Resources

Special Pathogens Resources and Publications

Denver Health is one of 13 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers in the United States. The links below connect clinicians, public health professionals, and community partners with trusted training, outbreak surveillance, and peer-reviewed research on special pathogens such as Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

Training, Education, and Outbreak Surveillance

• National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) (opens in a new tab)
  A federally funded national network of hospitals, health care providers, and public health agencies, including Denver Health, that shares best practices, training, and readiness assessments for the identification and treatment of special pathogens.
• BEACON Disease Reports (opens in a new tab)
  The Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON), based at Boston University, is a free, open-source surveillance platform that combines artificial intelligence with a global network of infectious disease experts to report emerging outbreaks in near real time.
• Special Pathogens Biopreparedness Map (opens in a new tab)
  An interactive, open-source map from NYC Health + Hospitals that shows current global outbreak activity for threats such as Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, MERS, H5N1 bird flu, and Nipah, helping clinicians connect a patient's travel history to possible exposures.
• Denver Health ECHO on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
  Recorded Project ECHO tele-education sessions from Denver Health, where experts and frontline health care workers learn together through case-based discussions on special pathogens and infectious disease preparedness.

Publications

Peer-reviewed articles on special pathogen preparedness, biocontainment, and clinical care. Each link opens the article summary on PubMed.

• A Virtual Assessment Model for At-Home Evaluation of Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Cases (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Describes a virtual model for evaluating people with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever, such as Ebola, while they remain at home.
• The Importance of Networks and Relationships: Leveraging the Biocontainment Unit Leadership Workgroup for Special Pathogen Outbreak Response (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Explains how a working group of biocontainment unit leaders from across the country supports a coordinated response when special pathogen outbreaks occur.
• Category A Waste Processing and Disposal Is a Critical Weakness in the United States Response Plans for Outbreaks of High Consequence Infectious Diseases (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Identifies the handling and disposal of Category A infectious waste as a major gap in U.S. outbreak response planning for high-consequence infectious diseases.
• Building a Biocontainment Unit: Infrastructure and Organizational Experiences of the 13 Regional Biocontainment Units in the United States (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Shares infrastructure and organizational lessons learned by the 13 U.S. regional biocontainment units, including Denver Health, in building and running their units.
• Prepared to Act: Lessons Learned by the Special Pathogens Research Network, Based on Collaborations with the NIAID-Led Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Reviews what NETEC's Special Pathogens Research Network learned from taking part in a national COVID-19 treatment trial, and how those lessons strengthen readiness for clinical research during future outbreaks.
• A Narrative Review of High-Level Isolation Unit Operational and Infrastructure Features (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  Summarizes published evidence on how high-level isolation units are designed, built, and operated to safely care for patients with highly infectious diseases.
• Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus for Clinicians: Diagnosis, Clinical Management, and Therapeutics (opens PubMed in a new tab)
  A clinician-focused overview of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever covering how it is diagnosed, how patients are managed, and available treatment options.