1. Initial Public Health Laboratory Response After Hurricane Maria - Puerto Rico, 2017
- Author
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Darin T. Tranquillo, Rosa Ivette Cuevas Ruiz, Efrain M. Ribot, Brunilís B. White, Beverly Metchock, Alexandra M. Mercante, Olga Joglar, Monica Youngblood, Satish K. Pillai, Renee Galloway, Carolina Luna-Pinto, Henry Walke, Kelly Wroblewski, Renee H. Funk, Brittany J. Sunshine, Chris Mangal, Alfonsina De Leon Salazar, Rafael L. Gonzalez Peña, Jennifer-Quiñones Gonzalez, Haley Martin, Matthew Lozier, Victor R. De Jesus, David E. Lowe, LaShondra Berman, Héctor I. Rivera Arbolay, Angela Starks, Robin Connelly, Robyn Stoddard, Marisela Ansbro, Rita Czakó Stinnett, Anita Patel, Carmen Deseda, Mayra Toro, Anne Gaynor, Stephanie Johnston, Jeniffer Concepción-Acevedo, Cortney Stafford, Gouthami Rao, Stephen Soroka, Ilana J. Schafer, Dale A. Rose, Eduardo O’Neill, Atis Muehlenbachs, Joaudimir Castro Georgi, Katherine Klein, Tracy Dalton, Marie-Claire Rowlinson, Stephen Lindstrom, Craig N. Shapiro, Reynolds M. Salerno, Elaine McCaffery, and Margaret C. Hardy
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Health (social science) ,Epidemiology ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Communicable Diseases ,Disasters ,03 medical and health sciences ,Potable water ,0302 clinical medicine ,Health Information Management ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Full Report ,Natural disaster ,Landfall ,Government ,business.industry ,Cyclonic Storms ,Diagnostic Tests, Routine ,Public health ,Puerto Rico ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,United States ,030104 developmental biology ,Emergency response ,Population Surveillance ,Needs assessment ,Public Health Practice ,Medical emergency ,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S ,business ,Laboratories ,Transport system - Abstract
Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, causing major damage to infrastructure and severely limiting access to potable water, electric power, transportation, and communications. Public services that were affected included operations of the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH), which provides critical laboratory testing and surveillance for diseases and other health hazards. PRDOH requested assistance from CDC for the restoration of laboratory infrastructure, surveillance capacity, and diagnostic testing for selected priority diseases, including influenza, rabies, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and tuberculosis. PRDOH, CDC, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) collaborated to conduct rapid needs assessments and, with assistance from the CDC Foundation, implement a temporary transport system for shipping samples from Puerto Rico to the continental United States for surveillance and diagnostic and confirmatory testing. This report describes the initial laboratory emergency response and engagement efforts among federal, state, and nongovernmental partners to reestablish public health laboratory services severely affected by Hurricane Maria. The implementation of a sample transport system allowed Puerto Rico to reinitiate priority infectious disease surveillance and laboratory testing for patient and public health interventions, while awaiting the rebuilding and reinstatement of PRDOH laboratory services.
- Published
- 2018