This presentation gives an overview of Zika. Topics include the history of the disease, clinical symptoms and treatment, and surveillance of human cases and the mosquitos that spread the virus.
Infectious Disease
Description
An epidemic of ebolavirus in West Africa, which was first identified in March 2014, is now the largest Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak on record. On 8 August 2014, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). As of 4 September 2014, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria have reported 3,707 cases (2,106 confirmed, 1,003 probable, and 598 suspected) of EVD with 1,848 deaths (50% case fatality) to the World Health Organization (WHO). Five U.S. citizens have contracted the viral disease – one LiberianAmerican and four medical-aid workers working in Ebola-afflicted countries.
Objective
To categorize and assess the international and domestic health impacts of the 2014 West African Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.
Description
Unaccompanied alien children (UAC) are undocumented migrant children who come to the United States unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. The number apprehended UACs originating from the Central America counties of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have increased since FY 2012. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2014, more than 57,000 UACs have been apprehended; double the number that was apprehended in FY 2013. The majority of UACs were apprehended and processed in the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector of South Texas. The CBP facilities were not designed to house or care for children for extended periods. Resources and personnel were significantly strained in the management and care of UACs.
Objective
To categorize and assess the health impacts of the 2014 surge of unaccompanied alien children to the Lower Rio Grande Valley Border.
Presenters
Marc Paladini, MPH, U.S. Department of Transportation
Catherine Cairns
Julia Gunn, MPH, RN, Boston Public Health Commission
Francisco Averhoff, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Shuying Shen
Atar Baer, Public Health - Seattle and King County
Carla Rodriguez
Date and Time
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Host
Elena Naumova, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine joined the August 2010 ISDS Literature Review to present her paper "Seasonal Synchronization of Influenza in the United States Older Adult Population" from PLoS One.
Presentation
Elena Naumova, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine
Date
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Host
ISDS Research Committee
On October 26th, 2010, the Literature Review Subcommittee hosted its bi-monthly Literature Review, along with a special presentation by scientist Jeffrey Shaman of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Shaman discussed his groundbreaking work investigating the role of absolute humidity on influenza transmission dynamic, including his recent paper, "Absolute Humidity and the Seasonal Onset of Influenza in the Continental United States," published in PLoS Biology.
Edward Goldstein, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health, Senior Research Scientist, Department of Epidemiology discusses his paper "Predicting the Epidemic Sizes of Influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B: A Statistical Method." Published in PLoS Med. 2011 Jul;8(7): e1001051.
Presenter
Edward Goldstein, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health
Date and Time
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Host
ISDS Research Committee
Krista Kniss and Scott Epperson, from the CDC Influenza Division, will be joining the ISDS Public Health Practice Committee this coming Monday, October 22, for a two-part discussion of influenza surveillance in the United States and abroad. The first presentation by Krista Kniss will discuss the differences between the U.S. influenza surveillance system and how influenza surveillance is conducted in other countries, specifically those with few resources. The second presentation by Scott Epperson will discuss the evolution and current status of influenza A viruses both in humans and swine.
Description
The 2014 outbreak of EVD is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since 1976 affecting several countries in West Africa. The mental health and psychosocial implications of the 2014 Ebola outbreak are serious and multifaceted, impacting survivors, families, communities, healthcare providers, and the public health response. In addition, psychosocial support is a key priority to the Ebola response. CDC’s Ebola Mental Health Team (EMHT) was activated in September 2014. This study has been conducted to support the CDC’s EMHT tasks.
Objective
To present the summary results of a literature review pertinent to mental health and psychosocial aspects of Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Description
Characterizing mentions found in clinical texts that support, refute, or represent uncertainty for suspected pneumonia is one area where automated Natural Language Processing (NLP) screening algorithms could be improved. Mentions of uncertainty and negation commonly occur in clinical texts, and opportunities exist to extend existing algorithms [1] and taxonomies [2]. In general there are three main sources of uncertainty found in healthcare: 1) probability or risk; 2) ambiguity – lack of reliability, credibility or adequacy of the information; and, 3) complexity – aspects of the phenomenon that make it difficult to comprehend [3].
Objective
We sought to identify relevant evidence that supports, refutes or contributes uncertainty when reviewing cases of suspected pneumonia and characterize their interaction with uncertainty phenomena found in clinical texts.