The objective of this research is to describe the frequency and nature of 911 calls that result in potentially life-saving interventions (PLSI) during the call. Jeffrey L. Jarvis, Vaughn Hamilton, Mike Taigman, & Lawrence H Brown
JEMS Editor Emeritus A.J. Heightman talks with EMS visionary, researcher and educator extraordinaire Mike Taigman about living with stress and stress management in EMS, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
EMS1 article by Mike Taigman - 5 ways for fire and EMS professionals to support our colleagues in public health as they battle COVID-19
Executive Summary: Although the flu season is hopefully going to continue to decline over the next month, it is still something to watch closely. Flu activity decreased with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons. Pediatric deaths total 125 for the season, with 20 of those deaths reported this week. This season is considered severe. Also, with COVID-19 now in different states and communities within the U.S., some with community spread, everyone must realize that the...
Executive Summary: The CDC considers this COVID-19 outbreak to be, “an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. The CDC/NIOSH have published a webpage with links to resources for the protection of workers to be used by a variety of industries. Download the pdf
Executive Summary: Although eyes are still focused on COVID-19, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America at this time. Flu activity decreased with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons. Pediatric deaths total 105 for the season, with 13 of those deaths reported this week. Adult deaths are below the epidemic threshold. This season is considered a severe. Download the Full Update
Executive Summary: Although most eyes are laser-focused on the COVID-19, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America and other countries outside the China region at this time. Flu activity increased again with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons. Pediatric deaths total 92 for the season, with 14 of those deaths reported this week although adult deaths are below the epidemic threshold. This season is considered a bad one as far as numbers...
Executive Summary: Although most eyes are laser-focused on the 2019-nCoV, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America and other countries outside the China region at this time. Flu activity increased again with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons. Pediatric deaths total 68 for the season, with 14 of those deaths reported this week. Download the Full Update
IN THE NEWS Executive Summary: The CDC and NIOSH have reported counterfeit respirators being sold on the open market with various methods of NIOSH Approval misrepresentation in the way of pictures and descriptions. Full Report: NIOSH-Approved N95 or better masks are the mainstay of preventing airborne diseases from being transmitted and is the minimum required mask for health care workers when Airborne Precautions are in place (such as for suspected 2019-nCoV patients). They must be individually Fit Tested after a medical evaluation to assure...
What First Responders Can Do Feb-3-2020: The information in the attached PDF is designed to assist EMS and other First Responders, but may contain information not complete or applicable to a particular agency or situation. All stakeholders should review pertinent national public health and WHO documents to ensure complete knowledge. Download the pdf
Executive Summary: The CDC issued a health advisory, HAN 00425, on Jan 10 warning of elevated flu activity with Influenza B/Victoria and A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses dominating. Children have taken the worse hit in regards to severe disease this season with Influenza B accounting for more than half the pediatric deaths this season (37 of 54). Although flu & ILI activity was in decline for a couple of weeks which could have signaled an early end to the flu season, that is apparently...
IN THE NEWS Late Afternoon/Evening Update for 1/8/20 -- An Organism Identified: In the afternoon hours of the January 8th, multiple American news agencies, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation, as well as from the WHO, began posting on-line articles that state a novel coronavirus has been identified in some of the hospitalized patients associated with the Wuhan, China pneumonia outbreak. It is important to note that, per the Wall Street Journal, it has not been confirmed to be found...
Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #52 -- Week Ending 12-28-19 The CDC reported that flu activity (diagnosed flu and ILI outpatient visits) is high in all regions of the US and is continuing to increase. It has been elevated for eight (8) weeks now, longer at this time point than in most previous seasons. It is also important to note that Flu/ILI might be underreported for this time period because of the holidays and less people going for outpatient/doctor office visits. ...
IN THE NEWS This information is being published only for awareness because there has been confirmation that a small outbreak of what is thought to be a viral pneumonia/respiratory infection is being investigated by The National (China) Health and Health Commission, the Heath Commission of Hubei Province, and the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. Reports have also been made by Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and Taiwan’s CDC. At last report, 12/31/19, the outbreak consisted of 27 individuals with fever...
Measles Update: As 2019 winds down in just a little over a week, there were less cases (8) in November 2019, than in any previous month in 2019 except September, which had 6 cases; October had 13. It is still too early to report December’s numbers since reporting & recording to the CDC is only through Dec 5 at this time, but there are currently no reported cases for December. Those numbers, as well as the total for the entire 2019...
An Update of the Current Situation: A snapshot of the DRC Dashboard, provided by the DRC with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, includes the following data on the most current number of cases, deaths, survivors, and the contacts followed. As of 12/21/19, there have been a total of 3,358 cases including both confirmed and probable cases. This includes one (1) new confirmed case as part of the 3,240 confirmed cases (proven by laboratory testing), and 118 probable ones (almost...
Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #50 -- Week Ending 12-14-19 The CDC reported that flu season is in full swing, with all regions of the US having elevated ILI and flu activity continuing to increase. Most of the current flu activity is caused by Influenza B/Victoria which typically occurs in late Winter or Spring, toward the end of the flu season. A(H1N1) is the next most common and is increasing compared to the other flu viruses, followed by A(H3N2) with an...
Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #49 -- Week Ending 12-7-19 The CDC reported that seasonal flu is in full swing, with all regions of the US having elevated ILI and flu activity continues to increase. Most of the current flu activity is caused by Influenza B/Victoria which more typically occurs toward the end of the flu season. A(H1N1) is the next most common and seems to be increasing compared to the other flu viruses, followed by A(H3N2) with a much smaller...
Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #48 -- Week Ending 11-30-19 The CDC reported that seasonal flu activity continued to increase over the previous week; from a national perspective, ILI has been at/above baseline for four weeks, and many areas of the country have significant levels of flu, while some areas are still seeing only low levels of flu activity. According to the data, the 2019/20 flu season is ramping up earlier and faster when compared with other recent years (see chart...
IN THE NEWS For the third holiday season in a row (2017, -18, -19), Consumers, Stores & Restaurants, Healthcare Personnel, National, State and Local Public Health Authorities, and Healthcare Facilities are being warned about an outbreak of E. Coli O157:H7. This is one of the E. Coli strains that is associated with a Shiga-toxin (STEC), can make people sick, cause severe illness, and even death. Through an investigation, lab testing and traceback information, the outbreak has been linked to romaine lettuce...
