Epidemiology

of Public
Health
Emergencies
CPHMLS, 1st Semester, AY 2020-2021
Public Health • An occurrence or imminent threat of an illness
Emergency or health condition, caused by bioterrorism,
epidemic or pandemic disease, or a novel and
(WHO) highly infectious agent or biological toxin
 • It is not actually different from how
epidemiology is defined and implemented
Disaster • The only difference lies in the circumstances
or events wherein the principles of
Epidemiology epidemiology apply to, which is in this case
disaster and/or emergency situations
• A lot of challenges surround the conduct of
epidemiologic studies in these kinds of
situations
 • Assesses short- and long-term adverse health
Disaster effects of disasters to help guide emergency
preparedness and response
Epidemiology • Provides situational awareness of the
disaster/emergency being studied
 Prevent
Prevent or reduce the number of deaths,
or illnesses, and injuries caused by disasters
reduce

Objectives of
Disaster Provide Provide timely and accurate health
information for decision-makers
Epidemiology
Improve prevention and mitigation
Improve strategies for future disasters by collecting
information for future response preparation
How do • A disaster can be defined as a naturally
occurring geological, meteorological, or
public health biological event, as well as any man-made
event with mass casualties produced by
emergencies biological, chemical, radiological, or
nuclear forces
qualify as • Almost the same definition as a public
health emergency (at least, for the
disasters? biological part)!
COVID-19: • Following the first known case of COVID-19 on
A Public December 31, 2019, other countries started
Health notifying the World Health Organization (WHO)
of their own cases of the coronavirus
Emergency • Collecting all these events, the WHO announced
that the disease is a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (PHEIC) on January
30,2020
• PHEIC: An extraordinary event that poses a
public health risk to more than one member-
state due to the international spread of the
disease
WHO Significant Steps on the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020: Publishing of a comprehensive

package of guidance documents to 2020: Convening of a Global
countries on the coronavirus research and Innovation Forum on Reporting of over 1 million COVID-
outbreak management COVID-19 19 cases worldwide

10–12 Jan. 11–12 Feb. 4 Apr. 2020

30 Jan. 2020 18 Mar. 2020

Declaration of COVID-19 as a PHEIC Launching of the SOLIDARITY

megatrial to generate data on the
most effective treatment agents for
COVID-19
WHO Significant Steps on the COVID-19 Pandemic

18–19 May 9 July 2020

2020: 73rd World Health Assembly conducted virtually, Delegation of co-chairpersons for the Independent
with a landmark resolution to bring the world together Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response to
to fight COVID-19 evaluate global COVID-19 response efforts

Announcement of stopping of hydroxychloroquine as

an effective treatment for COVID-19 in the SOLIDARITY
megatrial

17 June 2020
References:

• https://www.who.int/hac/about/definitions/en/#:~:text=A%20public%20health%20e
mergency%20(the,infectious%20agent%20or%20biological%20toxin%2C
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128093184/disaster-epidemiology
• https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/disaster/epidemiology.htm
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202981/
• https://extranet.who.int/sph/covid-19-public-health-emergency-international-
concern-pheic-under-ihr
• https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/interactive-
timeline/
How about the Philippines?

• Did we address the pandemic according to the objectives set by disaster

epidemiology?
• How can we improve on our pandemic response?