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Looming Challenges to Continuity

Global Health Surveillance Management & Operations
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Disease, Natural Disasters, and Disruption  

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, there are countless other looming challenges that could potentially disrupt the continuity of your day-to-day operations. By understanding which of these many diseases, natural disasters, and otherwise disruptive challenges may impact your operational continuity, you can be better prepared to mitigate those impacts. In each of these situations, there is potential for lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to be applied. Read more about how these lessons can be applied in “Biosafety and the Workplace.”  

H5N1 “Bird Flu”
Influenza has been in the news quite a bit in 2024 – specifically H5N1 or “H5 bird flu.” This pathogen is enzootic in wild birds like geese, which means that it’s typically found in these populations. In the past, it has also commonly infected domesticated bird species, and rarely those humans who work in close contact with poultry. Today, a new variant is impacting wild bird and mammal populations, as well as domesticated farm animals, and has made the jump to the human population once again.  

Though symptoms have been minor and human-to-human transmission seems to be rare thus far, the virus can continue evolving over time and may pose a more significant threat to animal and human populations in the future. Should it evolve to being more easily transmissible between humans and with more impactful respiratory illness, it may cause significant disruptions. Read more about the virus at “How Bad is H5N1?”  

Mpox
Mpox is a disease endemic to some Central and Western African countries. Since an initial outbreak in May 2022, it has spread to 123 countries with more than 106,000 laboratory confirmed cases and 234 deaths. Public health emergencies of international concern were declared regarding the mpox virus in 2023 and again in August 2024. 

Transmission occurs primarily through close personal contact with skin, rashes, bodily fluids, contaminated objects or fabric, and respiratory secretions. It can also spread from wild animal species such as rodents and other mammals, or when in close contact with those animals during activities such as hunting or trapping, or from bites or scratches.  

Symptoms include a rash, fever, sore throat, headache, and other generalized signs. The rash often begins on the face and spreads throughout the body and can become quite painful. The lesions are infectious until fully healed. Children, pregnant individuals, and immunocompromised individuals are the most at risk for serious illness. There is a two-dose mpox vaccine available, which is recommended for people who live in or are traveling to countries with ongoing person-to-person transmission and plan to participate in activities that may increase their risk of exposure. Read more at “Mpox Becomes a Public Health Emergency.”  

Measles
Though the virus was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, measles cases have been occurring with greater frequency in the past few years, typically the result of travelers contracting the virus abroad and spreading it to under- or unvaccinated people. So far this year, there have been 14 outbreaks (defined as three or more cases), and 267 cases (compared to 59 cases in 2023), of which 40 percent resulted in hospitalization, with the highest infection rates in the states of Illinois, Minnesota, and Oregon.  

Measles can be spread via inhalation and close contact with infected nasal and throat secretions and is highly infectious. Infections seem to increase during the spring or summer. There is also a global travel advisory in place, with the major countries of concern being Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Ethiopia. 

Read more about the importance of considerations for ensuring biosafety and laboratory operations during these and other disruptive events at “Laboratory Planning and Preparedness to Mitigate Risk.” 

 

 

Interested in learning more about risk mitigation and preparedness planning for laboratory and non-laboratory spaces? Our experts have prepared this “Enhancing Laboratory Operations: Best Practices for Risk Mitigation and Preparedness Planning” webinar just for you.

Pipette adding fluid to one of several test tubes

Vector-Borne Diseases
Dengue

There has also been an uptick in mosquito-borne illnesses such as Dengue virus. In 2024 alone, there have been more than 13 million cases globally and more than 8,500 deaths, typically affecting Central and South America and countries in Africa and the Middle East. Dengue can also commonly be found in some U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. Less commonly, cases have occurred in southern U.S. states including Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. Due to climate change, the geographic ranges of many arthropods, including many mosquito species, have been expanding. Though most U.S. cases have been contracted through travel to countries where the virus is endemic, climate change is helping expand the ranges of the vectors for many diseases, including the mosquito that carries Dengue.  

Oropouche
A lesser-known mosquito-borne virus called Oropouche, recently dubbed “sloth fever,” can also be spread by biting midges. As of July 2024, there have been more than 8,000 confirmed cases and two deaths across Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, and Peru. There are also cases among U.S. travelers that visited affected countries, including 86 such cases in Florida. The Pan American Health Organization has issued an alert and warned of dangers to pregnant woman, as Oropouche has been known to pose a greater risk to those individuals and cause congenital infections. Symptoms can resemble those of Dengue virus and can also result in meningitis, and there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments specifically for this disease.  

Polio
The Polio virus has been with us for decades but was considered eradicated in the U.S. in 1994. Spread via fecal-oral transmission, it is now typically seen in African countries due to a less rigorous vaccination program or less resources for improved infrastructure and hygiene. However, an increasing number of cases have occurred in the U.S. in the past several years, likely due to decreasing rates of vaccination among children. Individuals who are un- or under-vaccinated are at the highest risk for severe outcomes. 

Polio virus is highly infectious, and individuals can spread the virus to others up to two weeks after the onset of symptoms. Many individuals remain asymptomatic during infection but can still spread the virus. Approximately one quarter of cases can manifest generalized flu-like symptoms such as fever, malaise, and congestion. Rarely, more serious manifestations such as meningitis or paralysis can occur. Paralysis can be lethal in cases where the respiratory or central nervous systems are affected, which occurs in approximately between 2 and 10 percent of cases. 

Other Disruptions
Although we’ve mostly covered epidemics and other biological disruptions, these are not the only situations in which good emergency planning and response can be of use to your facility. Adverse weather events such as hurricanes, severe storms, snow, extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires are some events that can affect trucking, rail, and air cargo operations, and cause delays or supply chain unpredictability. Three recent disruptive events – Hurricanes Milton and Helene, and the dockworkers strike – have upended supply chains across the country, even if only temporarily.  

Cyberattacks can also cause disruption. In 2024, a faulty software update for Windows OS by Crowdstrike caused global IT outages that disrupted hospital and airline operations. Approximately 8.5 million machines were affected. Back in 2022, AT&T was hacked, and 90 million customers had their records stolen. Similar future events could result in work disruptions or even stoppages if not addressed promptly. 

Whether in preparation for an infectious disease, natural disaster, or other challenge, maintaining business continuity requires advance planning. Assessing which challenges are most likely to occur and potentially disrupt your operation is a critical step toward being prepared to limit their impact.

GETTING STARTED AT MRIGLOBAL
Contact MRIGlobal for further information about our work in biosafety preparedness. With more than 100 years of combined experience in clinical and research laboratories at all containment levels and in more than a dozen countries, our team can support the start-up of your biosafety program, facility audit and inspection, security and biorisk assessment, and staff training.  

To discuss how we can help your project be successful, contact us today. 

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