A decade of gains in public health emergency preparedness and response at points of entry
10.5365/wpsar.2012.3.1.003
- Author:
Shahrokh Roohi
;
Todd Wilson
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
public health;
emergency preparedness;
preparedness and response;
points of entry
- From:
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response
2012;3(1):1-2
- CountryWHO-WPRO
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The role of air travel in rapid translocation of infectious disease is indisputable.1 The global health community has long been concerned about the movement across borders of vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis and other diseases of public health concern. These concerns escalated following the September 2001 terrorist attack and the anthrax bioterrorism incident in the United States of America; the worldwide spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003; and the reemergence of H5N1 avian influenza soon thereafter, which stoked fears about the possibility of a severe influenza pandemic. To better prepare and coordinate countries to respond to all-hazards health emergencies at their borders, in the past 10 years the global public health community has formed numerous domestic and international alliances.
