How EMS Can Be Prepared for Enterovirus D68 and Other Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases

Learning Objectives >>Learn about the possible causes of emergences and re-emergences of infectious diseases and how diseases spread. >>Understand when to have a high index of suspicion for enterovirus D68, which can present with many different signs and symptoms. >>Identify ways EMS systems can adapt during an outbreak to ensure provider safety while also still protecting and treating the community. Key Terms >>Emerging disease: A disease not previously recognized. >>Fomites: Any objects, including an EMS worker’s uniform, that can be contaminated by infectious pathogens and can play a role in transmission of the pathogen. >>Herd immunity: Also known as social immunity or herd effect, it occurs when the bulk of the people in a population are immune, thereby disrupting the spread of a disease to non-immune people. Essentially, the immune people act as a buffer to prevent the disease from spreading through the community. >>Re-emerging or resurging disease: A disease that’s been around, sometimes known for centuries, and has come back in a new form or in locations where it hasn’t been previously seen.10 >>Zoonoses: Animal diseases that are spread to humans. More than 70% of emerging diseases are zoonotic.4 Since Ebola, measles, West Nile virus and enterovirus D68 hit the headlines in 2014, there’s been a renewed focus on emerging disease as well as re-emerging or resurging disease. Even rubella, also known as "German ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Infectious Diseases Patient Care Source Type: news