Keystone Health Preparedness Digest

December 16, 2024

Volume 13, Issue 24 

2024 Weather Year in Review

7 things to know about another wild weather year

Another year is just about in the books, and it has been another memorable year for weather. The year has left an indelible mark in terms of severe weather across the United States. From catastrophic hurricanes to widespread wildfires and record-breaking heatwaves, this year underscored the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.

Read the new HAPevolve blog post by CJ Sabo, MPH, EMT-B, HAP manager, emergency management.

Read HAPevolve's New Blog Post

Emergency Preparedness Expertise

HAP’s Emergency Management team helps Pennsylvania's hospitals and health systems prepare for public health emergencies and serves as a national model for best practices. Learn more about HAPevolve's Emergency Preparedness Solutions.

HOT TOPICS

USDA issues national milk testing order, CIDRAP: The 3-part order also requires affected farms to share epidemiologic information and any positive test results.

Request for Information: ASPR Seeks Public Comment on Hospital Preparedness Program Funding Formula. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) seeks public comment to inform the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) funding formula. The RFI is part of a rigorous process to evaluate potential modifications to the funding formula. These updates will enable ASPR to allocate federal funding in a way that reflects the current threat landscape that HPP recipients face and is informed by the experiences and perspectives of health care entities in the field. This RFI will inform changes to the HPP funding formula, which is statutorily required and determines the distribution of HPP cooperative agreement funding to recipients. The formula consists of three components:

• A base amount determined by the HHS Secretary
• A required adjustment based on population
• An amount based on significant unmet need and degree of risk

Through this request, ASPR seeks feedback on how it might change the data sources and information the agency uses to determine the formula’s risk component. The RFI is open to comment from all members of the public. By taking the opportunity to share your input, you are helping ASPR continue to improve and strengthen the nation’s health care readiness.

All comments must be received via the methods outlined in the full RFI by 11:59 PM ET on December 20, 2024. For more information about the RFI, please view the full news release.

National Preparedness News and Updates

COVID-19

HHS secretary extends duration for COVID PREP Act declaration, CIDRAP: The declaration provides immunity for certain claims, including loss caused by or related to administration or use of countermeasures to diseases, threats, or conditions.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

H5N1 Avian Flu

California reports H5N1 in more retail raw milk as virus infects 2 more dairy workers, CIDRAP: Meanwhile, federal officials confirmed more detections on California dairy farms and at commercial poultry farms in six states.

Under certain conditions, a single H5N1 flu virus mutation could lead to spread among people, CIDRAP: But the researchers say other genetic mutations would likely be needed for the virus to prefer human cell receptors and enable efficient human transmission.

Arizona confirms 2 avian flu infections as California probes second potential case in a child, CIDRAP: Arizona's patients were exposed to sick poultry at a large commercial farm in Pinal County.

Nevada reports its first avian flu detection in dairy cattle as virus hits Iowa layer farm, CIDRAP: Nevada is the 16th state to report avian flu in dairy cattle. Iowa's poultry outbreak is its first since June.

Canadian probe into teen's critical H5N1 infection finds no clear source, CIDRAP: Extensive human, animal, and environmental tests were negative, and the closest phylogenetic match was to a virus from wild cackling geese.

H5N1 outbreaks in California dairy cattle top 500 as virus strikes more poultry in 3 states, CIDRAP: The avian flu virus is also taking a heavy toll on California's commercial poultry farms.

Vietnam reports human H5 avian flu case, CIDRAP: Investigators found hundreds of dead poultry at the patient's family home.

Avian flu suspected in cats that drank raw milk as virus kills animals at Arizona zoo, CIDRAP: In other developments, federal and state officials reported more detections in dairy cows, poultry, and wild birds.

Emerging Disease

California health officials probe raw milk link in child's flu A infection, CIDRAP: The child tested positive for influenza A, which could indicate a range of viruses, from seasonal flu to avian flu.

US flu activity picks up a little more pace, CIDRAP: In its weekly respiratory illness snapshot, the CDC upgraded the level from low to moderate.

Flu patients less likely to die if given oseltamivir on day of hospitalization, data suggest, CIDRAP: They also had lower odds of requiring intensive care and dialysis or vasopressors than those who didn't receive early therapy, the authors say.

Officials continue probe on DR Congo mystery illness, CIDRAP: 31 people have died, and 406 people have been sickened by the illness, which causes fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and body aches.

Initial samples in DR Congo unexplained outbreak positive for malaria, CIDRAP: Of 12 samples, 10 were malaria-positive, but officials continue to investigate other contributing factors. As DRC officials await test results, WHO experts are also bringing medicine and test equipment to help local responders.

New 68-case Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers from Mexico, CIDRAP: Of 33 people interviewed by health officials, 27 (82%) reported eating cucumbers in the days prior to illness.

China reports two more H9N2 avian flu cases, CIDRAP: H9N2 is known to circulate in poultry in the region, and infections are typically reported in children who experience mild disease.

Report highlights danger of splash pads for waterborne diseases, CIDRAP: Visitors are at risk of ingesting water that has been contaminated with feces at splash pads.

CYBERSECURITY

The latest CISA Vulnerability Bulletin provides a summary of new vulnerabilities that have been recorded by the NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD) in the past week. In some cases, the vulnerabilities in the bulletin may not yet have been assigned CVSS scores. Please visit NVD for updated vulnerability entries, which include CVSS scores once they are available. 

Free Cybersecurity Services and Tools: As part of Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) continuing mission to reduce cybersecurity risk across U.S. critical infrastructure partners and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, CISA has compiled a list of free cybersecurity tools and services to help organizations further advance their security capabilities. This living repository includes cybersecurity services provided by CISA, widely used open-source tools, and free tools and services offered by private and public sector organizations across the cybersecurity community. Any reference to specific commercial products, processes, or services by service mark, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply their endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by CISA.

AI IN HEALTH CARE

Providers, payers share actionable experiences involving healthcare AI. AI in Healthcare: A large venture capital firm focused on supporting early stage health tech companies has a tip for AI startups targeting the healthcare sector. “The winners in this space will be those who can balance healthcare’s methodical approach to innovation with the unprecedented speed of AI advancement,” the firm states in a new report. “Success will come from delivering solutions that are both transformative and trustworthy, at a pace that matches the technology’s rapid evolution.”

The firm is San Francisco-based Define Ventures. The report presents findings from surveys and interviews with 63 executives at provider and payer organizations. While the report is primarily aimed at healthcare AI vendors, its analyses should interest provider and payer leaders who are—or will be—investing in AI. Among the report’s key takeaways:

1. A gap persists between AI ambition and AI adoption. “With 53% of respondents saying AI is an immediate priority, it’s clear that provider and payer leaders recognize AI’s near-term potential to create a more efficient, scalable and patient-centric healthcare system,” Define Ventures remarks. More: ‘Some 73% of organizations are expanding their financial commitments, which indicates payers and providers are transitioning from early pilot successes to enterprise-scaled solutions.’
2. AI adoption progresses along a foreseeable curve. “Our research indicates that healthcare organizations are proceeding thoughtfully within their complex organizations while laying a foundation for responsible, effective adoption.”
3. Operational efficiency is a standard strategic focus. Most healthcare organizations are focusing on projects that offer near-term wins in operational efficiency, the authors note. “This sentiment reflects a pragmatic approach in balancing visionary AI goals with the realities of current organizational needs.”
4. Build vs. buy is a common conundrum. Determining the right buy vs. build approach for each element of an increasingly sophisticated technology stack involves weighing factors like an organization’s internal expertise, IT infrastructure, need for customization, and compatibility with existing workflows, data and tools, Define reports.
5. Trust, value and strategic alignment: Qualities that healthcare leaders prize in industry partners. For providers, the same factors that have proven especially challenging—ROI for the chosen use case (45%), workflow integration (38%), and data security and compliance (38%)—are top considerations when evaluating AI vendors, the authors found. Meanwhile, 86% of payers cite data security and compliance, followed by 38% for data access and ownership and similarly 38% for ROI for the specific use case.

The report is available in full for free.

SUPPLY CHAIN

HHS ASPR announces new funding to fill gaps in biothreat diagnostics, CIDRAP: Though the funding covers melioidosis and Marburg tests, ASPR said the new capability can be repurposed to develop and produce tests for other biological threats when needed.

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ITEMS OF INTEREST

ASPR RISC Toolkit 2.0

Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) Toolkit is an objective, data-driven all-hazards risk assessment that can be used by public and private organizations within the Healthcare and Public Health Sector to inform emergency preparedness planning, risk management activities, and resource investments. The RISC Toolkit provides owners/operators in the HPH Sector with nationally recognized standards-based evaluation criteria in an easy-to-follow, guided format. It can be utilized by a wide variety of HPH stakeholders including but not limited to hospitals, long-term care facilities, community health centers, health care coalitions, and public health agencies. The RISC Toolkit contains three self-assessment modules. These allow users to identify external threats and internal hazards specific to their site by using objective national-level data; assess the vulnerability of their site based on industry standards and guidance; and evaluate the criticality of and consequences to their site in the event of an incident. The RISC Toolkit compares multiple facilities across systems, coalitions, and regions to identify dependencies and interdependencies in a consistent and repeatable method to help create a more resilient healthcare system.

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