Recognition and Types of Infectious Diseases Following Disasters

TUI University
Professor Dr. Paul Persaud
Fall 2015

For this Case Assignment you are to comment on the similarities and differences in pre-event preparation between an infectious disease event and other emergencies.

The initial pre-planning response to most natural disaster is the same, however; in many cases emergency responders are the first to detect an infectious disease outbreak. For this reason it is important to properly pre-plan in advance for events that have potential in developing infectious disease outbreaks, which is common in developing countries following a natural disaster. The health impacts associated with the sudden crowding coupled with large numbers of survivors, often with insufficient access to safe water and sanitation facilities, will require planning for both medical and preventive interventions, such as rehydration, antibiotics and vaccination materials (World Health Organization, 2006). The sooner the incident and at-risk patients are identified, the higher the likelihood of decreasing morbidity, mortality, and cost associated with the event. The biggest difference between infectious disease disasters and other natural mass casualty’s events is that infectious disease disasters are more difficult to detect. With natural disasters, and even traditional or chemical terrorism, there is an obvious sign that something abnormal has happened or is going to happen. This can range from damaged buildings in an earthquake to flooding that will likely cause huge displacement and an influx of patients. Therefore, the immediate pre-planning response to saving lives and restoring infrastructures in a natural disaster will be similar, however, there needs to be an added Annex within all Emergency Operation Plans (EOPs) to cover the specific health need requirements