Supporting Agencies
QMRA Summer Institute 2009
4th Annual QMRA Summer Institute Provides Insights on Influenza Protection
August 15th - 21st, 2009
During the QMRA Summer Institute, students are given an open ended question which the student groups are tasked with developing into a case study which answers the question. This QMRA Summer Institute had four groups and four main topics which were all developed into complete case studies:
- Clean up and environmental impact of outdoor Anthrax attack.
- Human Bocavirus exposure in child daycare centers.
- Influenza virus exposure and transmission in an elementary school setting.
- Connection between pet and human health, exposure to illnesses in domestic animals.
A highlight of the case studies is the work by the Influenza group. Using a transmission model constructed by CAMRA researchers with adaptations made to develop multiple simulations, the group first modeled the person to person transmission of Influenza in an elementary school. This model was then further adapted to include the use of:
- Protective masks.
- Hand washing protocols.
- Surface disinfection.
The group including these interventions developed an overall risk assessment based on no intervention strategy, individual interventions and all combinations possible of these intervention strategies. Taking into account uncertainties in their analyses and parameters used, the group made a very interesting and useable conclusion.
The Influenza group found that surface decontamination is the most important portion of the intervention strategies. The other strategies decreased the risk of infection when combined with surface decontamination, but not appreciably. This is an important conclusion, since it is easy to enact this strategy, and causes less fear and worry than protective masks. It is also easier to ensure that surface decontamination is being performed correctly by the adult teachers, rather than ensuring that elementary school aged children are washing their hands according to protocol.
We congratulate all of our Summer Institute student groups on a job very well done. For those who are interested in attending future QMRA Summer Institutes, please contact our Summer Institute Team at the e-mail address below.
CAMRA QMRA Summer Institute Team
QMRA.Summer.Institute@gmail.com