Rapid Sensor Technology: A Risk and System Complexity Analyses of Early Detection of Influenza-Like-Illnesses

• Published in: Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Main Authors: Pinto C. Ariel, Bozkurt Ipek
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Avian flu
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2202/1547-7355.1596

The development of effective and reliable methods to defend the nation against biological terrorism remains an urgent challenge to researchers in the areas of risk, bio-defense, public health, and emergency medicine. The emerging threat of the avian flu pandemic also highlights the unpreparedness of our nation's health care system to meet a highly contagious and infectious disease outbreak. The implementation of a rapid sensor technology for early detection of influenza-like-illness provides possible opportunities, as well as problems. Bounding and defining such a complex problem is one of the first challenges this research addresses. Approaching this problem from various perspectives such as risk management, critical infrastructures and emergency medicine proves to be a valid strategy for an efficient solution. After defining the problem and laying out a strategy, discussions on possible tools and techniques for the solution of the problem is presented in this paper, together with the compounding sources of and issues with complexity. biosensor, critical infrastructure, biodefense, risk, pandemic, complex