Provides a coherent and comprehensive account of the theory and practice of real-time human disease outbreak detection, explicitly recognizing the revolution in practices of infection control and public health surveillance. - Reviews the current mathematical, statistical, and computer science systems for early detection of disease outbreaks - Provides extensive coverage of existing surveillance data - Discusses experimental methods for data measurement and evaluation - Addresses engineering and practical implementation of effective early detection systems - Includes real case studies

This handbook provides an up-to-date survey of current research topics and applications of time series analysis methods written by leading experts in their fields. It covers recent developments in univariate as well as bivariate and multivariate time series analysis techniques ranging from physics' to life sciences' applications. Each chapter comprises both methodological aspects and applications to real world complex systems, such as the human brain or Earth's climate. Covering an exceptionally broad spectrum of topics, beginners, experts and practitioners who seek to understand the latest developments will profit from this handbook.

Public health surveillance is the systematic, ongoing assessment of the health of a community, based on the collection, interpretation, and use of health data. Surveillance provides information necessary for public health decision making and interventions. In the third edition of Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance, the editors present an organized approach to planning, developing, and implementing public health surveillance systems in response to the rapidly changing field of public health. Substantially revised and expanded on, this edition continues to examine further the expansion of surveillance of disease and health determinants, as well as the recent advances in data management and informatics. Major sections of the book focus on bioresponse and preparedness, risk behaviors, and environmental exposure, while the ethical considerations and policy justification for public health surveillance are also explored. Drawing largely from the experience of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts in the field, this book provides an excellent framework that collectively improves the surveillance foundation of public health. It will continue to serve as the standard text in the field, an invaluable resource for public health students and the desk reference for public health practitioners.

This volume is based on a multidisciplinary approach towards biological and chemical threats that can, and have been previously used in bioterrorism attacks around the globe. Current knowledge and evidence-based principles from the fields of synthetic biology, microbiology, plant biology, chemistry, food science, forensics, tactics, infective medicine, psychology and others are compiled to address numerous aspects and the complexity of bioterrorism attacks. The main focus is on biological threats, especially in the context of synthetic biology and its emerging findings that can be observed as possible threat and tool. The book examines microorganisms and their possible use in forensics, i.e. as possible detection tool that could enable fast and precise detection of possible treats. A number of plant derived components are also discussed as possible agents in bioterrorism attacks, and in relation to infectious disease pathology. Another integral part is food safety, especially in terms of large food supply chains, like airline caterings, institutionalized kitchens etc. Food can be observed as a possible mean of delivery of various agents (biological and chemical) for bioterrorism attacks. Steps on how to recognize specific critical points in a food supply chain, along with proposed corrective activities are discussed. Examples from around the globe, along with the methodological approach on how to differentiate bioterrorism attacks from other epidemics are provided. However, epidemics are also discussed in the context of migrations, with the special emphasis on the current refugee migrations that affect not only Europe, but also the United States. The book will be of interest to experts from various fields of science as well as professionals working in the field. The book encompasses examples and tools developed for easier, more specific, and faster detection of possible bioterrorism treats, along with proposed actions for some aspects of a bioterrorism attack.

In many statistical applications, scientists have to analyze the occurrence of observed clusters of events in time or space. Scientists are especially interested in determining whether an observed cluster of events has occurred by chance if it is assumed that the events are distributed independently and uniformly over time or space. Scan statistics have relevant applications in many areas of science and technology including geology, geography, medicine, minefield detection, molecular biology, photography, quality control and reliability theory and radio-optics.

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the assessment and management of potentially dangerous infectious diseases, quarantined pests, invasive (alien) species, living modified organisms and biological weapons, from a multitude of perspectives. Issues of biosecurity have gained increasing attention over recent years but have often only been addressed from narrow disciplines and with a lack of integration of theoretical and practical approaches. The Routledge Handbook of Biosecurity and Invasive Species brings together both the natural sciences and the social sciences for a fully rounded perspective on biosecurity, shedding light on current national and international management frameworks with a mind to assessing possible future scenarios. With chapters focussing on a variety of ecosystems – including forests, islands, marine and coastal and agricultural land – as well as from the industrial scale to individual gardens, this handbook reviews the global state of invasions and vulnerabilities across a wide range of themes and critically analyses key threats and threatening activities, such as trade, travel, land development and climate change. Identifying invasive species and management techniques from a regional to international scale, this book will be a key reference text for a wide range of students and academics in ecology, agriculture, geography, human and animal health and interdisciplinary environmental and security studies.

Disaster Epidemiology: Methods and Applications applies the core methods of epidemiological research and practice to the assessment of the short- and long-term health effects of disasters. The persistent movement of people and economic development to regions vulnerable to natural disasters, as well as new vulnerabilities related to environmental, technological, and terrorism incidents, means that in spite of large global efforts to reduce the impacts and costs of disasters, average annual expenditures to fund rebuilding from catastrophic losses is rising faster than either population or the gross world product. Improving the resilience of individuals and communities to these natural and technological disasters, climate change, and other natural and manmade stressors is one of the grand challenges of the 21st century. This book provides a guide to disaster epidemiology methods, supported with applications from practice. It helps researchers, public health practitioners, and governmental policy makers to better quantify the impacts of disaster on the health of individuals and communities to enhance resilience to future disasters. Disaster Epidemiology: Methods and Applications explains how public health surveillance, rapid assessments, and other epidemiologic studies can be conducted in the post-disaster setting to prevent injury, illness, or death; provide accurate and timely information for decisions makers; and improve prevention and mitigation strategies for future disasters. These methods can also be applied to the study of other types of public health emergencies, such as infectious outbreaks, emerging and re-emerging diseases, and refugee health. This book gives both the public health practitioner and researcher the tools they need to conduct epidemiological studies in a disaster setting and can be used as a reference or as part of a course. - Provides a holistic perspective to epidemiology with an integration of academic and practical approaches - Showcases the use of hands-on techniques and principles to solve real-world problems - Includes contributions from both established and emerging scholars in the field of disaster epidemiology

Early Warning for Infectious Disease Outbreak: Theory and Practice is divided into three parts, with the first section introducing basic theory and key technologies of early warning and the basic principles of infectious disease surveillance. The second section introduces the technical details in the process of establishment, operation and usage of CIDARS and Pudong Syndromic Surveillance and the Early Warning System of the Shanghai World Expo. The third part explores the study of early warning technology, collecting some useful exploration in the fields of infectious diseases involving sentinel setting, data analysis, influence factors study, calculation and evaluation of early warning models. - Provide insights into the theory and practice of early warning systems that have been evaluated and shown to be effective - Presents a synopsis of current state-of-the-art practices and a starting point for the development and evaluation of new methods - Covers applied research and complete case studies that focus on local, regional, national and international implementation - Includes techniques from other fields, such as intelligence and engineering - Explores future innovations in biosurveillance, including advances in analytical methods, modeling and simulation - Addresses policy and organizational issues related to the construction of biosurveillance systems

In recent years, mathematics has experienced amazing growth in the engineering sciences. Mathematics forms the common foundation of all engineering disciplines. This book provides a comprehensive range of mathematics applied in various fields of engineering for different tasks such as civil engineering, structural engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering, among others. It offers chapters that develop the applications of mathematics in engineering sciences, conveys the innovative research ideas, offers real-world utility of mathematics, and has a significance in the life of academics, practitioners, researchers, and industry leaders. Features Focuses on the latest research in the field of engineering applications Includes recent findings from various institutions Identifies the gaps in the knowledge in the field and provides the latest approaches Presents international studies and findings in modeling and simulation Offers various mathematical tools, techniques, strategies, and methods across different engineering fields