The goal of disease reporting and pathogen recognition systems is to provide adequate warning to communities and stakeholders and enable them to initiate an appropriate response. To ensure surveillance system signals trigger a proportionate response, planners should include surveillance systems within plans for a holistic biological incident recognition and response Concept of Operations (CONOPS). The response itself should be led by appropriate knowledgeable entities and include collaboration and coordination among local public health departments, emergency management agencies, and HCCs. These entities will work with the education, transportation, environmental, and housing sectors to support impacted communities.
Key Objectives for Multi-Jurisdictional Emergency Management in a Biological Incident
Confirm whether the disease outbreak constitutes a real or potential biological incident and consider whether the incident may involve an emerging pathogen and/or develop into a large-scale incident with the potential to overwhelm federal. state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) public health and medical resources.
- Has an index case been suspected or confirmed and reported to appropriate SLTT public health entities?
- Have healthcare facilities seen an influx of patients with similar disease symptoms indicating an emerging pathogen?
- Has a novel or atypical pathogen been identified by overseas laboratories or FSLTT public health entities (e.g., Laboratory Response Network [LRN])?
Ensure multiple surveillance and detection systems at all FSLTT levels are coordinated to inform public health and emergency management authorities in a timely manner so that appropriate and prompt decisions can be made to protect the public and critical resources.
Ensure ongoing coordination and exchange of credible scientific information about an emerging biological incident between FSLTT and private sector entities (e.g., hospitals, urgent care facilities, etc.).
Initiate efforts to perform infectious disease modeling as well as atmospheric outdoor or indoor release modeling to understand potential public health impacts to susceptible communities and critical infrastructure. (Refer to Planning, Decision-Support, and Modeling Resources for Biological Incidents section of this document for more information on modeling and decision-support considerations.)
What Will You Need to Know?
- Which human and veterinary health surveillance systems operate in your region?
- What do they do?
- How do they report?
- To whom do they report?
- When is the report available?
- Which diseases are reportable in your region?
- Which pathogens are endemic in your region?
- What environmental monitoring systems exist in your region?
- What do they do?
- How do they report?
- To whom do they report?
- When is the report available?
- What percentage of the population is covered and where?
- How and when will emergency management be engaged in response if a biological agent is identified by active or passive surveillance systems and verified by your public health authorities?
- What support for resource management and stakeholder engagement can emergency managers provide for the public health authorities in your jurisdiction?