NJCPHP News PHlash
DECEMBER 27, 2008 - JANUARY 9, 2009
THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ- SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Indonesia runs tsunami practice drills- Reuters (12/27/08)
[2] Researchers unlock secrets of 1918 flu pandemic- Reuters (12/29/08)
[3] Roll up your sleeves for drive-thru flu shots- Pensacola News Journal
(1/7/09)
[4] CDC investigating salmonella outbreak in 42 states- CNN (1/8/09)
[5] No dangerous changes seen in Hong Kong H9N2 virus- CIDRAP (1/8/09)
II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Public Health Preparedness Summit
[2] Program on Science and Global Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity,
Biotechnology, and Global Health" seminar series
[3] The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference
[4] Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs)
[2] Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER)
[3] Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness
[4] FirstResponder.gov
[5] AHRQ Releases Hospital Surge Capacity Tool for Disaster Planning
[6] NJHA issues pandemic flu planning tool
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Indonesia runs tsunami practice drills- Reuters (12/27/08)
Approximately 2,000 Indonesians gathered in the city of Manado, on the
northern tip of Indonesia's Sulawesi island, to practice and prepare for the
unthinkable -- a huge tsunami. The drill comes one day after the fourth
anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that smashed coastal
villages in parts of Asia on December 26, 2004, killing about 230,000
people. Indonesia's archipelago, in an area of intense seismic activity, is
particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and the risk of another tsunami just
like the one in 2004. Since then, Indonesia's government has taken measures
to improve readiness for such disasters. It has installed an expensive
warning system, and staged periodic evacuation drills. Some 15,000 people
had been expected to attend the Manado tsunami drill, but heavy rain kept
many away. Sirens boomed to signal a magnitude-8 earthquake, sending people
scurrying through the pouring rain to higher ground for safety. Police and
soldiers kept order and simulated the rescue of those trapped inside a
shopping mall and in two-storey shops, while emergency services were tested
for their readiness.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081227/wl_nm/us_indonesia_tsunami_drill
[2] Researchers unlock secrets of 1918 flu pandemic- Reuters (12/29/08)
Researchers have found out what made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly -- a
group of three genes that lets the virus invade the lungs and cause
pneumonia. They mixed samples of the 1918 influenza strain with modern
seasonal flu viruses to find the three genes and said their study might help
in the development of new flu drugs.
The discovery, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, could also point to mutations that might turn ordinary flu into a
dangerous pandemic strain. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin
and colleagues at the Universities of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan used ferrets,
which develop flu in ways very similar to humans. "The 1918 influenza
pandemic was the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease in human
history, accounting for about 50 million deaths worldwide," Kawaoka's team
wrote. It killed 2.5 percent of victims, compared to fewer than 1 percent
during most annual flu epidemics. Autopsies showed many of the victims,
often otherwise healthy young adults, died of severe pneumonia. "We wanted
to know why the 1918 flu caused severe pneumonia," Kawaoka said in a
statement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081229/sc_nm/us_flu1918
[3] Roll up your sleeves for drive-thru flu shots- Pensacola News Journal
(1/7/09)
The Santa Rosa County Health Department in Floriday will be conducting three
Drive-Thru to Fight the Flu events at which county citizens who are at least
18 years of age can get free flu shots on a first come, first served basis,
while supplies last. The health department is conducting Drive-Thru to Fight
the Flu as part of a training exercise to test the emergency response
capabilities needed to distribute preventive antibiotics or vaccinations to
large numbers of people during a public health emergency such as a large
scale disease outbreak or bioterrorism event. In an actual emergency, the
health department would utilize a Point of Dispensing (POD) system, much
like these drive-thru clinics, to treat citizens potentially exposed to a
disease or contaminated material. "While our citizens will enjoy the
benefits of a free flu shot, our health department staff will get hands-on
training that will prepare us to respond to public health emergencies,"
Jacobs said. "This allows us to practice our POD operations, and determine
if adjustments are needed to improve our effectiveness."
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090107/NEWS05/901070310/1006/NEWS01
[4] CDC investigating salmonella outbreak in 42 states- CNN (1/8/09)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with public health
officials in 42 states to determine the cause of an outbreak of a particular
type of salmonella called Typhimurium. According to CDC sources, at least
388 people have been infected with this strain since September 3, and
approximately 69 people have been hospitalized. The CDC has not identified
what food or foods might be causing this outbreak. It is also not yet
releasing a list states involved in the investigation, which they say is
ongoing. CDC officials and state public health workers are conducting case
control studies, which means they're tracking down people who have been
infected as early as September to determine what they may have consumed, to
find a common cause. The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture are in contact with the CDC, but without a
determination of the cause of the outbreak, their involvement is limited.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/08/salmonella.outbreak.cdc/index.html
[5] No dangerous changes seen in Hong Kong H9N2 virus- CIDRAP (1/8/09)
Hong Kong health officials reported that the H9N2 avian influenza virus that
recently infected a 2-month-old girl from mainland China has not acquired
any genes from human-adapted flu viruses, implying that it is unlikely to
pose a major danger to humans. In a news release, the Centre for Health
Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong's Department of Health said genetic sequencing
has shown that all the virus's genes are of avian origin. "DNA sequences of
the genes concerned show that they are of avian origin, and reassortment
with genes of human influenza origin has not been found," an anonymous CHP
spokesman said in the release. "The epidemiological and genetic findings so
far suggest that the H9N2 virus has shown no signs of increased risk for
human-to-human transmission," he said. The spokesman said the virus is very
similar to an H9N2 virus isolated from a 9-month-old girl in Hong Kong in
2007. He added that the virus has been found to be sensitive to the
antiviral drugs oseltamivir and amantadine.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/jan0709avia
n.html
II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Public Health Preparedness Summit
When: February 18-20, 2009
Where: San Diego, CA
The 2009 Public Health Preparedness Summit- The Changing Face of Preparedness will be held February 19-20, 2009 in San Diego, CA. The Summit will include exhibitors, plenary sessions, workshops, and discussions. The featured speaker will be Amanda Ripley, Senior Time Magazine Writer- Homeland Security and Risk. For more information and to register: http://www.phprep.org/
[2] Program on Science and Global Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity,
Biotechnology, and Global Health" seminar series
When: multiple dates
Where: Carl Icahn building Room 280, Princeton, NJ from 12:30pm to 2pm
Please mark your calendar for the upcoming Program on Science and Global Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity, Biotechnology, and Global Health" seminar series sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation. All seminars will take place at the Carl Icahn building Room 280 from 12:30 to 2pm unless otherwise noted. Lunch will be served.
The schedule is as follows:
Feb. 20: George Hughes, Senior Advisor, Counterterrorism and Intelligence, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. Title: " FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations: Preventing Counterfeit Drugs and Corporate Espionage"
Mar 6: Margaret Race, Ph.D. , Principal Investigator, Planetary Protection and Risk Communiation, SETI Intitute, Mountain View, CA. Title: “Biosafety, biosecurity and biocontainment-- the rocky road ahead.”
Mar 13: Marc Ostfield, PhD., Former Senior Advisor-Bioterrorism, Biodefense, and Health Security. U.S. Department of State, Office of International Health and Biodefense. Title: “Bioterrorism, Counterterrorism, Science and Foreign Policy: Challenges at the Intersection with National Security.”
Mar 27: DA Henderson, MD, MPH , Professor, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine. Resident Scholar at the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Title: “Smallpox eradication: What it taught us or did it?”
Apr 3: Victor W. Sidel, MD, Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Weill Medical College, Cornell University. Title: "The Saga of Anthrax"
Apr 17: Maureen Ellis, PhD, Senior Biosecurity Advisor, Global Partnership Program—IGX. Foreign Affairs And International Trade, Canada. Title: “Supporting Biosecurity in Countries of the Former Soviet Union"
May 1: Kristine Smith, DVM, Assistant Director for Field Programs Global Health Programs ,Wildlife Conservation Society Title: “Zoonotic disease: minimizing risk in a global society.”
May 8: Michael Oborne, PhD, Director, Multidisciplinary Issues OECD International Futures Programme. Title: “Building international consensus on biosecurity - the experience of the OECD".
Any questions, please contact Laura Kahn at lkahn@princeton.edu or 609 258 6763. For additional information please see our website at: http://www.princeton.edu/~globsec/BW_series/index.html
[3] The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference
When: May 4-8, 2009
Where: Tropicana Resort and Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference will be held May 4-8, 2009 in Atlantic City, NJ. The conference will offer programs to best serve the needs of New Jersey’s Emergency Managers and the private partners in the emergency management community. The goal is to present timely and informative, up-to-date preparedness information and training to better prepare Emergency Managers and ultimately the public served. Cost of the conference will be $75 until Sunday, March 15, 2009 then $100 until Wednesday, April 29, 2009. On site registration will be $125. For more information, visit: http://www.njepa.org/mainpages/conference.asp
[4] Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After
When: On-going
Where: National September 11 Memorial & Museum website
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum launched a new on-demand
webcast series, “Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After.” The series
examines the continuing global impact of the 9/11 attacks, presenting expert
analysis of the emergence of Al-Qaeda, the events leading up to 9/11 and the
effects of the attacks on the United States and the global community. Each
month, new interviews will be added to the series. “Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After” can be viewed at
http://www.national911memorial.org/new_history_exploring
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs)
The Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs) is an online module which provides an
introductory training to health educators and other individuals who might be
called upon to perform health education tasks during a public health
emergency. The training will describe the importance of health education
during a public health emergency, explain the role of health educators and
explain health education surge capacity and why it is important. The program
is provided by and in partnership with the NJCPHP at UMDNJ-SPH, NJDHSS and
NJSOPHE. Visit https://njlmn.rutgers.edu/cdr/jsp/heroes2/player.html
[2] Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER)
MCEER is a national center of excellence dedicated to the discovery and
development of new knowledge, tools and technologies that equip communities
to become more disaster resilient in the face of earthquakes and other
extreme events. MCEER accomplishes this through a system of
multidisciplinary, multi-hazard research, education and outreach
initiatives. Among other items, there is a series of reports on Hurricanes
Katrina/Rita at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/publications/Katrina/default.asp
[3] Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness
The Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness is a gateway to freely
available online resources related to public heath preparedness. Resources
include expert guidelines, factsheets, websites, research reports, articles,
and other tools aimed at the public health community. All resources are
cataloged and may be searched by keyword or browsed by topic.
http://www.phpreparedness.info/
[4] FirstResponder.gov
FirstResponder.gov, is a website created by the Department of Homeland
Security. Its mission is to provide a portal that enables Federal, State,
Local, and Tribal First Responders to easily access and leverage federal web
services, information on resources, products, standards, testing and
evaluation, and best practices, in a collaborative environment.
http://www.firstresponder.gov/
[5] AHRQ Releases Hospital Surge Capacity Tool for Disaster Planning
HHS¹ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new Web-based
interactive tool to help hospitals and emergency planners identify resource
requirements to treat an influx of patients due to major disasters such as
an influenza pandemic or a terrorist attack. The Hospital Surge Model
provides essential resource information for emergency planning strategies.
It is able to estimate, by day, the number and flow of casualties needing
medical attention for scenarios selected by users. These scenarios are
consistent with the Homeland Security Counsel¹s National Planning Scenarios.
The model estimates resources for biological, chemical, nuclear or
radiological attacks.
http://hospitalsurgemodel.ahrq.gov/
[6] NJHA issues pandemic flu planning tool
The New Jersey Hospital Association has published all of the installments of
a guide hospitals can use to develop or assess a pandemic flu response plan.
The 10-module guide will address critical planning areas such as clinical
care, communication, ethics, finance, human resources, leadership,
operations and supplies. The modules can be found at:
http://www.panfluplanning.com/
______________
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