BSDP-573
Disaster Planning for Infectious Disease Disasters

This course provides an overview of strategies for and challenges to planning for all types of disasters; with emphasis placed on biosecurity emergencies such as bioterrorism and outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. Content includes tools and resources needed to develop and/or evaluate a facility or community all-hazards response plan and create exercises to test this plan.

Course Number: BSDP-573
Classification: Required
Credits Earned: 3
Term Available: Spring/Fall
Faculty: Terri Rebmann

Course Description:
This course provides an overview of strategies for and challenges to planning for infectious disease disasters, such as bioterrorism and pandemics. Unique challenges to infectious disease disasters will be
addressed, including isolation, quarantine, and pharmacological interventions. Content includes tools and resources needed to develop and/or evaluate a facility or community all-hazards response plan
and create exercises to test this plan.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course a student will be able to:

• Specify the unique challenges to planning for and responding to an infectious disease disaster
• Specify pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions necessary for an infectious disease disaster
• Describe how disaster plans should incorporate infectious disease disaster planning activities
• Delineate surge capacity issues specific to infectious disease disasters

Competencies covered by this course:
• Describe surveillance methods for biohazards
• Develop disaster response interventions that address public health legal issues and ethical factors
• Identify infection prevention and control strategies to limit the secondary spread of infections
• Define the components of an agency emergency management plan
• Describe methods for evaluating a facility or community all-hazards response plan

Course Format:
Lectures, seminar discussions, and readings.