Morrison Kathryn

Research has shown that Canadian First Nation (FN) populations were disproportionately affected by the 2009 H1N1 influenza pan- demic. However, the mechanisms for the disproportionate outcomes are not well understood. Possibilities such as healthcare access, in- frastructure and housing issues, and pre-existing comorbidities have been suggested. We estimated the odds of hospitalization and inten- sive care unit admission for cases of H1N1 influenza among FN liv- ing in Manitoba, Canada, to determine the effect of location of residency and other factors on disease outcomes during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Objective

We sought to measure from surveillance data the effect of prox- imity to an urban centre (rurality) and other risk factors, (e.g., age, residency on a FN reservation, and pandemic wave) on hospitaliza- tion and intensive care unit admission for severe influenza.

Outbreaks of waterborne gastrointestinal disease occur routinely in North America, resulting in considerable morbidity, mortality, and cost (Hrudey, Payment et al. 2003). Outbreak detection methods generally attempt to identify anomalies in time, but do not identify the type or source of an outbreak. We seek to develop a framework for both detection and classification of outbreaks using information in both space and time. Outbreak detection can be improved by using simulated outbreak data to build, validate, and evaluate models that aim to improve accuracy and timeliness of outbreak detection.

Objective

To develop a methodological framework for detecting and classifying outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease on the island of Montreal, with the goal of improving early outbreak detection using simulated surveillance data.

Local transmission of Zika virus has been confirmed in 67 countries worldwide and in 46 countries or territories in the Americas. On February 1, 2016 the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern due to the increase in microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders reported in Brazil. Several countries issued travel warnings for pregnant women travelling to Zika-affected countries with Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador advising against pregnancy. The risk of local transmission in unaffected regions is unknown but potentially significant where competent Zika vectors are present and also given the additional complexities of sexual transmission and population mobility. Despite the rapid spread of Zika virus across the Americas and global concerns regarding its effects on fetuses, little is known about the pattern of spread. Knowledge of the direction and the speed of movement of disease is invaluable for public health response planning, including the timing and placement of interventions.

Objective

To estimate the velocity of Zika virus disease spread in Brazil using data on confirmed Zika virus disease cases at the municipal-level.