Health WHO: No human-to-human transmission of bird flu virus Bird flu still a threat 10 years after leap to humans Regular flu vaccine may help against bird flu New Swine Flu Has Avian Flu Genes Emergency Services Virtual Alabama helps responders find disaster sites Firefighters help in war on terror Security Stadium security worries experts Governors: Only half of states use DHS info-sharing networks Federal Agency Events House Homeland committee told ports understaffed, overloaded DHS offers advice for ensuring telecom during pandemic International News Nuclear body to boost tracking of devices Climate change and conflicts: Is there a link at all? Academic Studies Critical asset and portfolio risk analysis: An all-hazards framework. Institutional development and scale matching in disaster response management. Conferences 29th Annual International Disaster Management Conference: 1/31/08 - 2/308. 4th Annual Joint Commission Resources Emergency Preparedness Conference:   4/8/08 - 4/9/08.

Health

WHO: No human-to-human transmission of bird flu virus
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2007/12/31/news/who.no.human.to.human.transmission....

The World Health Organization has clarified recent reports that there was confirmed human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu in Pakistan. In its December 27, 2007 health update, the WHO, through its website www.who.int, explained that the first case of human infection with the influenza has been confirmed in Pakistan. However, the WHO pointed out that the preliminary risk assessment found no evidence of sustained or community human-to-human transmission of the virus.

Bird flu still a threat 10 years after leap to humans
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-12-30-bird-flu-threat_N.htm?csp=34

Ten years ago the virus known as H5N1 jumped from poultry to people for the first time, but it has not yet changed in a way that would allow it to spread easily from person to person. But health experts say the danger has not diminished. “It is still a threat as long as we have transmission in poultry,” says a flu expert from the University of Michigan. “We have absolutely no precedent of having had this transmit in the bird population in so many different places, and having, almost every week, reports of another human case.” Scientists are monitoring strains of the ever-evolving virus so if it does become easily contagious, pandemic preparations can move into high gear. “The risk continues, people continue to be infected, we’ve had new countries affected and the mortality rate is higher than 60%,” a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Regular flu vaccine may help against bird flu
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22399522/

Ordinary seasonal flu vaccines may provide a small amount of protection against bird flu, Italian researchers at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases reported. Their study is among the first to support the idea that getting an annual flu shot may help people’s bodies fight off the H5N1 virus.  In the laboratory, they added H5N1 virus to the blood and found that in some of the volunteers immune system proteins called antibodies acted against the bird flu virus. They also found a few immune cells called CD4 T-cells seemed to recognize and act against H5N1 virus “and seasonal vaccine administration enhanced the frequency of such reactive CD4 T-cells,” they wrote in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

New Swine Flu Has Avian Flu Genes
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/071219.htm

Researchers have identified a new strain of swine influenza - H2N3 - which belongs to the group of H2 influenza viruses that last infected humans during the 1957 pandemic. This new strain has a molecular twist: It is composed of avian and swine influenza genes.  Molecular studies indicated the unknown pathogen was an H2N3 influenza virus that is closely related to an H2N3 strain found in mallard ducks. But this was the first time it had been observed in mammals.

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Emergency Services

Simulators to hone fire, police, rescue driving skills
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/12952347.html

What does it feel like to rush a patient in an ambulance to a hospital during a rush-hour snowstorm? Bergen County, New Jersey, officials have spent $330,000 so that all police, fire, and emergency employees in the county can find out. The county has bought two “driving simulators" – sophisticated computer games that allow users to feel what it is like to drive on icy, twisty, or crowded city streets. The simulators will be installed at the county Law and Public Safety Institute in Mahwah by spring and will be included in the training curricula for all police, fire, and emergency workers in the county.

Study: Health agencies fail to quickly respond to infectious disease reports
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38951&dcn=e_gvet

A recent study of 74 U.S. local public health agencies found that many failed to respond quickly - if at all - to reports of a potential disease outbreak. The RAND Corp. had researchers pretend to be doctors and call randomly selected agencies to report cases of infectious diseases. Two-thirds of the contacted departments failed to call back within 30 minutes. Almost 40 percent of the agencies failed to call back at all after receiving at least one call.

NCTC releases 2008 Counterterrorism Calendar
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01....

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) announced the release of its 2008 counterterrorism calendar. The calendar is now available in print and via NCTC’s website at: http://www.nctc.gov in both a downloadable PDF and an online, interactive version. This year’s calendar is the largest ever, with 160 pages of information on known terrorist groups, individual terrorists, and technical information on topics such as biological and chemical threats. The interactive online version of the calendar provides the public with user-friendly access to the same information, with the addition of locator maps, photographs, and lists of helpful links specific to each threat area.

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Security

Stadium security worries experts
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/12/25/bc.stadiumsecurity.ap/index.html

While professional leagues and NASCAR appear to be taking security seriously, officials worry not enough is being done at college sports events. Those contacted about the issue believe it is only a matter of time before another domestic or international terrorist attack targets a sports event. This time of year is especially worrisome because of all the high-profile games during bowl season.

Governors: Only half of states use DHS info-sharing networks
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32016-1.html

Only 52 percent of the states’ homeland security directors regularly participated in information-sharing networks run by the Homeland Security Department in 2007, according to a new survey. The other 48 percent said they had little participation in the Homeland Security Information Network, the DHS alert system, and the Disaster Management Information System, according to a report published by the National Governors Association. The annual survey queries state homeland security directors, who are typically appointed by governors. States were generally critical of DHS’ information-sharing initiatives in 2007, according to the report. On the other hand, state officials reported higher levels of satisfaction with federal participation in the states’ intelligence fusion centers. More than half - 56 percent - said they were satisfied with the timeliness of the intelligence they are receiving, 47 percent said they were satisfied with the specificity of the intelligence, and 50 percent said they were satisfied that the intelligence was detailed enough to be acted on, according to the report.

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Federal Agency Events

House Homeland committee told ports understaffed, overloaded
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5425807.html

House Homeland committee told ports understaffed, overloaded. Understaffed ports and overworked customs agents are leading to long border wait times, witnesses told visiting members of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. The problem will worsen if more agents are not hired and the Department of Homeland Security does not do something quickly to improve agency morale, the National Treasury Employees Union president said. She complained that agents were on duty too long - as long as 16 hours - and not being given enough time for additional training. Customs and Border Protection, the Homeland Security agency assigned to the ports, was criticized in a recent Government Accountability Office report for not doing enough to screen people coming through the ports.

DHS offers advice for ensuring telecom during pandemic
http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350155-1.html

The so-called “last mile” of the nation’s telecommunications system would be vulnerable in the event of a pandemic influenza, according to a working group tasked with studying the potential communications consequences of an outbreak. The Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary of cybersecurity and communications weighed in on the security of a pandemic health crisis, noting that as much as 40 percent of the workforce would be unable to go to work during peak periods of an outbreak. “And you don’t get to pick which 40 percent that could be,” he said. “Naturally, telecommuting will be a key mechanism to keeping our businesses and government operational during a pandemic flu.” The working group, which meets monthly, found that connections to homes, hospitals, health plans, and physicians would likely be disrupted. But that scenario could be mitigated if ISPs, telecommunications carriers and service vendors put in place safeguards, policies and best practices ahead of time, he said.

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International News

Nuclear body to boost tracking of devices
http://www.thestar.com/article/291561

Canada’s nuclear regulator is changing the way it tracks lost, stolen, and missing nuclear devices following an inquiry about inconsistent reporting from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Newly disclosed internal emails show the Vienna-based agency contacted officials in Ottawa after a Canadian Press investigation raised serious questions about how closely the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission monitors devices that could be used in a crude “dirty bomb.” Commission records revealed that dozens of radioactive tools had gone missing in the last five years.

Climate change and conflicts: Is there a link at all?
http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/1265/2007/11/21-194034-1.htm

Many scientists, politicians and journalists now agree that climate change and a scarcity of resources could lead to armed conflict. So much so, in fact, that this year's Nobel Prize for Peace went to former U.S. vice president turned environmentalist Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But the argument is far from settled. The link between pressure on natural resources and armed conflicts simply doesn't exist, say researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

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Academic Studies/Meetings

Ayyub, Bilal M., William L. McGill, and Mark Kaminsky. 2007. Critical asset and portfolio risk analysis: An all-hazards framework. Risk Analysis 27(4): 789-801.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2007.00911.x

This article develops a quantitative all-hazards framework for critical asset and portfolio risk analysis (CAPRA) that considers both natural and human-caused hazards. Following a discussion on the nature of security threats, the need for actionable risk assessments, and the distinction between asset and portfolio-level analysis, a general formula for all-hazards risk analysis is obtained that resembles the traditional model based on the notional product of consequence, vulnerability, and threat, though with clear meanings assigned to each parameter. Furthermore, a simple portfolio consequence model is presented that yields first-order estimates of interdependency effects following a successful attack on an asset. Moreover, depending on the needs of the decisions being made and available analytical resources, values for the parameters in this model can be obtained at a high level or through detailed systems analysis. Several illustrative examples of the CAPRA methodology are provided.

Baker, Daniel, and Karen Refsgaard. 2007. Institutional development and scale matching in disaster response management. Ecological Economics 63(2-3): 331-343.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VDY-4NVC90M-1/2/69fd9f4375709935aeebe96ad7cdfbaf

Recent large scale disasters have challenged institutions improve the effectiveness of their emergency response strategies. During the 2005 Katrina flood disaster in the United States institutions utilized different emergency response strategies with varying degrees of success. In this paper we consider the case of the Katrina hurricane to identify successful strategies that enable institutions to respond effectively and at the appropriate scale. The importance of cross-scale linkages matched to the size and needs of the disaster is discussed as a central component of socio-ecological resilience. A general strategy of adaptive management is proposed that emphasizes the importance of participatory planning with institutional actors where both initial response organizations, as well as institutions involved in longer term recovery are involved in emergency response exercises. Institutions should develop linkages that promote legitimacy, trust and the development of social capital that facilitates integrated and coordinated emergency response. The paper concludes by noting that new threats will require increased coordination, higher levels of institutional flexibility, and greater attention to issues of connectivity in disaster response management.

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Conferences

29th Annual International Disaster Management Conference
Orlando, Florida: January 31-February 3, 2008.
Organizer: Emergency Medicine Learning and Resource Center.

The 29th Annual International Disaster Management Conference has been designed to meet the educational needs of all persons and agencies involved with emergency preparedness, response, and disaster recovery. This year's Planning Committee acknowledges the unique role that the myriad of first responders, response agencies, and communities play in planning for, responding to, and mitigating disasters. All persons and agencies involved with emergency preparedness, management, and response are invited to attend. Visit www.emlrc.org/disaster2008.htm.

4th Annual Joint Commission Resources Emergency Preparedness Conference
“Practical Applications for Health Disaster Preparedness”
Alexandria, Virginia: April 8 and 9, 2008. Organizer: The Joint Commission Resources (JCR) -Call for Abstracts: Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in collaboration with the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response.

Presentations will focus on hospital-based best practices for emergency management planning, response and recovery including but not limited t Hospital Incident Command Systems; Exercise strategies; Surge capacity; Defining and managing staff roles and responsibilities; Education and training; and Topical issues: pandemic influenza, evacuation, fatality management. For details: http://yalenewhavenhealth.org/emergency/disasterconference/.

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