Author: Meryl Phair

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Nicole Brandao’s Salad Bar Salmonella Case Study

A strain of Salmonella was created and spread by the Rajneeshee cult to multiple Oregon locations in 1984. The cult had the intention to rig a local election in the their favor by causing this outbreak in a civilian population through food poisoning. In this case study, Nicole Brandao discusses how public health strategies such as surveillance, public awareness, and vigilance can help reduce the likelihood of a similar food poisoning incident repeating.

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Kaira Lapurga’s Case Study on the Camp Fire in Paradise, California

On November 8, 2018, the Northern Californian town of Paradise experienced the “deadliest and most destructive” wildfire in the state’s history. Kaira Lapurga discusses how the Camp Fire led to efforts aimed at improving emergency response and creating communication strategies for wildfire-related warnings. Additionally, the disaster provided incentive for Butte County and surrounding counties to restructure their current action plans.

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Vincent Aina’s Case Study on Heatwaves in Burkina Faso

As the severity of extreme weather events increase worldwide due to climate change, African nations have borne the brunt of their devastating effects. In this case study, Vincent Aina discusses health and agricultural risks that Burkina Faso faces due to natural hazards, especially heatwaves. Aina outlines strategies that will enable effective response and mitigation during a heatwave.

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Rushil Vipulkumar Patel’s Discussion on Trends in Disasters and Disaster Fatalities

In this brief, Rushil Vipulkumar Patel discusses current trends in disasters and their relationship to disaster fatalities. Patel presents that while the absolute number of natural disasters is increasing, the number of fatalities from natural disasters is decreasing. He then provides an analysis of the factors influencing these global disaster trends.

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Nancy Daneau’s Discussion on Trends in Disasters and Disaster Fatalities

Nancy Daneau discusses current trends in disasters and how they influence disaster fatalities, pointing out that while the absolute number of natural disasters is increasing, the number of fatalities from natural disasters is decreasing. Moreover, Daneau offers an analysis of the factors determining global disaster trends for both natural and man-made disasters.

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Ivy van Domselaar’s Key Definitions of Disasters

In this brief, Ivy van Domselaar compares and contrasts key definitions and descriptions of “disasters,” discussing what creates the most disruptive and destructive disasters in the context of public health. Additionally, Ivy van Domselaar describes “acute” vs. “slow onset/advanced warning” categories of disasters and the best indicators of public health disaster impacts. 

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Ben Outten’s Discussion on Public Health Pandemics

The H1N1 Influenza pandemic of 2009 spread to more than 208 countries worldwide and infected at least 622,000 people. In this brief, Ben Outten compares the public health responses to the 2009 pandemic and the MERS outbreak in Saudi Arabia to responses during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Outten considers how general familiarity with the flu as a disease may have impacted the implementation of face mask regulations.

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