WS6: ASSESSING AND INVESTGATING DISEASE OUTBREAKS: NATURAL AND DELIBERATE
Dr Julie E. Fischer
Director Elizabeth R. Griffin Program Center for Global Health Science and Security Georgetown University Medical Center, USA

The International Health Regulations and other global health security frameworks call upon national stakeholders to develop the capacities to detect, assess, and respond effectively to unusual or unexpected health events. What constitutes an “unusual or unexpected event,” and what capabilities and coordination mechanisms are required to investigate disease outbreaks identified as unusual or unexpected? This workshop will focus on multi-sectoral preparedness and planning to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats, whether natural or deliberate. The workshop will focus on biopreparedness and will review special considerations for disease surveillance, epidemiological investigations, and disease prevention and control measures in the context of an unusual or unexpected event. Case studies will be used to emphasize a shared understanding of concepts in biothreats, and the need to consider biosafety and biosecurity across sectors and levels from the first detection of an unusual event to the management and sharing of information, knowledge, and materials. The workshop will include interactive exercises, including scenario-based discussions and brainstorming sessions.