public health

A German Perspective on Public Health Preparedness

November 11, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Each German federal state is responsible for public health. Pictured here is Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Photo by Mia Tellmann

Over the summer, I met with Prof. Dr. Manfred Wildner and his colleague, Dr. Herbert Zöllner, in Munich, Germany to learn about the structure of public health institutions and emergency preparedness in Germany.

Germany is a federal republic consisting of 16 states. Each individual state is responsible for public health, as well as other matters including policing and education. I wanted to understand how Germany, and in particular the individual states, organize themselves to prepare for public health emergencies. Continue Reading

Coming up: American Public Health Association Conference 2019

October 24, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Register now for APHA 2019, the largest annual meeting of public health professionals. The conference will take place from November 2-6 in Philadelphia. Click the link below for more information:

https://apha.org

Learnings on Biodefense Preparedness from Singapore

October 14, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Singapore’s Gardens By The Bay. Photo by Mia Tellmann

All around the world, the structure and security measures for biodefense preparedness vary. Countries have very distinct strategies based on their location, size, and type of government. I was particularly interested in Singapore, a very small country of only 5.8 million residents and 278 square miles, because of its reputation for efficiency and high standards. Therefore, I asked the Singaporean Government if they could share information on their approach to protecting their country from biological threats. Continue Reading

Flu shots are now available!

September 9, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Influenza virus. Picture by Shutterstock/Rost9

Flu shots for the 2019-20 season are out. Go and get yours! It’s the best prevention that’s available for now. I got mine on Labor Day at my local pharmacy, which proved to be a good decision as there were no lines with people still away for the holiday. Continue Reading

How Max Joseph von Pettenkofer Changed the World of Hygiene

August 23, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

German hygienist Max Joseph von Pettenkofer. Picture by Shutterstock

An interesting fact I came across while I was preparing to meet a German public health expert (see my blogs in the coming weeks), is that the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore, among many other institutions, was inspired by and modeled after the Hygieneinstitut (Hygiene Institute) in Munich. Continue Reading

Update on Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo

July 27, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Ebola virus. Picture by Shutterstock/ jaddigt

The World Health Organization has recently declared the nearly year-long Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a Public-Health Emergency of International Concern. The declaration was made after recent developments in the outbreak made it one of international concern. Continue Reading

How to Learn More About Incident Management

July 4, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Happy Independence Day! Over the last week, I have attempted to increase my understanding of how the American incident management system works and the organizational structure that is in place in case of an emergency. In order to do this, I took two courses provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Continue Reading

A Great Resource for Global Health Data: Gapminder

June 12, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

A free chart from www.gapminder.org

Gapminder is a Swedish foundation created by Hans Rosling, his son Ola Rosling, and Anna Roslin Rönnlund. It was founded on February 25th, 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden and often collaborates with universities, the United Nations, and both public and non-governmental organizations. Gapminder strives to educate the world’s population on the ignorance of global facts, reduce misconceptions of people’s worldview, and promote global data and research that is easy to understand. Continue Reading

Interview with Dr. Tomoya Saito – The Risks of Dual-Use Technologies for Biosecurity

April 28, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

Bacteria Francisella tularensis, a potential biothreat agent. Picture by Shutterstock/ Kateryna Kon

Over the summer, I met with Dr. Tomoya Saito in Tokyo to learn about outbreak and bioterror preparedness in Japan.

This is Part II of my conversation in which we discuss the risks of dual-use technologies for biosecurity. Part I focused on the structure of the Japanese preparedness system and was posted in March. Continue Reading

Don’t wait, vaccinate!

April 10, 2019 by Mia Tellmann Leave a Comment

As of yesterday, New York City has declared a public health emergency in response to a widespread measles outbreak in Brooklyn. Measles is a viral infection that can be very dangerous for small children, but has been preventable with a vaccine since the 1960s. Common measles symptoms include a cough, runny nose, fever, and a red skin rash. Measles symptoms do not appear until 10 to 14 days after the initial exposure, which allows for easy transmission of the virus during the initial days of infection. Continue Reading