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Depiction and Brazoria County, Texas Public Health

Depiction and Brazoria County, Texas Public Health. Chasey M. Reed-Boston, BS, MA, PhD Student CBRNE Analyst, Brazoria County, Texas Health Dept. Public Health Emergency Preparedness. Public Health Uses for Depiction. Community needs assessments Epidemiological surveillance

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Depiction and Brazoria County, Texas Public Health

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  1. Depiction and Brazoria County, Texas Public Health Chasey M. Reed-Boston, BS, MA, PhD Student CBRNE Analyst, Brazoria County, Texas Health Dept. Public Health Emergency Preparedness

  2. Public Health Uses for Depiction • Community needs assessments • Epidemiological surveillance • Emergency response planning/oversight • Mass prophylaxis planning/oversight • Health behavior trend analysis

  3. BCHD-PHEP Depiction • Still in formative stages due to H1N1 • Plans in place to use it for: • Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear issues • Plotting of tier II information to know locations of organophosphates and other dangerous chemicals • Plotting of reported cases and other pertinent information for disease tracking • Plotting of site where there are radiological and nuclear concerns; close proximity to a nuclear plant

  4. Epidemiological Presentation • This will utilize a fictitious, but somewhat plausible scenario. South Brazoria County is considered rural, and the north end is heavily populated, bordering Houston, Texas. • Not intended to be a “figure-it-out” for those of us who enjoy a good puzzle, but instead, an example of how we plan to utilize Depiction in assessing threats and planning responses, where necessary. • The scenario will be presented, then a timeline, then an example of how this would be represented in Depiction versus existing methods.

  5. The scenario: • Agent: Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) • Method of dispersal: Spores in the form of a white powder-substance placed inside balloons that are distributed from a booth inside the midway by a clown of unknown identity. The clown inflates a balloon with a pump, hands it to a person, pops it with a long stick pin in their face, causing white powder to dust the hair and face as part of his comedic act. The investigatory aspect of this situation will not be featured in today’s webinar due to the overview nature of this presentation, but Depiction can also be used during that process.

  6. The timeline: • Thursday, 16:30: The fair has been going on for the last seven days. The clown opened his booth Saturday night. The disease surveillance line at the health department starts ringing, and doctors are asking if anyone else is complaining of a nasty bug packing their waiting rooms. The doctors’ head nurses advise the disease surveillance nurse that everyone coming in is reporting upper-respiratory and flu-like symptoms. • At this point, there is great concern, but no alarm.

  7. Timeline continued • Thursday, 20:30: EMS and police radio traffic indicates three people have died in their homes after displaying flu-like symptoms. • Thursday, 22:30: The three hospitals in the county are beginning to fill up their regular beds, and their ICU beds are almost completely full. Emergency room departments are filled to capacity and unable to accept any more people. Local EMS units are operating at capacity and will soon need additional help answering calls.

  8. Timeline continued • Friday, 09:00: All school districts report significant absenteeism in both students and staff. School nurses submit lists of names and addresses for those reported absent in a spreadsheet via e-mail to the disease surveillance nurse. One school district closes due to low attendance and growing public concern. • Friday, 10:00: EMS and police radio traffic indicate several more deaths during the night, and local EMS services are now requesting assistance for additional resources.

  9. Timeline continued • A diagnosis of anthrax has been made, and the local health department disease surveillance nurse is notified. • The state health department is notified, local law enforcement is notified, and the county emergency manager is notified. • Friday, 13:45: An emergency is declared by the county judge. • It has been decided that mass prophylaxis is indicated for this situation and is ordered. • Staff call-downs are deployed, and POD site call-downs are soon to follow.

  10. What are you looking at? • Hospital locations and bed counts • Addresses of those found dead in their homes • School locations, absentee numbers, closings • Addresses sent by school nurses • Health department location • POD sites • These may exist in spreadsheets, but not provide a true visual of the situation. By loading these spreadsheets into Depiction, we can get a more comprehensive visual picture of the data.

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