National Influenza Annual Report, Canada, 2020–2021, in the global context

During the 2020–2021 Canadian influenza season, no community circulation of influenza occurred. Only 69 positive detections of influenza were reported, and influenza percent positivity did not exceed 0.1%. Influenza indicators were at historical lows compared with the previous six seasons, with no laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreaks or severe outcomes being reported by any of the provinces and territories. Globally, influenza circulation was at historically low levels in both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. The decreased influenza activity seen in Canada and globally is concurrent with the implementation of non-pharmaceutical public health measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although it is difficult to predict when influenza will begin to re-circulate, given the increased COVID-19 vaccination and the relaxation of public health measures, an influenza resurgence can be expected and may be more severe or intense than recent seasons. Influenza vaccination, along with non-pharmaceutical public health measures, continues to remain the best method to prevent the spread and impact of influenza. Public health authorities need to remain vigilant, maintain surveillance and continue to plan for heightened seasonal influenza circulation.

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Preparedness and response in Portuguese emergency plans - Interaction with public health

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.868 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

G Leiras ◽

A Martins

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Authority ◽

Civil Protection ◽

Emergency Plans ◽

Emergency Situations ◽

Health Measures ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Protection Authority

Abstract Background Articulation between Civil Protection and Public Health authorities is of paramount importance to control, reduce and prevent threats to the health of the population in situations of crisis or catastrophes. National Civil Protection Authority produces Emergency Plans which describe the role of every stakeholder in emergency situations. Role and importance of Public Health and Public Health Authorities is not always present or well described and known amongst stakeholders. Methods Data was collected from all Districtal Emergency Plans (n = 18). Each document was analysed considering time frame, refences to Public Health and Health Authorities, definition of roles, communication channels, coordination and inclusion of intersectoral communication flow. Quantitative analysis included absolute and relative frequencies and qualitative analysis to all parts related to the terms “Public Health” and “Health Authority”. Each document was reviewed by 2 independent researchers. Results From 18 Districtal Emergency Plans (DEP) analysed, 94,4% (n = 17) had references to Public Health, but none referred the role of Public Health Officers. Only 16,7% referred to Health Authorities, although 94,4% mentioned the law 135/2013, defining the role and attributes of Health Authority. In 72,2%, coordination of Public Health Measures was attributed to the National Medical Emergency Institute. Epidemiological surveillance and Public Health Emergencies were referred in 55,6%, and attributed to the Regional Administration of Health. Conclusions Public Health Authorities and Public Health Medical Officers role in articulation with National Civil Protection Authority in emergency situations lacks severely, with this role being replaced by other entities. This is of great concern regarding management and control of diseases, particularly communicable diseases. Key messages Public Health Authorities lack the necessary involvement in Emergency Plans and emergency situations. Public health measures are coordinated by other entities rather than Public Health Authorities.

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The Early Warning and Response System for communicable diseases in the EU: an overview from 1999 to 2005

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/esm.11.12.00666-en ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 7-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

P Guglielmetti ◽

D Coulombier ◽

G G Thinus ◽

F Van Loock ◽

S Schreck

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Early Warning ◽

Communicable Diseases ◽

Member States ◽

Response System ◽

Health Measures ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

And Control ◽

The Eu

Under Decision 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, a network for epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the Community was set up in 1998. One pillar of Decision 2119/98/EC is the early warning and response system (EWRS). The main objective of the network is to establish permanent communication between European Union (EU) Member States’ public health authorities, which are responsible for determining the measures required to control communicable disease-related events. Since 1998, a web based informatics tool has been developed in order to allow information to be shared between the relevant public health authorities. Between 1998 and December 2005, a total of 583 messages were circulated through the EWRS, notifying 396 events. The information shared through the system helped to coordinate public health measures in the EU. However, only few events prompted specific measures at Community level and most of them were controlled with public health measures applied at national level. Major events (such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the results of simulation exercises prompted the Commission to upgrade the informatics system on the basis of user needs. Since 1 May 2004 the 10 newest Member States have provided information under the current legislation and since April 2005 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is part of the system. Future developments will include a link between the existing EWRS and the communication platform currently developed by the ECDC.

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Retarded Logistic Equation as a Universal Dynamic Model for the Spread of COVID-19

10.1101/2020.06.09.20126573 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

B Shayak ◽

Mohit M Sharma

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Dynamic Model ◽

Herd Immunity ◽

Logistic Equation ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Health Measures ◽

Health Authorities ◽

City District ◽

Public Health Authorities

ABSTRACTIn this work we propose the retarded logistic equation as a dynamic model for the spread of COVID-19 all over the world. This equation accounts for asymptomatic transmission, pre-symptomatic or latent transmission as well as contact tracing and isolation, and leads to a transparent definition of the instantaneous reproduction number R. For different parameter values, the model equation admits different classes of solutions. These solution classes correspond to, inter alia, containment of the outbreak via public health measures, exponential growth despite public health measures, containment despite reopening and second wave following reopening. We believe that the spread of COVID in every localized area such as a city, district or county can be accounted for by one of our solution classes. In regions where R > 1 initially despite aggressive epidemic management efforts, we find that if the mitigation measures are sustained, then it is still possible for R to dip below unity when far less than the region’s entire population is affected, and from that point onwards the outbreak can be driven to extinction in time. We call this phenomenon partial herd immunity. Our analysis indicates that COVID-19 is an extremely vicious and unpredictable disease which poses unique challenges for public health authorities, on account of which “case races” among various countries and states do not serve any purpose and present delusive appearances while ignoring significant determinants.

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Users’ Beliefs Toward Physical Distancing in Facebook Pages of Public Health Authorities During COVID-19 Pandemic in Early 2020

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/10901981211014428 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 109019812110144

Author(s):

Soon Guan Tan ◽

Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽

Hwee Lin Wee

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

United States Public Health ◽

Health Belief ◽

The United States ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model

This study aims to describe Facebook users’ beliefs toward physical distancing measures implemented during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the key constructs of the health belief model. A combination of rule-based filtering and manual classification methods was used to classify user comments on COVID-19 Facebook posts of three public health authorities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Public Health England, and Ministry of Health, Singapore. A total of 104,304 comments were analyzed for posts published between 1 January, 2020, and 31 March, 2020, along with COVID-19 cases and deaths count data from the three countries. Findings indicate that the perceived benefits of physical distancing measures ( n = 3,463; 3.3%) was three times higher than perceived barriers ( n = 1,062; 1.0%). Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 ( n = 2,934; 2.8%) was higher compared with perceived severity ( n = 2,081; 2.0%). Although susceptibility aspects of physical distancing were discussed more often at the start of the year, mentions on the benefits of intervention emerged stronger toward the end of the analysis period, highlighting the shift in beliefs. The health belief model is useful for understanding Facebook users’ beliefs at a basic level, and it provides a scope for further improvement.

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Fueling the Covid-19 pandemic: summer school holidays and incidence rates in German districts

Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/pubmed/fdab080 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Plümper ◽

Eric Neumayer

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Summer School ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Robert Koch Institute ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Holiday Period ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities

AbstractBackgroundThe Robert-Koch-Institute reports that during the summer holiday period a foreign country is stated as the most likely place of infection for an average of 27 and a maximum of 49% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in Germany.MethodsCross-sectional study on observational data. In Germany, summer school holidays are coordinated between states and spread out over 13 weeks. Employing a dynamic model with district fixed effects, we analyze the association between these holidays and weekly incidence rates across 401 German districts.ResultsWe find effects of the holiday period of around 45% of the average district incidence rates in Germany during their respective final week of holidays and the 2 weeks after holidays end. Western states tend to experience stronger effects than Eastern states. We also find statistically significant interaction effects of school holidays with per capita taxable income and the share of foreign residents in a district’s population.ConclusionsOur results suggest that changed behavior during the holiday season accelerated the pandemic and made it considerably more difficult for public health authorities to contain the spread of the virus by means of contact tracing. Germany’s public health authorities did not prepare adequately for this acceleration.

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Indoor Environmental Quality in Dwellings and Lifestyle Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Russian Perspective

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115975 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5975

Author(s):

Vladimir Reshetnikov ◽

Oleg Mitrokhin ◽

Elena Belova ◽

Victor Mikhailovsky ◽

Maria Mikerova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Medical Students ◽

Environmental Quality ◽

Indoor Environmental Quality ◽

Lifestyle Behaviors ◽

Contagious Diseases ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Isolation Index ◽

Novel Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern, and as a response, public health authorities started enforcing preventive measures like self-isolation and social distancing. The enforcement of isolation has consequences that may affect the lifestyle-related behavior of the general population. Quarantine encompasses a range of strategies that can be used to detain, isolate, or conditionally release individuals or populations infected or exposed to contagious diseases and should be tailored to circumstances. Interestingly, medical students may represent an example of how the COVID-19 pandemic can form new habits and change lifestyle behaviors. We conducted a web-based survey to assess changes in lifestyle-related behavior of self-isolated medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then we analyzed the sanitary-hygienic regulations of the Russian Federation to determine the requirements for healthy buildings. Results showed that during the pandemic, the enforcement of isolation affects medical students’ lifestyle-related behavior and accompanies an increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and healthy buildings are cutting-edge factors in preventing COVID-19 and NCDs. The Russian sanitary-hygienic regulations support improving this factor with suitable requirements for ventilation, sewage, waste management, and disinfection. Herein, assessing isolation is possible through the hygienic self-isolation index.

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Communicating Recommendations in Public Health Emergencies: The Role of Public Health Authorities

Health Security ◽

10.1089/hs.2019.0073 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 21-28

Author(s):

Taylor A. Holroyd ◽

Oladeji K. Oloko ◽

Daniel A. Salmon ◽

Saad B. Omer ◽

Rupali J. Limaye

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Health Emergencies ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities

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Public Health Preparedness of Post-Katrina and Rita Shelter Health Staff

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x00007408 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 500-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Daksha Brahmbhatt ◽

Jennifer L. Chan ◽

Edbert B. Hsu ◽

Hani Mowafi ◽

Thomas D. Kirsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Technical Support ◽

Health Staff ◽

Health Training ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Clinical Scenarios ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

AbstractIntroduction:During 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the US Gulf Coast, displacing approximately two million people. With >250,000 evacuees in shelters, volunteers from the American Red Cross (ARC) and other nongovernmental and faith-based organizations provided services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition, pre-deployment training, and recognition of scenarios with outbreak potential by shelter health staff.Methods:A rapid assessment using a 36-item questionnaire was conducted through in-person interviews with shelter health staff immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Data were collected by sampling at shelters located throughout five ARC regions in Texas. The survey focused on: (1) public health capacity; (2) level of public health awareness among staff; (3) public health training prior to deployment; and (4) interest in technical support for public health concerns. In addition, health staff volunteers were asked to manage 11 clinical scenarios with possible public health implications.Results:Forty-three health staff at 24 shelters were interviewed. Nurses comprised the majority of shelter health volunteers and were present in 93% of shelters; however, there were no public health providers present as staff in any shelter. Less than one-third of shelter health staff had public health training, and only 55% had received public health information specific to managing the health needs of evacuees. Only 37% of the shelters had a systematic method for screening the healthcare needs of evacuees upon arrival. Although specific clinical scenarios involving case clusters were referred appropriately, 60% of the time, 75% of all clinical scenarios with epidemic potential did not elicit proper notification of public health authorities by shelter health staff. In contrast, clinical scenarios requiring medical attention were correctly referred >90% of the time. Greater access and support from health and public health experts was endorsed by 93% of respondents.Conclusions:Public health training for sheltering operations must be enhanced and should be a required component of pre-deployment instruction. Development of a standardized shelter intake health screening instrument may facilitate assessment of needs and appropriate resource allocation. Shelter health staff did not recognize or report the majority of cases with epidemic potential to public health authorities. Direct technical support to shelter health staff for public health concerns could bridge existing gaps and assist surveillance efforts.

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