Climate and Wildfires
I represent the level of air pollution particulates that concern the scientists and researchers studying health impacts of decreased air quality due to wildfire smoke.
What is PM2.5?
I am the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is SARS-CoV-2?
I am a term used to indicate that a small number (or a known approximate number) of certain disease cases can be expected in an area each year. While COVID-19 quickly became a pandemic, many experts now suggest it is me.
What is endemic?
The capability of the public health and health
care systems, communities, and individuals, to
prevent, protect against, quickly respond to, and
recover from health emergencies, particularly
those whose scale, timing, or unpredictability
threatens to overwhelm routine capabilities.
Preparedness involves a coordinated and
continuous process of planning and
implementation that relies on measuring
performance and taking corrective action.
What is PHEPR? Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
A living organism that transmits disease-causing pathogens from an infected person or animal to a non-infected person or animal.
What is a vector?
PM2.5 for example, represent particulate sizes of polluntants in the air, decreasing its quality. I am the primary reason this particulate size is more concerning that others.
What is: PM2.5 is small enough to enter the distal lung and gas exchange regions, leading to uptake in the blood stream, among others. And what is: pulmonary oxidative stress/inflammation?
Contrary to consipracy theories, scientific evidence demonstrates (and the science community maintain) that I am the primary reason/mechanism for the outbreak initially that became the pandemic.
What is a spillover event or what is zoonosis/zoonotic jump?
I represent the CDC's classification of the most likely biothreat to be used as a bioweapon today. Collectively, all of the pathogens in my category can be easily dissimnated and/or transmitted person-to-person, result in high mortality rates if untreated; likely cause mass panic and public health actions.
What are Category A Threats?
We are the 15 requirements expected to be demonstrated or garner substantial attention to improve capacity at the STLT levels (state, tribal, local, territorial) regarding public health emergencies. Collectively, we are known as this.
What are PHEP Capabilities?
The ability of a healthcare system to quickly expand its services to meet a sudden increase in demand for medical care.
What is (medical) surge capacity?
The NCA4 posits through the experts contributing to it that there will be numerous realities humans will have to face due to climate change and anticipated fires. We discussed SOME of them explicitly. I am ONE of them.
What are: (1) More lightning-initiated fires across the SE US; (2) Increased insect activity resulting in weakened / dead trees, creating additional fuel for fires; (3) Less snow cover (albedo reduction) and thus uncovering fuel in Alaska for example?
There have been numerous coronaviruses in humans, and documented since the 60s. These 3 have proven to be far more pathogenic/virulent in human cases.
What are SARS, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2?
I can be used to describe the protective action for individuals who have been exposed to a contagious disease but who may or may not become ill.
What is quarantine?
There are 15 areas which are the primary focus of STLT jurisdictions related to improving public health emergency readiness. We are 3 of them.
What are Community Preparedness; Community Recovery; Emergency Operations Coordination; Emergency Public Information/Warning; Fatality Management; Info Sharing; Mass Care; Medical Countermeasure Dispensing; Medical Materiel Management; Medical Surge; Non-pharm interventions; PH Lab Testing; PH Surveillance; Responder Safety; Volunteer Mgt?
The separation of those known to be ill with a contagious disease.
What is isolation?
Wildfire activity is predicted to increase. We are a public health / environmental health class. We know that hazardous air pollutants are present in wildfire smoke, leading to health effects. Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate this connection. I am one of the major health implications highlighted in the current evidence base.
What are: exacerbations of asthma and COPD; increased risk of respiratory infections; growing evidence of cardiovascular effects; and indicated to be associated with all-cause mortality?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many strategies were deployed to mitigate/reduce the transmission threat to others. Knowing the definition of quarantine, 14 days was used as the timeframe to which people and strategies were tethered. I am the reason why this timeframe was so important.
What is the incubation period?
There are 4 distinct pathogens, one toxin, and a category of viral diseases that cause a specific symptomology (but not in all cases) that comprise me - Category A Threats. I am two of them.
What are Anthrax, tularemia, smallpox, plague, botulism, and viral hemorrhagic fevers such as ebola virus disease or marburg virus disease?
The Federal government (including Health and Human Services) breaks down the United States into 10 distinct coordination regions. You are physically in this region comprised of these fellow states.
What are Region 6 and Texas, Arkansas, (LA), Oklahoma, and New Mexico?
The unlikely, but increasingly problematic, infection while in the hospital for a separate, unrelated issue.
What is Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) or nosocomial infection?
Many contaminants are mobilized by fire and therefore present in wildfire smoke for many reasons. These can have substanital adverse health impacts. I am one fo them.
What is: lead; mercury; arsenic; cadmium; chromium; copper; iron; manganese; nickel; potassium; silver; zinc?
The COVID-19 pandemic presented several challenges and unfortunately spurred conspiracies as a result of some of these challenges. Mode of transmission was one of them. I am one of the three (1 of 3) primary ways COVID-19 could spread person-to-person.
What are droplet, fomite, or airborne spread? Also take direct and indirect spread.
While 2001 and 9/11 is more often, and rightfully so, remembered for the terrorist attacks on NYC and the Pentagon, I was another major threat (initially thought to be related, but proven not connected to the 9/11 terrorists) that led to a real public health crisis.
What is the Anthrax attack (or anthrax mailings)?
The current grant to fund a center for public health emergency preparedness and response in all 10 federal regions (recently awarded to Dr. Murphy in Region 6) has ONE main goal among many other secondary goals. I am this goal.
What is increase the uptake of evidence-based strategies and interventions (EBSIs) at the STLT health department levels?
BONUS worth 2 questions.
A Category A Threat considered to be the source of the nursery rhyme: "Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies, achoo achoo, we all fall down".
What is (bubonic) Plague?