Ministry of Health Chief Nursing Advisor Dr Francis Hughes has recently been attending both the Asian/Pacific forum on SARS in Sydney and the
Emerging Infectious Disease forum in Wellington.
Preparing for a possible anthrax attack cannot be done at the expense of dealing with very real public health threats such as West Nile virus, SARS, HIV/AIDS or a new
emerging infectious disease,'' they wrote.
The efforts of public health agencies and health care organizations to increase their preparedness for major public health threats such as bioterrorism and the worldwide influenza outbreaks known as pandemics have improved the nation's capacity to respond to SARS and other
emerging infectious disease outbreaks, but gaps in preparedness remain.
The report had a profound impact on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Department of Defense, and other federal agency programs involved in addressing
emerging infectious disease threats.
Focusing on advances in infectious disease diagnostics with an emphasis on efficiency, the conference is targeted at public health and clinical laboratorians, as well as lab directors, molecular microbiologists, epidemiologists, infectious disease physicians, and
emerging infectious disease laboratory fellows, among others.
To do this, the institute has established the
Emerging Infectious Disease Network, a collaboration of international medical, veterinary, and scientific experts who share information and engage in academic discussion.
Pregnant women's altered response to infectious diseases should be considered when planning a response to
emerging infectious disease threats.
Indeed, the most important lesson we have learned is that working together in research, applied public health, and preventive action is paramount because the
emerging infectious disease and microbiologic challenges of the next 60 years may be even tougher than those we have already faced.
However, a WSIB spokesperson believes the increase in the number of claims has more to do with increased awareness about new and
emerging infectious disease than an actual spike in the number of incidents.
