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Guidance on Law and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC (2023) CC

The domestic regulation of public health emergencies (PHEs) is inextricably linked to the regulation of other types of disaster. PHEs are usually governed at least partly by general disaster and emergency laws. Moreover, there is significant overlap in the legal mechanisms used to respond to PHEs an ... d other types of disaster, including the declaration of a state of disaster or emergency and the use of emergency powers. Even where PHEs are regulated by separate instruments, those instruments must surmount many of the same policy and practical challenges as general disaster laws, such as finely balancing competing considerations (e.g. speedy response versus due process), facilitating the coordination of a multitude of actors, and protecting the most vulnerable within society. Finally, many contemporary developments in disaster risk management (DRM), such as a greater emphasis on risk reduction and preparedness, are just as pertinent to PHEs as to other types of disaster. more

Communication Risk in Public Health Emergencies
recommended

World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) C_WHO

A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice. Recent public health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2014–2015), the emergence of the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, h ... ave highlighted major challenges and gaps in how risk is communicated during epidemics and other health emergencies. The challenges include the rapid transformation in communications technology, including the near-universal penetration of mobile telephones, the widespread use and increasingly powerful influence of digital media which has had an impact on ‘traditional’ media (newspapers, radio and television), and major changes in how people access and trust health information. Important gaps include considerations of context – the social, economic, political and cultural factors influencing people’s perception of risk and their risk-reduction behaviours. more

Bad Bug Book

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2013)

Handbook of Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins

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Introducing One Health to the ethical debate about zoonontic diseases in Southeast Asia

Capps, B.; M.M. Bailey, D. Bickford et al. Bioethics (2015) CC

Bioethics 519 (online) doi:10.1111/bioe.12145 Volume 29 Number 8 2015 pp. 488–596; Pandemic plans recommend phases of response to an emergent infectious disease (EID) outbreak, and are primarily aimed at preventing and mitigating human-to-human transmission. These plans carry presumptive weight ... and are increasingly being operationalized at the national, regional and international level with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The conventional focus of pandemic preparedness for EIDs of zoonotic origin has been on public health and human welfare. However, thisfocus on human populations has resulted in strategically important disciplinary silos. As the risks of zoonotic diseases have implications that reach across many domains outside traditional public health, including anthropological, environmental, and veterinary fora, a more inclusive ecological perspective is paramount for an effective response to future outbreaks. more

Guidelines for the Management of Typhoid Fever
recommended

Ministry of Health and Child Welfare,Zimbabwe; WHO; European Commission Humanitarian Aid (2011) C_WHO

Patient Decontamination Recommendations for Hospitals

Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) California (2005) C2

"This document provides recommendations for protecting healthcare providers and managing patients in the event of a hazardous materials exposure. Content was compiled through nationally recognized, current practice standards and formatted into user-friendly materials. "

The Pathology of Inequality: Gender and Ebola in West Africa

Diggins, J.; Mills, E. (2015)

IDS Practice Paper in Brief 23