Coretopic:Infectious Diseases

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Academic research centers

Advocacy and nonprofit groups

Coronavirus

Ethics and journalism

Experts

History and background

Books

Key articles

U.S. federal government agencies

Global health resources

Medical journals & research

Reports and studies

State and local agencies

Web-based infectious disease resources

Academic research centers

Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance
Founded at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The World Health Organization and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease have both designated researchers and scientists as members of collaborating teams monitoring and researching influenza prevention and outbreaks.

Center for Global Health Science and Security
This group is part of Georgetown University Medical Center and works on global health security with policy leaders worldwide.

Center for Health Security
Located at the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, experts and researchers work on policies to protect the U.S. from bioterrorism and infectious disease epidemics.

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
Founded in 2001, this center is a part of the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center. The center aims to provide global public health preparedness, research and news on infectious-disease outbreaks and policy response.

Center for Innovation in Global Health
Located at Stanford University School of Medicine, this program enables collaborative programs in global health for residents, medical students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduates by reaching across geographic, cultural, economic, and gender boundaries to inspire global health leaders.

National Center for Disaster Preparedness
Based at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, this group of experts seeks to understand and improve the nation’s capacity to prepare for and recover from disasters, including a pandemic outbreak or bioterrorist attack.

Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
Established at the University of Washington, this center provides research, education, global outreach and policies to prevent infectious disease in animals and humans.

Viral Diagnostics & Discovery Center
This lab at the University of California at San Francisco is using genomic mapping technology to help researchers track emerging infections and doctors to quickly diagnose and treat life-threatening infections.

Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases
Based at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hil, the institute is committed to improving health in North Carolina and around the world. It promotes global health research, teaching, and service activities across campus. IGHID recognizes that the most pressing health challenges and emerging diseases know no boundaries.

Advocacy and nonprofit groups

Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics
Located on the campus of Tufts University Medical School, this international group supports research and projects to combat antimicrobial resistance.

American Mosquito Control Association
Provides expertise and assistance to mosquito control authorities primarily in the public sector.

American Public Health Association
This 145-year old organization’s goal is to advance the health of all people and communities and eliminate inequities in access to health services. Among its priorities are encouraging parents to vaccinate their children.

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Society that represents 15,000 infectious disease professionals, conducts research and education on antibiotic resistance and promotes efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance in the health care system.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
One of the U.S.’s largest private funders of global health initiatives, especially those aimed at saving lives in developing countries.

Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense
A bipartisan nonprofit created by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and former Senator Joe Lieberman in 2014. The organization promotes policies for strengthening U.S. biodefense readiness.

Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontieres)
Nonprofit volunteer medical group that assists with medical crises in low income countries and provides information on global health issues, including infectious disease.

EcoHealth Alliance
Nonprofit scientific organization that conducts research and sponsors international projects related to the prevention of emerging disease outbreaks and the conservation of biodiversity.

Infectious Diseases Society of America
Represents physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases.

National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit
This coalition represents 130 public and private organizations dedicated to resolving obstacles around improving the use of adult vaccinations.

Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Provides information and advocacy on antimicrobial resistance.

Stop Hospital Infections
Consumer group that advocates for state laws requiring hospitals to publicly report rates of infection.

Trust for America’s Health
Public health advocacy group that assesses national, state and local readiness for natural disasters and epidemics and promotes polices for readiness.

Coronavirus

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Recent articles in JAMA reviewed new technologies for rapid vaccine development for emerging viral diseases, effectiveness of various types of masks for preventing infections in healthcare settings, global preparedness for healthcare emergencies, and more.

Ethics and journalism

Guidance on the release of information concerning deaths, epidemics or emerging diseases
Recommendations developed by public health officials, health care journalists and public health information officers, co-sponsored by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Association of Health Care Journalists in October 2010.

Guides to Reporting
AHCJ Medical Studies Core Topic Leader Tara Halle provides a comprehensive guide for how to report on medical controversies including the issue of false balance involving vaccine controversies.

Outbreak Information Resources
This handout was compiled for a panel on pandemic preparedness at Health Journalism 2018 and includes online sources to monitor outbreaks as well as assessments of preparedness and more.

Journalist’s Resource
Good primers on health care issues funded by the Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Including: on Lyme disease and climate change. Vaccines and whooping cough. Vaccines, parents and pediatricians. Antibiotic resistance and economic costs.

The Poynter Institute’s Covering Infectious Disease
The journalism organization compiled suggestions several years ago about how to cover the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa but it is a useful way to think about an approach to covering infectious diseases.

The Science and Development Network
Good primers on how to communicate to wider audiences about infectious disease outbreaks, as well as some of the latest reports on global health outbreaks. Here is one on Figuring out the Figures When Reporting on Risk and another on Communicating Statistics and Risks.

Experts

John Aitchison, Ph.D.
President, Center for Infectious Disease Research
He can be reached through his media contact: May Wildman at mwildman@feareygroup.com, phone 206-343-1543
Expertise: Global health issues impacting children in poverty, especially vector-born diseases like malaria. He specializes in systems biology approaches for developing infectious disease vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.

Richard Webby, Ph.D.
Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds and member of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital faculty
Email: richard.webby@stjude.org and through his media contact, Marvin Stockwell: marvin.stockwell@stjude.org, 901-595-6384
Expertise: Long-time expert on influenza activity and the human-animal interface. His work involves virologic and serologic surveillance activities in animal and human populations to determine the prevalence of influenza viruses circulating.

Amesh Adalja, M.D., FIDSA
Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security and a member of the City of Pittsburgh’s HIV Commission.
Email: aadalja1@jhu.edu
Expertise: AIDS/HIV and infectious diseases. Adalja is a well-known national infectious disease expert from serving on numerous government panels to develop guidelines for treating infectious diseases and public emergencies. He is currently a member of the National Quality Forum’s Infectious Disease Standing Committee.

James Blumenstock
Chief Program Officer, Health Security at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Email: jblumenstock@astho.org
Expertise: Local and state public health preparedness efforts for everything from seasonal flu immunization efforts, to readiness for epidemics and other public health emergencies. (Can find bio here, not on ASTHO website, scroll down)

Peter Daszak, Ph.D
President, EcoHealth Alliance
Email: daszak@ecohealthalliance.org
Expertise: Global health and zoonotic diseases. Through running his organization and research, Daszak is one of the leading voices on the link between global trade and disease emergence.

Asha George, Dr.P.H.
Co-director of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense
Email: asha.george@biodefensestudy.org
Expertise: Federal budget and biosecurity. A researcher and former staff member of a House of Representatives subcommittee on Homeland Security, who understands how Congress works and how to advocate for biosecurity policies in Washington. She has also served as a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army.

Lawrence Gostin, J.D., L.L.D.
Professor of Global Health Law at Georgetown University School of Law and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on Public Health Law & Human Rights
Email: gostin@law.georgetown.edu
Expertise: Recognized specialist on public health laws such as quarantine regulations. He was the author of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act, which aimed to help state legislatures to revise public health laws to control epidemics.

Rebecca Katz, Ph.D, M.P.H.
Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University and associate professor of international health
Email: Rebecca.Katz@georgetown.edu
Expertise: Global health security. Researcher on biosecurity issues and consultant to the U.S. Department on State on implementing global health security initiatives preparing nations to respond to a potential pandemic

Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H.
Dean of the Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Pubic Health and former director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Infection
Email: ali.khan@unmc.edu
Expertise: Emerging infectious diseases, bioterrorism and global health terrorism. Khan has decades of on-the-ground experience tracking deadly disease outbreaks around the planet. He was also part of the team that investigated the U.S. mail anthrax attacks following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He is author of “The Next Pandemic: On the Frontlines Against Humankind’s Gravest Dangers” published in 2016.

Tom Ingelsby, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer and director of the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Health Security
Email: tingelsby@jhu.edu
Expertise: Federal budget and the U.S.’s pandemic preparedness readiness. In addition to running the center, Ingelsby serves as chair of the board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Ambassador John E. Lange (Ret.)
Senior fellow, Global Health Diplomacy, United Nations Foundation
Email: jlange@unfoundation.org
Expertise: Pandemic influenza and health as a global diplomatic issue. Lange was President George W. Bush’s Special representative on Avian Influenza and Pandemic flu at the U.S. Department of State. He also worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as its Africa specialist and served as U.S. ambassador to Botswana. (1999-2002)

Marc Lipsitch, Ph.D
Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
Email: mlipsitc@hsph.harvard.edu
Expertise: Modeling emerging infectious disease outbreaks. He works with local, state, federal and international public health agencies on antibiotic resistance, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), pandemic and seasonal flu.

Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and a member of the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity.
Email: mto@umn.edu
Expertise: A prolific researcher and recognized leader on national and global biosecurity and public health issues, particularly in pandemic preparedness. He previously served in many roles at the Minnesota Department of Public Health and was director of the National Institutes of Health supported Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. He co-authored “Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs,” a book about the many potential ways the U.S. could face a pandemic and published in early 2017.

Tara O’Toole, M.D., M.P.H.
Executive vice president of In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit venture capital firm that invests in security companies, senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security and former Under Secretary of Science & Technology at the Department of Homeland Security (2009-2013)
Email: totoole@iqt.org
Expertise: Research and technology in bioterrorism defense. She has also played a role in shaping public policy leaders’ understanding of the nature and consequences of major biological threats, both natural and man-made to the U.S.

History and background

"Issue Brief Series: Vector-borne Diseases (impact on children)" is a brief overview of examples of vector-borne diseases, determinants and intervention strategies.

"What is Epidemiology?" - A helpful explanation from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Public Health.

“Lessons from the History of Quarantine, from Plague to Influenza A,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 2013
The federal agency in charge of preventing the spread of infectious diseases reflects on lessons learned from quarantines imposed during pandemics and how quarantines can be used to safeguard public health without violating civil rights.

“Reviewing the History of Pandemic Influenza: Understanding Patterns of Emergence and Transmission,” Pathogens, Dec. 6, 2016
Researchers from the University of Ottawa offer a historical primer on influenza pandemics.

Achievements in Public Health 1900-1999
History of infectious disease control efforts by the CDC.

Books

Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats
Journalist and infectious disease specialist Maryn McKenna tells the story of how antibiotics came to transform agriculture and planted the seeds for a world where antibiotics may no longer work in medicine.

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs
The founder of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Michael Osterholm, recounts the history of pandemics and explains how political leaders can implement policy initiatives to prevent them.

Pandemic: Tracking Contagions from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond
Science journalist Sonia Shah summarizes past pandemics and explains how dealing with cholera helped prepare the world to prevent future pandemics.

Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them
Dr. Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at the Los Angeles County, University of Southern California Medical Center traces the course of antibiotic resistance in medicine.

The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic That Shaped Our History
Journalist Molly Caldwell Crosby traces the course of yellow fever which caused more than 100,000 deaths in this country, making it the most feared disease in North America for 200 years.

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History
An engrossing and vivid history of the deadly 1918 influenza pandemic and cites similarities with more recent bird flus that have emerged in Asia.

The Next Pandemic: On the Front Lines Against Humankind’s Gravest Dangers
The former head of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Ali Kahn, recalls investigating frightening disease outbreaks and offers advice on how to prevent pandemics.

The Panic Virus: The True Story Behind the Vaccine Autism Controversy
Seth Mnookin, a professor of science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the ramifications of a discredited 1998 study linking vaccinations to autism.

Key articles

"Pandemic threat: Is the world ready for another outbreak?," June 2017
In a 24-page report for CQ Researcher, Bara Vaida examines how the Ebola and Zika outbreaks illustrated clear gaps in preparedness and what the globe has been doing to respond. She also addresses the issue of bioterrorism and whether the U.S. is prepared for a biological attack.

"Why you need the flu shot every year," The New York Times, December 2017
Tara Haelle explains why does the influenze virus changes so much every year and why the vaccine’s effectiveness varies so much.

“The World Is Not Ready for the Next Pandemic,” Time, May 4, 2017
A new bird flu called H7N9 circulating across China is mostly infecting poultry, but humans who have contracted the disease during a recent spike have a 41 percent mortality rate.

“Bill Gates: Bioterrorism could kill more than nuclear war — but no one is ready to deal with it,” The Washington Post, Feb. 18, 2017
Microsoft co-Founder Bill Gates warned world leaders in February to prepare for bioterror attacks, which he said are easier to execute than nuclear weapons and could trigger pandemics that could kill more people.

“Global Health: A Pivotal Moment of Opportunity and Peril,” Health Affairs, January 2017 (Access with AHCJ membership)
Two Georgetown University researchers highlight policies they say are needed to strengthen global health security.

“Inside a Secret Government Warehouse Prepped for Health Catastrophes,” NPR, June 27, 2016
The CDC is stockpiling drugs, vaccines and medical equipment in preparation for potential health emergencies.

Tips for Covering Emerging Infectious Diseases, AHCJ, April 2016 conference in Cleveland and slides from presenter Dr. Steven Gordon;

Slides from presenter Jennifer Hanrahan; slides from presenter Susan Rehm on communicating during a public health emergency.

“Policy Debate: International Responses to Global Epidemics: Ebola and Beyond,” International Development Policy, February 2015
Researchers look at a policy debate about the World Health Organization’s response to Ebola.

U.S. federal government agencies

The National Institutes of Health launched the Science, Health, and Public Trust initiative to share strategies and best practices to help convey complex research results to the public in ways that are clear, credible, and accurate. The Perspectives section offers insights on biomedical communication from NIH experts. The Tools section provides useful aids including:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The federal agency that conducts and supports health promotion, prevention and preparedness to improve overall public health. Within the CDC are offices that handle different issues. Here’s an organization chart of the agency.

"Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019" (2019 AR Threats Report) is a publication of the Antibiotic Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit within the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The full 2019 AR Threats Report, including methods and appendices, is available online.

Under the Center for Global Health is the Global Health Protection and Security Office, which is working with global health care leaders through ten Global Disease Detection Centers in different regions of the world to help countries detect, identify and contain emerging infectious diseases. This office has been the chief responder to high-profile public health events such as Ebola, polio eradication, MERS-CoV, cholera, and Nipah virus.

Within the Office of Infectious Diseases:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases The office’s mission is prevention of disease, disability, and death through immunization and by control of respiratory and related diseases. Within the center is an office dedicated to handling the flu. In 2017, this office also updated the nation’s plan for preparing for a pandemic flu.

National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
This group focuses on protecting the public from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Prevention, Antimicrobial Resistance Program
The division that coordinates the U.S. response to antimicrobial resistance. The CDC collaborates with the Food and Drug Administration, and the US Department of Agriculture to monitor antibiotic resistance nationally through the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System.

Food and Drug Administration
Federal agency responsible for regulating drugs, biological products, medical devices, food and cosmetics. Fact sheets on Tamiflu and antiviral drugs to treat the flu.

National Animal Health Monitoring Health System
A joint federal and private sector effort, managed out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to monitor U.S. livestock and birds for disease outbreaks.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
One of the National Institutes of Health’s 27 Institutes and Centers. The NIAID focuses chiefly on infectious diseases. Within the NIAID is the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, an integrated network of centers designed to bring together multidisciplinary teams of researchers that perform surveillance related research integrated with research on host immune response, viral pathogenesis, and the factors that control the emergence and transmission of influenza viruses.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The chief federal agency charged with protecting the health of Americans and with providing essential health services. The CDC and NIH both operate under the umbrella of HHS. Within the agency is the National Vaccine Program Office, a program aimed preventing infectious diseases by encouraging the use of vaccines. The office also focuses on making vaccines safe for all Americans.

AIDSInfo
HHS program offering information on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and research.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
Created by the 2006 Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act to develop and oversee a national health security plan and develop media countermeasures in the event of a pandemic.

National Preparedness and Response Board
It provides expert advice and guidance to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response on scientific, technical, and other matters related to public health emergency preparedness and response.

National Health Security Strategy Plan for being prepared for the threats to health that come with disasters and emergencies.

U.S. Census Bureau’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance Database
A compilation of information from widely scattered small-scale surveys on HIV infection and the AIDS pandemic in population groups in developing countries. The database brings together information from medical and scientific literature, presentations at international conferences, and the press. Users can retrieve information for groups in a selected country, and print or save it to a .pdf or .csv file. The HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data Base includes all countries and areas of the world with at least 5,000 in population, except Canada, the United States and U.S. territories.

Global health resources

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
An alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics.

Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness
A network of major research funding organizations working on response to infectious disease outbreaks.

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The country’s leading public health agency providing advice and guidance to the country’s medical practitioners. China CDC focuses on infectious diseases, particularly emerging and reemerging diseases like flu, and hand foot and mouth diseases.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:
The European Union’s agency providing surveillance data and scientific advice on the 52 communicable diseases and conditions, disease outbreaks and public health threats.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Coordinates global aid from governments, nonprofits and the private sector; acts as the main international coordinator of the fight against malaria.

International Council of Nurses
ICN works to ensure quality nursing care, sound health policies globally, the advancement of nursing knowledge, and the presence worldwide of a respected nursing profession and a competent and satisfied nursing workforce.

International Society for Infectious Disease
Membership organization for professionals specializing in infectious diseases. This group also oversees ProMED-Mail, an Internet-based reporting system focused on global dissemination of infectious disease outbreaks.

PATH
A Seattle-based global health nonprofit which partners with health care providers primarily in Asia and Africa to help women and children access vaccines, drugs, medical devices and diagnostic tools to reduce health inequities and prevent infectious disease outbreaks.

World Health Organization
The global health arm of the United Nations. Founded in 1949, the organization is the most prominent institutional organization tasked with improving the world’s health.
Within the WHO is the:

Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network , which links local, regional, national and international networks of laboratories and medical centers.
Global Influenza Program - Provides the WHO’s 193 member states with strategic guidance, technical support and coordination of activities essential to make their health systems better prepared against seasonal, zoonotic and pandemic influenza threats to populations and individuals.
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework: - This brings together Member States, industry, other stakeholders and WHO to implement a global approach to pandemic influenza preparedness.

World Organization for Animal Health
An intergovernmental organization responsible for improve animal health worldwide.

U.S. Agency for International Development Emerging Pandemic Threats
This program works, which is part of a broader collaborating program called PREDICT, works with developing countries to enhance its capacity to prevent, detect and control infectious disease in animals and people.

Medical journals & research

Eurosurveillance
A European peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to the epidemiology, surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases, with a focus on such topics that are of relevance to Europe.

Journal of American Medical Association and Archives
(free access to AHCJ members) - Plug in word “pandemic” or “influenza”

Annual Reviews Journals
(free access to AHCJ members) - Plug in word “pandemic” or “influenza”

Journal of Emerging Infectious Disease (open access)

Vaccine
Journal focused on vaccines. (AHCJ members can request access to articles through ScienceDirect)

MBio
Published by the American Society for Microbiology. Best of research in microbiology. (open-access)

Health Security
A peer-review journal explores the issues posed by disease outbreaks and epidemics. Published by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (Subscription)

Reports and studies

"Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019" (2019 AR Threats Report) is a publication of the Antibiotic Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit within the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The full 2019 AR Threats Report, including methods and appendices, is available online.

Predicting Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases To Protect Public Health And Strengthen National Security: This report outlines the challenges and a possible path forward for increasing the U.S. government's ability to predict, prevent, and prepare for climate-sensitive infectious diseases that threaten U.S. interests at home and abroad.

Urbanization and Slums: Infectious Diseases in the Built Environment: The urban built environment is a prime setting for microbial transmission, because just as cities serve as hubs for migration and international travel, components of the urban built environment serve as hubs that drive the transmission of infectious disease pathogens. The risk of infectious diseases for many people living in slums is further compounded by their poverty and their surrounding physical and social environment, which is often overcrowded, is prone to physical hazards, and lacks adequate or secure housing and basic infrastructure, including water, sanitation, or hygiene services.
To examine the role of the urban built environment in the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases that affect human health, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine planned a public workshop. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25070

“Avian Influenza: USDA Has Taken Actions to Reduce Risks but Needs a Plan to Evaluate Its Efforts,” Government Accountability Office, April 2017
A government report outlines steps the Agriculture Department has taken to protect the country from an avian pandemic and raises questions about whether the nation is too reliant on a single U.S.-based egg producer for the manufacturing of influenza vaccines.

“Biodefense Indicators: One Year Later, Events Outpacing Federal Efforts to Defend the Nation,” Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, December 2016
A bipartisan group, created in 2014 to assess the nation’s biodefense readiness, updates efforts to encourage Congress to devote more attention and funding to preparing for health emergencies.

“Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health From Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism,” Trust for America’s Health, December 2016
A public health advocacy group provides a snapshot of federal and state investment in emergency health preparedness.

“Tackling Drug Resistant Infections Globally: Final Report and Recommendations,” Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, Wellcome Trust, May 2016
A report funded by the British government focuses on the growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and discusses policy recommendations for halting their spread.

Report on the 2016-2017 Flu Season
The CDC’s report on the flu season.

Global Framework for Antibiotic Stewardship
A roadmap for a global strategy on preventing antimicrobial resistance

Vaccines Do Work for Pandemic Flu
Study conducted by British researchers of H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009 demonstrating that vaccines can stop pandemics.

State and local agencies

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
The national nonprofit organization representing the U.S.’s public health agencies and their 100,000 employees.

National Association of County & City Health Officials
Organization representing nearly 3,000 local health departments across the United States. Planning for Public Health emergencies provides overviews of county and city public health emergency health preparedness activities. Medical countermeasure planning in face of a health emergency. Local efforts to plan for vaccination during an influenza pandemic.

National Sheriff’s Association
A professional organization that serves as a center of information to the network of local law enforcement officials. The group chairs the Emergency Service Sector Coordinating Council, which represents fire, rescue, emergency and law enforcement officials across the nation. The group has recommendations for planning for a pandemic.

Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
To protect the public from zoonotic diseases, this lab plays a key role in surveillance of livestock, pets, poultry, and fish in the Pacific Northwest.

State or Territorial Health Departments
The CDC’s directory of links to all state departments of health.

Web-based infectious disease resources

Antibiotic Stewardship in Long-Term Care Facilities
The Pew Trusts Antibiotic Resistance project offers important and timely background information and analysis on the challenges of treating infections in nursing homes. Well sourced, with links to relevant studies.

Acute Care Hospital Toolkit
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released this resource to support implementation of the "Four Moments of Antibiotic Decision Making" and improve antibiotic prescribing.

Flu Trackers
A volunteer, civilian crowdsourcing effort monitoring infectious disease outbreaks worldwide.

HealthMap
Internet-based reporting system run out of Boston Children’s Hospital, Computational Epidemiology Lab

ProMEDmail
Internet-based reporting system that collects and disseminates information from multiple sources about emerging infectious diseases around the world.