Promoting global health security as an international priority is a challenge; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Global Health Security Agenda has articulated the importance of accelerating progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats. The goals are to (1) prevent and reduce the likelihood of outbreaks-natural, accidental, or intentional; (2) detect threats early to save lives; and (3) respond rapidly and effectively using multisectoral, international coordination and communication. Foundational to this agenda is the World Health Organization (WHO) Revised International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005, which provide the legal framework for countries to strengthen their health systems in order to be able to respond to any public health emergency of international concern. This article proposes leveraging the distributed structure of the US-managed Laboratory Response Network for Biological Threats Preparedness (LRN-B) to develop the core capacity of laboratory testing and to fulfill the laboratory-strengthening component of the Global Health Security Agenda. The LRN model offers an effective mechanism to detect and respond to public health emergencies of international concern.

www.hurricanes.gov Facebook Twitter Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones tables updated NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in consultation with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has updated the listing of costliest tropical cyclones to strike the United States mainland. This listing was previously found in the NOAA memorandum The Deadliest, Costliest and Most Intense U.S. Tropical Cyclones, linked at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/nws-nhc-6.pdf These new tables listed below replace Tables 3a and 3b in the above document. The first table (3a), not adjusted for inflation, lists 36 tropical cyclones from 1900 to 2017 that caused at least 1 billion dollars in damage on the U.S. mainland, and another five striking U.S. territories or Hawaii. The second table (3b) accounts for inflation to 2017 dollars.

ABSTRACTObjective: To document the ability of public health laboratories to respond to radiological emergencies.Methods: The Association of Public Health Laboratories developed, distributed, and analyzed two separate surveys of public health laboratories representing the 50 US states and major nonstate jurisdictions. The 2009 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey examined overall laboratory capability and capacity, with a subset of questions on radiation preparedness. A 2011 survey focused exclusively on radiation readiness.Results: The 50 state and District of Columbia public health laboratories responded to the 2009 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey, representing a 98% response rate. In addition to the above laboratories, environmental and agricultural laboratories responded to the 2011 Radiation Capabilities Survey, representing a 76% response rate. Twenty-seven percent of the All-Hazards Survey respondents reported the ability to measure radionuclides in clinical specimens; 6% reported that another state agency or department accepted and analyzed these samples via a radioanalytical method. Of the Radiation Capabilities Survey respondents, 60% reported the ability to test environmental samples, such as air, soil, or surface water, for radiation; 48% reported the ability to test nonmilk food samples; 47% reported the ability to test milk; and 56% reported sending data for drinking water to the Environmental Protection Agency.Conclusions: Survey data reveal serious gaps in US radiological preparedness. In 2007, federal experts estimated it would take more than 4 years to screen 100 000 individuals for radiation exposure and 6 years to test environmental samples from a large-scale radiological emergency, relying on existing laboratory assets. Although some progress has been made since 2007, public health laboratory radiological test capabilities and capacities remain insufficient to respond to a major event. Adequate preparation requires significant new investment to build and enhance laboratory emergency response networks, as well as investments in the broader public health system in which public health laboratories function.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:213-217)

The International Health Regulations (2005) outlines eight core capacities that focus on maintaining and strengthening the ability to prevent, detect, respond and report public health threats globally. As of May 2013, 100 of the 195 State Parties that agreed to implement the regulations have failed to meet all of the core capacities. The Laboratory Response Network (LRN), an infrastructure of public health laboratories capable of responding to biological, chemical, radiological, and other emerging public health threats, fulfills five out of eight core capacities and could serve as a model for successful implementation of IHR (2005).