News and Articles

What Biosecurity and Cybersecurity Research Have in Common

Biosecurity and cybersecurity research share an unusual predicament: Efforts to predict and defend against emerging threats often expose and create vulnerabilities. For example, scientists must first learn how to isolate and grow a pathogen before they can develop a new vaccine. Similarly, researchers must first learn how to break into a computer system in order to defend it.

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Training & Events

Will We Have Medical Treatments in the Event of an Attack or Pandemic?

Archived Webinar

The United States and the world face a continued risk of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attacks or a natural disease pandemic. Join the Bipartisan Policy Center in a discussion about the importance of sustainable funding to develop and stockpile medical countermeasures (MCM) that are critical to our national security and public health emergency preparedness.

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Tools & Resources

You are the Help Until Help Arrives

This program was developed to educate and empower the public to take action and provide lifesaving care in an emergency before professional help arrives. It outlines five steps for the public to take in situations where someone may have a life-threatening injury due to trauma. This web page provides three main training tools: an interactive video, web-based training, and a downloadable instructor guide and student tools to provide in-person training.

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About the Guardian

The Guardian of Public Health is a monthly newsletter from the Bureau of EMS, Trauma, and Preparedness (BETP) within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Guardian aims to provide its readers with relevant content on topics that affect the public health of citizens and communities in Michigan. For questions or comments please contact Kerry Chamberlain at chamberlaink2@michigan.gov.

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The Michigan Update

Hepatitis A Vaccine and International Travel

Jacklyn Chandler, M.S., Outreach Coordinator, MDHHS Division of Immunization

Travelers are an important population because of their movement, the potential exposure to diseases outside their home country, and the risk that they will either bring non-endemic diseases into their country of origin or spread non-endemic diseases to the countries they visit. In 2016, U.S. airlines carried an all-time high number of passengers – with 103.9 million international travelers. Ever-increasing travel to destinations in Asia and in Africa place travelers at risk for a variety of travel-related conditions including malaria, yellow fever, measles, and other tropical or vaccine-preventable infections. Compound this with travel vaccine shortages (e.g., yellow fever) and limited travel vaccine education or preparedness. Travel-related illnesses have direct public health effects.

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Research

Comparing Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Containing Emerging Epidemics

Researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science seek to identify the most important characteristics of the disease and setting that need to be considered to make an informed decision between quarantine and symptom monitoring to mitigate a disease outbreak.  They use a mathematical model to determine which method will work best to contain an outbreak for seven different types of diseases: Ebola, hepatitis A, influenza A, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), pertussis, SARS, and smallpox.  The research shows quarantine was more effective with diseases with short periods of infectiousness.  Symptom monitoring was more effective with diseases of higher transmissibility.  The researchers suggest symptom monitoring to be the overall best method to mitigate a disease.

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