scholarly journals Infectious Diseases Physicians: Improving and Protecting the Public’s Health: Why Equitable Compensation Is Critical

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 352-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Zahn ◽  
Amesh A Adalja ◽  
Paul G Auwaerter ◽  
Paul J Edelson ◽  
Gail R Hansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Hospital Acquired Infection ◽  
Proven Efficacy ◽  
Hospital Acquired ◽  
Population And Public Health

Abstract Infectious diseases (ID) physicians play a crucial role in public health in a variety of settings. Unfortunately, much of this work is undercompensated despite the proven efficacy of public health interventions such as hospital acquired infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, disease surveillance, and outbreak response. The lack of compensation makes it difficult to attract the best and the brightest to the field of ID, threatening the future of the ID workforce. Here, we examine compensation data for ID physicians compared to their value in population and public health settings and suggest policy recommendations to address the pay disparities that exist between cognitive and procedural specialties that prevent more medical students and residents from entering the field. All ID physicians should take an active role in promoting the value of the subspecialty to policymakers and influencers as well as trainees.

Climate Change-Associated Conflict and Infectious Disease

2017 ◽  
pp. 68-88
Author(s):  
Devin C. Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Surveillance Programs

One of the least appreciated mechanisms by which climate change will affect infectious diseases is via increased violent conflict. Climate change will diminish agricultural and pastoral resources and increase food scarcity in many areas, including already impoverished equatorial regions. Many in the defence and public health fields anticipate that climate change will increase conflict by fuelling competition over scarce resources. Already, some commentators argue that the conflicts in Darfur and Syria were partially caused or exacerbated by climate change. Conflict facilitates a range of conditions conducive to the spread of many infectious diseases, including malnutrition, forced migration, unhygienic living conditions and widespread sexual assault. Flight or killing of health personnel inhibits vaccination, vector control and disease surveillance programs. Emergence of new diseases may go undetected and discovery of outbreaks could be suppressed for strategic reasons. These conditions combine to increase the risk of pandemics.

scholarly journals When might Host Heterogeneity Drive the Evolution of Asymptomatic, Pandemic Coronaviruses?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenichi W. Okamoto ◽  
Virakbott Ong ◽  
Robert G. Wallace ◽  
Rodrick Wallace ◽  
Luis Fernando Chaves
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Fitness Landscape ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Suppression ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Pathogen Strains ◽  
Host Heterogeneity

For most emerging infectious diseases, including SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), pharmaceutical intervensions such as drugs and vaccines are not available, and disease surveillance followed by isolating, contact-tracing and quarantining infectious individuals is critical for controlling outbreaks. These interventions often begin by identifying symptomatic individuals. However, by actively removing pathogen strains likely to be symptomatic, such interventions may inadvertently select for strains less likely to result in symptomatic infections. Additionally, the pathogen's fitness landscape is structured around a heterogeneous host pool. In particular, uneven surveillance efforts and distinct transmission risks across host classes can drastically alter selection pressures. Here we explore this interplay between evolution caused by disease control efforts, on the one hand, and host heterogeneity in the efficacy of public health interventions on the other, on the potential for a less symptomatic, but widespread, pathogen to evolve. We use an evolutionary epidemiology model parameterized for SARS-CoV-2, as the widespread potential for silent transmission by asymptomatic hosts has been hypothesized to account, in part, for its rapid global spread. We show that relying on symptoms-driven reporting for disease control ultimately shifts the pathogen's fitness landscape and can cause pandemics. We find such outcomes result when isolation and quarantine efforts are intense, but insufficient for suppression. We further show that when host removal depends on the prevalence of symptomatic infections, intense isolation efforts can select for the emergence and extensive spread of more asymptomatic strains. The severity of selection pressure on pathogens caused by these interventions likely lies somewhere between the extremes of no intervention and thoroughly successful eradication. Identifying the levels of public health responses that facilitate selection for asymptomatic pathogen strains is therefore critical for calibrating disease suppression and surveillance efforts and for sustainably managing emerging infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Phylogenomic Pipeline Validation for Foodborne Pathogen Disease Surveillance

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth E. Timme ◽  
Errol Strain ◽  
Joseph D. Baugher ◽  
Steven Davis ◽  
Narjol Gonzalez-Escalona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Foodborne Pathogen ◽  
The United States ◽  
Strain Identification ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Entire Genome ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Regulatory Decision ◽  
Health Agencies

ABSTRACT Foodborne pathogen surveillance in the United States is transitioning from strain identification using restriction digest technology (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE]) to shotgun sequencing of the entire genome (whole-genome sequencing [WGS]). WGS requires a new suite of analysis tools, some of which have long histories in academia but are new to the field of public health and regulatory decision making. Although the general workflow is fairly standard for collecting and analyzing WGS data for disease surveillance, there are a number of differences in how the data are collected and analyzed across public health agencies, both nationally and internationally. This impedes collaborative public health efforts, so national and international efforts are underway to enable direct comparison of these different analysis methods. Ultimately, the harmonization efforts will allow the (mutually trusted and understood) production and analysis of WGS data by labs and agencies worldwide, thus improving outbreak response capabilities globally. This review provides a historical perspective on the use of WGS for pathogen tracking and summarizes the efforts underway to ensure the major steps in phylogenomic pipelines used for pathogen disease surveillance can be readily validated. The tools for doing this will ensure that the results produced are sound, reproducible, and comparable across different analytic approaches.

Public health professionals’ perceptions of the capacity of China’s CDCs to address emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Xiaoliang Tong ◽  
Alana Hansen ◽  
Scott Hanson-Easey ◽  
Jianjun Xiang ◽  
Scott Cameron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
And Control

AbstractBackgroundChina’s capacity to control and prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases is critical to the nation’s population health. This study aimed to explore the capacity of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in China to deal with infectious diseases now and in the future.MethodsA survey was conducted in 2015 among 973 public health professionals at CDCs in Beijing and four provinces, to assess their capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.ResultsAlthough most professionals were confident with the current capacity of CDCs to cope with outbreaks, nearly all indicated more funding was required to meet future challenges. Responses indicated that Yunnan Province faced more challenges than Anhui, Henan and Liaoning Provinces in being completely prepared and able to deal with outbreaks. Participants aged 20–39 years were more likely than those aged 40 and over to believe strategies such as interdisciplinary and international collaborations for disease surveillance and control, would assist capacity building.ConclusionThe capacity of China’s CDCs to deal with infectious diseases was excellent. However, findings suggest it is imperative to increase the number of skilled CDC staff, financial support, and strengthen county level staff training and health education programs.

scholarly journals Establishing a Plan of Action Implementing Integrated Disease Surveillance in Sudan

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayat Khogali ◽  
Ngozi A. Erondu ◽  
Betiel H. Haile ◽  
Scott J. McNabb
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
One Health ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Public Health Surveillance System

A recent assessment of the Sudan public health surveillance system found fragmented and siloed disease programs and an overburdened workforce due to vertical systems and inefficient processes. A plan of action was developed to support improving public health surveillance strengthening by: 1) implementing a strategic approach to achieving IHR (2005), 2) implementing One Health and IDSR aims, and 3) establishing an E-surveillance ICT platform for increasing public health surveillance capacity to safely and rapidly detect and report infectious diseases in Sudan.

Public Health Surveillance System

2021 ◽  
pp. 201-220
Author(s):  
Manish Kumar Dwivedi ◽  
Suvashish Kumar Pandey ◽  
Prashant Kumar Singh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Global Coverage ◽  
Public Health Surveillance System

To guard people against some grave infectious disease, the surveillance system is a key performance measure of global public health threats and vulnerability. The diseases surveillance system helps in public health monitor, control, and prevent infectious diseases. Infectious diseases remain major causes of death. It's important to monitor and surveillance worldwide for developing a framework for risk assessment and health regulation. Surveillance systems help us in understanding the factors driving infectious disease and developing new technological aptitudes with modeling, pathogen determination, characterization, diagnostics, and communications. This chapter discussed surveillance system working, progress toward global public healthy society considering perspectives for the future and improvement of infectious disease surveillance without limited and fragmented capabilities, and making even global coverage.

scholarly journals Public health reporting and outbreak response: synergies with evolving clinical standards for interoperability

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1136-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ninad K Mishra ◽  
Jon Duke ◽  
Leslie Lenert ◽  
Saugat Karki
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Fast Moving ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
Healthcare Resources ◽  
Public Health Reporting ◽  
Application Programming

Abstract Public health needs up-to-date information for surveillance and response. As healthcare application programming interfaces become widely available, a novel data gathering mechanism could provide public health with critical information in a timely fashion to respond to a fast-moving epidemic. In this article, we extrapolate from our experiences using a Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource-based architecture for infectious disease surveillance for sexually transmitted diseases to its application to gather case information for an outbreak. One of the challenges with a fast-moving outbreak is to accurately assess its demand on healthcare resources, since information specific to comorbidities is often not available. These comorbidities are often associated with poor prognosis and higher resource utilization. If the comorbidity data and other clinical information were readily available to public health workers, they could better address community disruption and manage healthcare resources. The use of FHIR resources available through application programming and filtered through tools such as described herein will give public health the flexibility needed to investigate rapidly emerging disease while protecting patient privacy.

scholarly journals COVID-19: digital contact tracing technologies and ethical challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 2854
Author(s):  
Jayakrishnan Thayyil ◽  
Vidya Kuniyil ◽  
Jeeja Mathummal Cherumanalil
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Proven Efficacy ◽  
Near Future

Digital contact tracing technologies (DCTT) are used in public health surveillance to support rapid reporting, data management and analysis with the intention to improve the efficacy of the health system. One form DCTT that has been receiving attention in many countries facing COVID-19 epidemics is proximity tracking. Globally 47 contact tracing apps are available and for maximally effective for contact identification it should be adopted by 60-75% of a country’s population. But no country could achieve this in near future. Even with no proven efficacy for controlling the present pandemic and it has been deployed in several countries at unprecedented swiftness and in an unregulated environment. From a public health perspective, the essentiality of DCTT can be approved only if it is proved to be necessary, proportionate and sufficiently effective. Any public health measure is ethically correct, if it provides sufficient public health benefit to justify the burdens associated with it. In this context global health experts like WHO, Johns Hopikins university and Oxford university released recommendations on ethics and governance on the use of DCTT. Based on this principle a public health ethical review was done using available literature. Currently, there are no established methods for assessing the effectiveness of digital proximity tracking. More research to evaluate their effectiveness is needed. Governments, developers must ensure that COVID-19 contact- tracing apps satisfactorily address the ethical questions and must ensure the necessary but least intrusive measures for disease surveillance.

Climate Change-Associated Conflict and Infectious Disease

2017 ◽  
pp. 1309-1324
Author(s):  
Devin C. Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Surveillance Programs

One of the least appreciated mechanisms by which climate change will affect infectious diseases is via increased violent conflict. Climate change will diminish agricultural and pastoral resources and increase food scarcity in many areas, including already impoverished equatorial regions. Many in the defence and public health fields anticipate that climate change will increase conflict by fuelling competition over scarce resources. Already, some commentators argue that the conflicts in Darfur and Syria were partially caused or exacerbated by climate change. Conflict facilitates a range of conditions conducive to the spread of many infectious diseases, including malnutrition, forced migration, unhygienic living conditions and widespread sexual assault. Flight or killing of health personnel inhibits vaccination, vector control and disease surveillance programs. Emergence of new diseases may go undetected and discovery of outbreaks could be suppressed for strategic reasons. These conditions combine to increase the risk of pandemics.

scholarly journals Data science approaches to infectious disease surveillance

2021 ◽  
Vol 380 (2214) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingpeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Infectious Disease Surveillance ◽  
Introductory Article

Novel data science approaches are needed to confront large-scale infectious disease epidemics such as COVID-19, human immunodeficiency viruses, African swine flu and Ebola. Human beings are now equipped with richer data and more advanced data analytics methodologies, many of which have become available only in the last decade. The theme issue Data Science Approaches to Infectious Diseases Surveillance reports the latest interdisciplinary research on developing novel data science methodologies to capitalize on the rich ‘big data’ of human behaviours to confront infectious diseases, with a particular focus on combating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to conventional public health research, articles in this issue present innovative data science approaches that were not possible without the growing human behaviour data and the recent advances in information and communications technology. This issue has 12 research papers and one review paper from a strong lineup of contributors from multiple disciplines, including data science, computer science, computational social sciences, applied maths, statistics, physics and public health. This introductory article provides a brief overview of the issue and discusses the future of this emerging field. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Data science approaches to infectious disease surveillance’.

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