This webinar covers the importance of both prevention and preparing for biothreats. Through highlighting outbreaks such as COVID-19, mpox (formerly monkeypox), respiratory syncytial virus, and Ebola, the presentation explores the challenges faced, lessons learned, and discusses how to better prepare for future outbreaks.
Themes explored in this webinar include:
- The current special pathogens threat landscape, including outbreaks reported to the World Health Organization between January 2022–February 2023, and the factors contributing to these outbreaks;
- lessons learned from outbreaks of emerging, seasonal, and re-emerging infectious disease threats, their impact, associated challenges, and the need to focus on preventing and better preparing for future outbreaks;
- strategies for biopreparedness in hospital systems, including resources, personal protective equipment, and simulation training;
- the requirements for improving future biopreparedness; including standardised biopreparedness metrics, public health infrastructure, funding and global health security.
Speaker:
Syra Madad is the Senior Director of the System–wide Special Pathogens Program at New York City (NYC) Health + Hospitals, USA, and Co–Principal Investigator for the NYC Health + Hospitals Institute of Diseases and Disaster Management. Alongside this, Madad is a Core Faculty Member at the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, USA, and an Affiliate Faculty Member at the Boston University Center for Emerging Infectious Disease Policy & Research, USA. She is also a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Massachusetts, USA, where she leads a science communication series on infectious disease threats.
