This document contains 5 questions related to emerging infectious diseases and preparedness. It provides context and definitions for each question, and asks the reader to watch videos or read articles on topics like SARS, Ebola preparedness, and virus hunting in order to form thoughtful responses on issues like national pandemic readiness and future disease threats. The reader is asked to cite sources and provide at least 150 words for each question response.

1. At least 150 words for each question with scholar references.
Question 1
In more than 20 years at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Dr. Ali S. Khan found that rogue microbes will
always be a problem, but outbreaks are often caused by people.
We make mistakes, politicize emergencies, and, too often, fail
to imagine the consequences of our actions. With the Zika virus
as the newest threat, are we prepared for the next pandemic?
What can we learn from Ebola, SARS, and other modern
outbreaks?
Please listen to the recorded lecture: The Next Pandemic On the
Front Lines Against Humankind's Gravest Dangers.mp3
Transcript: The Next Pandemic On the Front Lines Against
Humankind's Gravest Dangers_Transcript.pdf
Provide your feedback to the recorded lecture. From the lecture,
what's your take on the 6.7 score given to the U.S. in terms of
our national Preparedness to Public Health Threats?
Question 2
As the Director of the Special Pathogens Program for 11 NYC
hospitals, one of my duties is to ensure our covered personnel
across all the sites remain competent and trained on how to don
and doff personal protective equipment (PPE), how to properly
triage patients with highly communicable diseases and
understand our polices and procedures related to care for such
patients.
A common complaint we hear from our covered personnel is,
"why do we have to go through this training every quarter, the
Ebola outbreak is nearly over."
Indeed, the Ebola outbreak is nearly over. However, we must
remain competent and vigilant for other special pathogens on
the horizon.
From your perspective, what do you think our covered personnel

2. across the nation should prepare for? What might be the next
disease outbreak? Do you think our nation as a whole is
prepared to respond to special pathogens?
Definitions:
Covered Personnel: “Covered Personnel” means all employees,
contractors, students, and all other personnel who may:
a. come into contact with a Patient, or a laboratory specimen
from a Patient; or
b. be involved in the cleaning or disinfection of equipment or
Patient care areas, including vehicles used to transport Patients.
This includes, but is not limited to, contract nurses, attending
physicians and residents.
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/ebola/docs/c
ommissioner_order.pdf
Special pathogen: A highly infectious agent that produces
severe disease in humans. Special pathogens include the viruses
that cause several hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola
hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, and hantavirus pulmonary
syndrome, and other recently identified and emerging viral
diseases, such as Nipah virus encephalitis. These viruses are
RNA-coded (often negative-stranded or ambisense in coding
strategy), encased in a lipid envelope, and display a degree of
aerosol infectivity in the laboratory. In addition, all of the
viruses are vector-borne zoonotic agents (meaning that under
normal conditions, these viruses exist in animals); the majority
are found in rodents, but some occur in other mammals or
arthropods as well. All of these viruses are classified as
Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) pathogens and as such must be
handled in special facilities designed to contain them safely.
The coronavirus that causes SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome) is considered a special pathogen.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=234
75
Question 3
The threat to biosecurity arises from beyond the specter of

3. bioterrorism. Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases
when combined with global travel have the potential to flare
into pandemics. The SARS outbreak of 2003 startled the world
into a new reality. Suddenly a rapidly spreading unknown
disease threatened the world. The centuries old notions of state
sovereignty established at the Treaty of Westphal were
discarded and a new post-Westphalian era of international
health policy emerged.
Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPaee0uEQM&feat
ure=related (Youtube: 45 minutes) or read the transcript of
the 2003 BBC Horizon production SARS: The True Story.
Discuss your thoughts regarding the video.
Question 4
The assigned reading materials will provide a brief background
and assist you with writing your future assignment, Emerging
and Re-emerging Infectious Disease Threats Report for the
Scientific and Policy Community.
Choose 3 articles from below and provide your
feedback/thoughts.
Addressing Emerging Infectious Disease Threats A Prevention
Strategy for the United States.pdf
An Assessment of the Biological Weapons Threat to the US.pdf
Countering Bioterrorism The Role of Science and
Technology.pdf
Emerging infectious diseases and pandemic potential.pdf
Emerging Infectious Diseases Threats to Human Health.pdf
Factors in the Emergence of Infectious Diseases.pdf
Global trends in emerging infectious diseases.pdf
Health Security 2014 Building on Preparedness Knowledge for
Emerging Health Threats.pdf
Internet-based Surveillance Systems for Monitoring Emerging
Infectious Diseases.pdf
Major emerging and reemerging in China.pdf
Threats from emerging and re-emerging NTDs.pdf
Understanding emerging and reemerging diseases.pdf

4. Question 5
Watch the following short videos and provide your thoughts:
TED Lecture: Nathan Wolfe's jungle search for viruses
Virus Hunter Tracks New and Deadly Pathogens Around the
Globe