Epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectiousdiseases (ELC) - the oklahoma state department of health (osdh) utilizes the epidemiology and laboratory…

Epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectiousdiseases (ELC) - the oklahoma state department of health (osdh) utilizes the epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases (ELC) cooperative agreement to strengthen core infectious disease capacities by supporting foundational laboratory and epidemiological capacity to decrease infectious disease morbidity and mortality within oklahoma's communities. The continued support of this program allows osdh to maintain current core functions to prevent and respond to infectious disease, support growth and development of public health personnel dedicated to infectious disease prevention and response, contribute to infectious disease public health knowledge by providing key epidemiologic and laboratory data through surveillance and investigation, and foster relationships among federal, state, local, and tribal partners. Without support through ELC, oklahoma would have limited resources dedicated to prevention, monitoring, and response to infectious disease threats and outbreaks affecting our communities. These resources provide vital funds for training and support for dedicated personnel, to conduct investigations to prevent additional morbidity and mortality by implementing public health best practices and interventions. Increasing laboratory capacity and methodology improves surveillance and detection for response and supports coordination among laboratory network providers. ELC supports surveillance tools to identify new and emerging diseases, monitor endemic diseases, and understand distribution of disease, including respiratory surveillance, wastewater surveillance, vector-borne surveillance, and antibiotic resistance. Understanding this information allows osdh to disseminate relevant public health information tailored for diverse populations. Osdh has established foundational elements to support infectious disease prevention and response. Osdh supports a 24/7/365 epidemiologist-on-call system to provide timely, accessible education and infectious disease response to all oklahomans. To support surveillance and investigation, osdh hosts a centralized infectious disease surveillance system where local county health departments, hospital infection preventionists, tribal entities, and other providers can report infectious diseases within their communities to improve understanding of epidemiology and incidence of infectious diseases. Osdh has an established respiratory surveillance program, integrating multiple modalities of data to drive public health action. Osdh has implemented a wastewater surveillance program, a statewide mosquito surveillance program, and has developed comprehensive training to support infectious disease and outbreak response for state, local, and tribal epidemiologists. Osdh is committed to supporting current work in infectious disease prevention, response, and surveillance. This will be done by training and sustaining an effective and comprehensive workforce prepared to respond to infectious disease threats, establishing and reviewing processes and protocols for improved operational efficiency, and encouraging innovation to develop and implement best practices. Osdh will also continue to collaborate and engage with internal and external partners, ensuring public health interventions, tools and policies created help communities thrive.