Articles: pandemics.
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Although the term biosurveillance is employed with increasing frequency there remain variances in way in which the concept is both understood and practiced in the US and the UK, respectively. In this paper I begin by exploring the different epistemological and geographical approaches to biosurveillance that are employed in each locality, paying particular attention to the scales at which they, respectively, operate. ⋯ I contend in this paper, and illustrate through a study of the techniques of surveillance employed during the recent H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, that these different 'registers' of biosurveillance are now being bought into the same frame of reference to create new, ever more robust and finely calibrated systems of biological surveillance. In thinking through the political implications of the emergent collision, I outline here, employing work from Cooper, Katz, and Lyon how biosurveillance is becoming progressively domesticated and reflect on the potential this has for creating new, expansive, and very pervasive, forms of biological 'governmentality'.
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Emerging Infect. Dis. · Jul 2012
Lessons learned from influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic response in Thailand.
In 2009, Thailand experienced rapid spread of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus. The national response came under intense public scrutiny as the number of confirmed cases and associated deaths increased. ⋯ However, areas needing improvement were surveillance, laboratory capacity, hospital infection control and surge capacity, coordination and monitoring of guidelines for clinical management and nonpharmaceutical interventions, risk communications, and addressing vulnerabilities of non-Thai displaced and migrant populations. The experience in Thailand may be applicable to other countries and settings, and the lessons learned may help strengthen responses to other pandemics or comparable prolonged public health emergencies.
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When the next pandemic emerges, will we be ready? Experts say that the number of animal to human "species jumps" is bound to increase as populations increase and the speed of travel between continents accelerates. Typical pandemic timelines no longer apply.(1) Pandemic H1N1 traveled the world in just weeks, as did SARS, despite major efforts to contain both outbreaks. The danger of emerging infectious disease to global health is compounded by the potential threat for malevolent bioengineering of existing pathogens and their deliberate dissemination.(2)
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The objectives were to estimate 2009 pandemic influenza A (pH1N1) vaccination coverage among pregnant women and identify associated factors. ⋯ Among pregnant women in King County, pH1N1 vaccination coverage was high. To improve coverage during nonpandemic seasons, influenza vaccine should be recommended routinely by prenatal care providers and vaccination provided where prenatal care is received. Barriers to midwives providing vaccination recommendations to patients should be explored.