Pandemics ― The Nature of an Emerging Global Threat

Despite the current and very real threat of global pandemics, there is a dearth of published book and reference resources on the subject. Much scholarly research is conducted and published in various journals. There are political analyses, and studies of the socio-economic impact. While healthcare professionals at national and international levels recognize the pressing danger, the introduction and establishment of consistent and effective countermeasures ranges from slow to non-existent. Politically, acquisition of funds to combat the "potential" doom of a speculative pandemic pales in comparison to societal demands of the worldwide "here and now." As in the most recent case of Zika, the disease "out there" can rapidly appear at our own doorstep "right here." Yet, despite vigorous globe-spanning debates that sounds promising, progress in creation of a universal anti-pandemic network is sporadic and inconsistent.

Pandemics: The Nature of an Emerging Global Threat seeks to address the numerous critical, but largely ignored issues, that limit our readiness, recognition, and response to pandemic outbreaks. The book stresses the reality and seriousness of the problem and the need to react and mobilize quickly, and "on the fly", rather than offering a ready-made solution. Individual chapters of the book are written by internationally known and very highly respected experts from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, and South America. Many of the authors have their academic and medical prominence supported by the practical involvement at the very forefront of the war against pandemic outbreaks, and several know the personal pain that counter-pandemic operations involve. The authors are a cross section of professions involved in the fight against pandemics: some operate at the highest levels of national and international institutions, others work as clinicians specializing in infectious diseases, as scientists, specialists in public health, law and its enforcement, military aspects of pandemics or technology.

The importance of this book rest on the fact that all authors are active in their respective fields. They offer practical, life-long expertise from hands-on work on the "front lines." They have a profound knowledge of their field, and, as such, recommendations of best practices, theories about what methods work best in a given scenario and environment, and the political impediments to proper response and containment are all based on real, first-hand experience given has worked—and what has not—in responding to pandemics. The opinions, often highly personal and perhaps even controversial, are based as much on theoretical considerations as on their extensive and insightful experience. Hence, the approach is rigorously intellectual and, in a field that often evokes passions, equally rigorously dispassionate. It has to be so: in the modern world of pandemics "past is the prologue." While preparedness plans gather dust on countless shelves of regional, national, and international bodies tasked with pandemic identification, containment, and elimination, it is the readiness to face the new—most likely an entirely new and deadly challenge—that is largely missing. This book intends to open the door to developing such readiness

Dag von Lubitz, PhD, MD(Sc) is an internationally recognized author of over 220 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and books whose subjects span from molecular pharmacology of neurological diseases to knowledge management, advanced technology, disaster management, and leadership. Following a distinguished career as a biomedical researcher at several universities in the EU, US and at the National Institutes of Health, he subsequently served as the Chairman and Chief Scientist at MedSMART, Inc. He then joined Central Michigan University as the Adjunct Professor at the College of Health Professions and the Scientific Director of the Center for Collaborative Command and Leadership tasked with the development of executive level collaborative leadership skills at the highest echelons of national and international business, administration, military, and academia personnel participating in complex, globe spanning activities.

Working in the US and EU, DvL is a frequent key-note speaker on decision-making in complex and unpredictable environments, cognitive foundations of civilian and military leadership, applications of network-centric operations in non-military environments, and information and knowledge management during crises and disasters. He also provides advice on several aspects of national and international disaster preparedness and response/recovery operations, telemedicine, and transboundary training based on distributed simulation and virtual reality. Together with his group at Medsmart, von Lubitz pioneered routine training of globally distributed emergency medical and 1^st responder personnel able to remotely access simulation and virtual reality hub located in the US. Currently, access to medical training based on advanced technology and development of advanced disaster preparedness in Less Developed Countries constitute one of the focal arenas of DvL’s activities.

Von Lubitz is the author of "Bioterrorism: Field Guide to Disease Identification and Initial Patient Management" published by Francis & Taylor awarded in 2004 the "Book of the Year" title by the British Medical Journal. He is also the recipient of the US Smithsonian Institution Award (2000) and the French Laval Prize (2004) for his path-breaking work on the theory and practical implementation of globally distributed virtual reality-based medical simulation and training. In 2013, von Lubitz developed a Teams of Leaders (ToL) based free-play training simulation aimed at the development of earthquake readiness that subsequently served as the springboard for creation of preparedness plans in several cities of US and Canada that may be potentially exposed to mass casualty unpredictable disasters.

Dr. Candace J. Gibson received her PhD in biochemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. Following ground-breaking studies crowned by the coveted Karl Taylor Compton Prize, her biomedical research encompassed major achievements in neurochemistry, studies of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders, and experimental studies of nutrition and behavior. An MA degree in journalism at the University of Western Ontario (1993) and certification in Health Information Management (2008) led to a secondary career in health communications and health information. Presently the Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA), Gibson is recognized as one of the pioneers of Canadian e-learning, e-health and health informatics education, and as an editor and author of the first Canadian text book on health information management. Serving as a member of the Expert Advisory Group to the Information and Communications Technology Council, Gibson co-authored critical reports on Canadian e-health, and the current and future role of healthcare information technology and HI/HIM human resources in Canada. A distinguished faculty member in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Dr. Gibson served as a senator at Western and also holds a number of senior administrative appointments. She is currently the Assistant Dean, Basic Medical Sciences Undergraduate Education, at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Gibson has been the recipient of numerous provincial and national research grants, and also of several awards recognizing her outstanding achievement as a university educator in the undergraduate and graduate medical science, medicine, and nursing degree programs. In 2013 she was the recipient of the AFMC-Infoway eHealth Award recognizing her dedication to improving clinical practice and medical education through digital tools and health solutions; she currently acts as the Senior Peer Leader for the AFMC-Infoway Physician in Training: e-Health Curriculum and e-Learning Project. This past May 2016 Dr. Gibson received CHIMA’s Tribute to Excellence, awarded to an individual whose professional practice exemplifies excellence in health information management. She is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications in experimental neuroscience, health informatics and health information management.