was reported during the beginning of the pandemic and predominantly concerned stigma-related attacks against healthcare. Reported incidents in 2021 included attacks targeting vaccination campaigns, as well as conflict-related attacks interfering with COVID-19 healthcare. COVID-19-related attacks against healthcare occurred in heterogeneous contexts throughout the pandemic. Due to underreporting, the data presented are a minimum estimate of the actual magnitude of violence. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of public education campaigns, improved coordination between healthcare organizations and law enforcement, and the possible need to bolster the security of medical facilities and health workers.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"294-303"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140891843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-07DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0170
James W Le Duc, Scott C Weaver
{"title":"A Bottom-Up Approach to Biosecurity.","authors":"James W Le Duc, Scott C Weaver","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0170","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0170","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"343-346"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140891824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01Epub Date: 2024-05-30DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0090
Xuan Huang, Feng Ren, Min Liu, Pin Jin, Yifan Sun
{"title":"Systematic Research and Application of a 5G Medical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Deliver COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Samples.","authors":"Xuan Huang, Feng Ren, Min Liu, Pin Jin, Yifan Sun","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0090","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0090","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of COVID-19 throat swab samples delivered by medical drones in epidemic prevention and control. This study was carried out in both southern and northern hospital districts of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University from May to October 2022. The main participants were the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University and Zhejiang Antwork Technology Co., Ltd. We first constructed an urban medical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery system and developed a UAV-specific storage box for COVID-19 samples. The UAV system was used to transport COVID-19 throat swab samples from the northern hospital district to the southern hospital district, and the following indexes were obtained: (1) flight time of COVID-19 samples delivered by UAV, (2) real-time temperature of COVID-19 nucleic acid samples during transportation, and (3) the time of distribution of COVID-19 nucleic acid samples by road traffic as measured using the Baidu Maps application, compared with the flight time of UAV. The COVID-19 sample delivery system for urban medical UAV mainly consists of intelligent logistics UAV, low-temperature COVID-19 throat swab sample storage box, unmanned logistics hub, and cloud operation control platform. The flight distance between the northern and southern districts of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University was 10 km, and the ground distance was 24 km. From May 11 to October 28, 2022, a total of 1,190 UAV flights occurred. The average flight time was 13 minutes, which was 40 to 70 minutes faster than the average road travel time required for manual delivery of COVID-19 throat swab samples. At different time points in the day, UAV delivery efficiency increased by 67.5% to 82%. The use of 5G with the Internet of Things and UAV technology to deliver nucleic acid samples has the characteristics of fast speed, being unaffected by ground traffic conditions, and the ability to ensure the safety of nucleic acid samples in the transportation process, which is worthy of further study.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"304-310"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141179702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-08-01DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0136
Gillian K SteelFisher, Mary G Findling, Hannah L Caporello, Rebekah I Stein, Keri M Lubell, Allison M Fisher, Lindsay A Lane, Alyssa Boyea, Laura Espino, Jazmyne Sutton
{"title":"Public Willingness to Mask and Vaccinate in the Future: Results From a 2023 Nationally Representative Survey of US Adults.","authors":"Gillian K SteelFisher, Mary G Findling, Hannah L Caporello, Rebekah I Stein, Keri M Lubell, Allison M Fisher, Lindsay A Lane, Alyssa Boyea, Laura Espino, Jazmyne Sutton","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2023.0136","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The enduring spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses highlights a need for greater focus on long-term public willingness to perform protective behaviors. Although COVID-19 is no longer considered a public health emergency of international concern, it is unknown whether people in the United States plan to continue protective behaviors to protect themselves and others against infection. To inform planning and communications, we used a nationally representative survey of 1,936 US adults to examine attitudes and intentions toward future vaccination and mask-wearing. A majority believed COVID-19 vaccines were safe (73%) and effective in protecting against serious illness (72%). One-third (33%) had strong intentions to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine most years in the future. Among those with weaker intentions (n=1,287), many cited concerns about safety (71%) and efficacy (64%), lack of trust in institutions (64%), or beliefs that prior vaccination or infection protected them (62%). Approximately two-thirds (69%) of respondents believed masks were effective in protecting the wearer from getting COVID-19, and a majority appeared moderately receptive to future public mask-wearing, particularly when there was proximate risk of infection from COVID-19 (67%) or other respiratory viruses (59%). Men, non-Hispanic White adults, younger adults, rural residents, and adults with higher incomes, without college degrees, and without serious medical conditions or physical limitations were more likely to indicate resistance toward future COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask-wearing. Findings support tailored messaging to address concerns and opportunities among different populations, as well as support for communications programs and community engagement to motivate future uptake.</p>","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":"22 4","pages":"311-323"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142017244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Health SecurityPub Date : 2024-06-01Epub Date: 2024-05-08DOI: 10.1089/hs.2023.0026
Lewis R Grant
{"title":"Lessons Learned From the Kyrgyz Republic's Public Health Response to COVID-19.","authors":"Lewis R Grant","doi":"10.1089/hs.2023.0026","DOIUrl":"10.1089/hs.2023.0026","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12955,"journal":{"name":"Health Security","volume":" ","pages":"263-269"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140898034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}