Community planning and response
CDC prepares for a melioidosis emergency so that if one ever happens, public health authorities can respond quickly.
State and local public health departments should work with healthcare facilities, public and private organizations, and local community leaders to prepare for a melioidosis emergency response in as part of the community's overall emergency response plan. CDC has standards to create a vital framework for state, local, tribal, and territorial preparedness programs as they plan, operationalize, and evaluate their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies.
Successful emergency planning will include people and organizations who bring specialized knowledge about the community or about laws, regulations, or other issues that could affect emergency response efforts. Some examples of people and organizations to include are those that:
Diagnose and treat patients:
- Private, public, and Laboratory Response Network (LRN) member laboratories
- Hospitals
- Urgent care clinics
- Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Independent medical providers, including primary care providers and specialists providing care to those with diabetes, excessive alcohol use, chronic lung disease, kidney disease, cancer, liver disease, and other high-risk conditions
Provide initial and ongoing response:
- Emergency response organizations, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), local 911 service providers
- First responders, including local volunteer groups
Provide expert guidance:
- State and federal public health preparedness officials
- Infectious disease specialists
- Veterinarians (for potential animal cases)
Help the community cope:
- Mental and behavioral health providers
- Faith-based leaders and organizations
Work with people who might need functional, language, or cognitive assistance during an emergency:
- Social service non-profit organizations
- Community leaders
- Outreach and community health workers
- Schools for the deaf and blind
- Travelers' aid groups
- Group homes
What CDC is Doing
Crisis and Emergency Communication
CDC and other federal partners will communicate about national-level efforts and will assist state and local efforts. State and local public health authorities will be responsible for communicating to people within their jurisdictions about the response efforts that affect them.
Communication efforts are likely to include:
- Alerting laboratory workers of the possible risk of and safe practices for working with specimens containing B. pseudomallei.
- Alerting healthcare facilities and healthcare workers to consider melioidosis in patients with certain symptoms.
- Telling people who live in or visited areas of known or suspected exposure about their potential exposure and instructions on seeking medical care.
- Providing regular updates to the public about emergency and response efforts.
Preparing to communicate effectively during a melioidosis emergency is similar to preparing for any public health emergency:
- Be ready to answer questions from the media and the public about melioidosis. Make sure you have knowledgeable people on staff to talk to the media and the public.
- Make arrangements to establish a hotline.
- Identify the TV, radio, internet, and other media outlets to inform the public about what they should do if they were exposed to the bacteria that cause melioidosis.
- Review rapid-alert communication systems between the state and local public health and medical communities. Upgrade the systems if necessary.
- Clearly identify the roles for the state and local public relations offices.
- Prepare sample alert messages for the community and other partners. Format these messages for different media, including broadcast, print, web, and social media.
- Keep in mind how to reach and communicate with people in the community with functional, language, or cognitive needs.
- Translate messages into different languages spoken in the community. Confirm accuracy and cultural appropriateness of the messages.