Systems for rapidly detecting and treating persons with ebola virus disease--United States.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), CDC, other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and international partners are taking multiple steps to respond to the current Ebola virus disease (Ebola) outbreak in West Africa to reduce its toll there and to reduce the chances of international spread. At the same time, CDC and HHS are working to ensure that persons who have a risk factor for exposure to Ebola and who develop symptoms while in the United States are rapidly identified and isolated, and safely receive treatment. HHS and CDC have actively worked with state and local public health authorities and other partners to accelerate health care preparedness to care for persons under investigation (PUI) for Ebola or with confirmed Ebola. This report describes some of these efforts and their impact.

Evolution of the Public Health Preparedness and Response Capability Standards to Support Public Health Emergency Management Practices and Processes.

In spring 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning. The capability standards provide a framework that supports state, local, tribal, and territorial public health agency preparedness planning and response to public health threats and emergencies. In 2017, a project team at the CDC Division of State and Local Readiness incorporated input from subject matter experts, national partners, and stakeholders to update the 2011 capability standards. As a result, CDC released the updated capability standards in October 2018, which were amended in January 2019. The original structure of the 15 capability standards remained unchanged, but updates were made to capability functions, tasks, and resource elements to reflect advances in public health emergency preparedness and response practices since 2011. When the number of functions and tasks in the 2018 capability standards were compared to those in the 2011 capabilities, only 20% (3/15) of the capabilities had a decrease in function number. The majority of changes were at the task level (task numbers changed in 80%, or 12/15, capabilities) in the 2018 version. The capability standards provide public health agencies with a practical framework, informed by updated science and tools, which can guide prioritization of limited resources to strengthen public health agency emergency preparedness and response capacities.

Early Identification and Prevention of the Spread of Ebola - United States.

In response to the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic in West Africa, CDC prepared for the potential introduction of Ebola into the United States. The immediate goals were to rapidly identify and isolate any cases of Ebola, prevent transmission, and promote timely treatment of affected patients. CDC's technical expertise and the collaboration of multiple partners in state, local, and municipal public health departments; health care facilities; emergency medical services; and U.S. government agencies were essential to the domestic preparedness and response to the Ebola epidemic and relied on longstanding partnerships. CDC established a comprehensive response that included two new strategies: 1) active monitoring of travelers arriving from countries affected by Ebola and other persons at risk for Ebola and 2) a tiered system of hospital facility preparedness that enabled prioritization of training. CDC rapidly deployed a diagnostic assay for Ebola virus (EBOV) to public health laboratories. Guidance was developed to assist in evaluation of patients possibly infected with EBOV, for appropriate infection control, to support emergency responders, and for handling of infectious waste. CDC rapid response teams were formed to provide assistance within 24 hours to a health care facility managing a patient with Ebola. As a result of the collaborations to rapidly identify, isolate, and manage Ebola patients and the extensive preparations to prevent spread of EBOV, the United States is now better prepared to address the next global infectious disease threat.The activities summarized in this report would not have been possible without collaboration with many U.S. and international partners (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/partners.html).