A look at real-time disaster response

Catastrophes and calamities can strike anytime, anywhere. It’s best to be prepared and to know what to do should the time come. Disaster and crisis response is an essential skill that people everywhere are urged to train for.

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Below are some of the things that help a person prepare for a disaster.

Know the disaster.

Not all disasters are the same. What should be done during a flood is different from actions taken when there’s a raging forest fire. Knowledge of what to do when a particular disaster hits is important.

Learn evacuation routes and shelter locations.

A lot of times, people don’t know where to go and are left stranded waiting for rescuers. Knowing the routes out of the danger zone and shelter locations may just save lives.

Know how to reconnect with people close to you.

People should always have emergency contact information of relatives and close friends so that if anyone needs aid, the message can be relayed.

Have a plan if you’re away from home.

There are times when disaster strikes and people are either at work or running errands. Have a mobile phone and know what to do when the unthinkable occurs. Have meeting places should there be a need to have them.

Have a survival kit.

Having a survival bag with all the necessary items will be priceless when the time comes.

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Martin Lloyd Sanders has over 12 years of service in the occupational safety and health sector. He also has experience in risk and disaster preparedness. Learn more about his work here.

Antibiotic Resistance: A Growing Concern

Almost every year, the biggest story in the world of infectious diseases is likely to be the one most unanticipated by experts. This is true with the outbreak of Ebola, Zika, or SARS in recent years. But a persistent annual issue is antibiotics resistance.

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While influenza and opioids are among the top headline-makers of 2017 and early this year, it’s the progressive occurrence of antibiotic infections with multi-resistance that’s challenging many doctors globally. Finding effective treatment is a global imperative, exemplified in the rise of multi-drug resistant gonorrhea just last year. Research of two-thirds of cases in as many as 77 countries showed a lowered sensitivity of gonorrhea to the antibiotic spectrum. In short, it’s getting much harder to cure the disease.

The U.S. FDA is helping with online awareness campaigns designed to assist doctors in managing their prescriptions of antibiotics. But compounding the problem is the issue of supply, with national shortages of antibiotics rampant in many countries. Aside from the antibiotics themselves, the saline required to infuse them is growing scarce.

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If antibiotics resistance is not given more intent attention, and a more collective effort among physicians worldwide, it may lead to more serious infections in the near future. Doctors can start addressing the problem by considering older, less expensive treatments before prescribing more powerful medications that fast-track resistance.

Captain Martin Lloyd Sanders, Ph.D., obtained his degree in zoology at the University of California and his doctorate from the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Visit this Facebook page for similar updates.