Hydrogeological effects of climate change will continue to affect water reservoirs worldwide. Some regions are experiencing and will experience severe decline in their water resources due to ...prolonged periods of drought. Since emergency practices such as the provision of emergency drinking water and forest firefighting depend on regional surface and groundwater resources, the safety of the hydro geosphere's of a region is of fundamental importance, especially in times of crisis. The study uniquely addresses the integration of emergency water management within broader sustainable practices, particularly in the German context where such an analysis has not been previously consolidated. Using the example of emergency drinking water management, the paper elaborates the extent to which measures of emergency response are currently recognised as part of sustainable water management. In an analysis, 79 documents addressing emergency drinking water management of both water supply companies and crisis management authorities in Germany were analysed. The findings revealed a general lack of documents addressing the long-term dependencies between water resources and emergency measures currently applied. Furthermore, the documents do not elaborate on how to implement these measures in a sustainable way recognising the distinctive characteristics of a region. Since response measures can potentially intensify water stress in a region, emergency water management must be consequently included in a holistic water management process to protect landscapes and communities for the future. This paper provides a first comprehensive compilation of essential documents dealing with emergency drinking water management in Germany. It furthermore introduces a new approach to emergency water management and identifies necessary research that could serve as a baseline for future crisis decision making to strengthen national and international initiatives on water resource protection.
•Holistic water management must include water intense measures of emergency response.•Procedures of crisis management can intensify processes of regional water depletion.•Performance of emergency response can decline in times of long-term dryness.•The management of water emergencies requires adaptation to regional hydrogeography.
This paper presents partial results from the Horizon2020 PROACTIVE project, following a set of literature reviews and surveys conducted with first responder organisations and rail security experts. ...Qualitative and quantitative data from two surveys are being presented. The results provide an overview of the CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive) preparedness and response capabilities of railway stakeholders and how these relate to a wider context represented by CBRNe first responders. The results highlight a set of challenges as well as five core skills that railway staff need to develop or improve: 1) understand the specific characteristics of the CBRNe threat, 2) develop basic response measures, 3) cooperate with authorities and train with specialised first responders, 4) improve public awareness about this threat, and 5) optimise crisis communication. In line with these, project PROACTIVE will further help update rail crisis management plans with practical recommendations concerning the CBRNe threat.
•We studied six dimensions of the railway preparedness against CBRNe events.•We ran two surveys: one with 223 first responders, one with 30 rail companies.•We identified five skills that railway staff need to develop or improve.•Cooperation agreements and joint trainings are a key preparedness element.•Public communication regarding the CBRNe threat needs urgent improvement.
During a CBRNe incident, it is essential that those affected are decontaminated as quickly as possible. Factors which may enhance the speed with which decontamination can be carried out include the ...provision of pre-incident information to members of the public, an effective responder communication strategy, and consideration of the needs of all those affected. In the current study, we ran a field exercise involving mass decontamination in response to a simulated chemical incident. The study aimed to understand the role of responder communication, the needs of vulnerable individuals, levels of compliance, and the impact of pre-incident information, during decontamination. Eighteen participants took part in the exercise with nine participants having vulnerabilities. Participants completed pre-exercise and post-exercise questionnaires and took part in a post-exercise focus group. Participants' and responders’ behaviour was also observed during the exercise. Results showed that participants reported issues associated with both practical aspects of responder communication (e.g., background noise) and overall responder communication strategy and stated that poor communication from responders would have led to less compliance in a real incident. Vulnerable individuals reported that their needs were not always met, with issues including poor physical and communication-related support, and a lack of consideration for functional aids. However, participants reported positive perceptions of the actions in the pre-incident information. Overall, this research suggests that effective management of a chemical incident must include an effective communication strategy (both before and during an incident) and consideration of the needs of vulnerable individuals.
Major emergencies such as CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, explosive) incidents pose special challenges for emergency services especially regarding crisis communication. The EU ...project PROACTIVE aims to enhance CBRNe preparedness and response by increasing the effective management of large, heterogeneous groups including vulnerable civilians (older people, visually and hearing impaired people, ethnic minorities, etc.). The findings from two surveys, one with CBRNe practitioner organisations (May–June 2020 and May–July 2021) and one with Civil Society organisations (October–December 2020), revealed differences between the current CBRNe related communication management of CBRNe practitioners and the special needs of vulnerable people in crisis communication. Our results show that CBRNe practitioners very rarely consider the needs of vulnerable groups in their communication strategies for major emergencies. Furthermore, CBRNe practitioners seldom provide information in additional language formats (e.g. Braille and sign language). To enhance crisis communication with vulnerable people, four recommendations for CBRNe practitioners have been developed.
Passenger rail and metro sectors are no stranger to malicious or unintentional Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive (CBRNe) incidents. Over the last years, the EU H2020 Project ...PROACTIVE has developed recommendations based on a multimethodological approach which involved questionnaires, interviews and workshops with CBRNe practitioners and security experts. However, these recommendations are geared towards specialised first responders. With a particular focus on rail and metro, this paper examines the answers collected from railway and metro security experts during these research activities to see at which level the PROACTIVE recommendations are fit for these sectors. The results show that some of the generic PROACTIVE recommendations for first responders are already being applied. For example, the recommendations regarding inter-agency collaboration appear to already be put in place. In contrast, other recommendations such as the ones on crisis communication and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in preparedness actions could be applicable since important gaps are present. We discuss the major gaps and how they could be filled in the future.
The rail sector is no stranger to malicious or unintentional Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive (CBRNe) incidents. The EU H2020 Project PROACTIVE has developed two sets of ...recommendations based on a multimethodological approach of questionnaires, workshops and interviews with CBRNe practitioners and security experts. However, these recommendations are geared towards first responders. This paper examines the answers collected from the railway and metro security experts during these research activities to see whether or not the PROACTIVE recommendations are fit for the rail and metro sector. The paper finds that the PROACTIVE recommendations regarding crisis communication and the inclusion of vulnerable groups to be applicable to the public transport sector while the recommendations regarding inter-agency collaboration appear to already be put in place.
BACKGROUND:Group A Streptococcus, once the most common causes of puerperal sepsis, is now a rare cause of postpartum fever.
CASE:A term 27-year-old woman presented after spontaneous membrane rupture. ...After an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, she became febrile without a source of infection. Despite two different antibiotic regimens, she remained febrile for 3 days. A computed tomography scan showed a wedge-shaped discontinuity in the anterior uterus suggesting uterine infection with early abscess formation. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy and hysterectomy, with an uneventful postoperative course. Uterine pathology revealed a necrotizing infection within the uterus and cervix from Group A Streptococcus.
CONCLUSION:Puerperal sepsis from Group A Streptococcus can be a cause of necrotizing infection following delivery. Physicians should be aware of the resurgence of this potentially fatal pathogen.
A mouse model of salpingitis and subsequent tubal infertility induced by a human strain of Chlamydia trachomatis has been studied. C3H/He female mice were inoculated into the ovarian bursa. Some of ...the mice (six infected, five controls) were killed on days 15 and 23 and the remaining animals (10 infected, 10 controls) were mated on day 15. On day 15, the infection was maximal with intratubal inflammation, elevated antichlamydial antibody titre and positive cultures in 12 cases out of 16. After 19 weeks of housing with the male, the proportion of fertilized females was significantly lower in the infected group (20% versus 100% in the control group P less than 0.01). In the killed mice, hydrosalpinx and or tubal occlusion were noted at this time in nine cases out of 10, despite an apparent bacteriological healing.
