Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Carol Brevett¹  Susan M. Cibulsky²  Christine Gagnon³  Timo Wille⁴  Renée Funk⁵  Danny Sokolowski⁶  Marc Lafontaine⁶  David R. Russell⁷  David A. Jett⁸  Jessica Cox⁹  Rabih Jabbour⁹  Lewis S. Nelson^1,10  Jerry D. Thomas^1,11 

[1] Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United States;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, US Department of Health and Human Services, Boston, MA, United States;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United States;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Munich, Germany;Bundeswehr Medical Academy, Munich, Germany;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, United States;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Chemical Emergency Management and Toxicovigilance Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;Chemicals and Environmental Hazards Directorate (Wales), UK Health Security Agency, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom;Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada;National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, United States;Chemical Security Analysis Center, US Department of Homeland Security, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States;Department of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States;National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, United States;

关键词: chemical incident;    emergency preparedness;    opioids;    disaster;    illicit opioids;    fentanyl;    naloxone;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1158479

 received in 2023-02-03, accepted in 2023-04-17,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The large amounts of opioids and the emergence of increasingly potent illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids circulating in the unregulated drug supply in North America and Europe are fueling not only the ongoing public health crisis of overdose deaths but also raise the risk of another type of disaster: deliberate opioid release with the intention to cause mass harm. Synthetic opioids are highly potent, rapidly acting, can cause fatal ventilatory depression, are widely available, and have the potential to be disseminated for mass exposure, for example, if effectively formulated, via inhalation or ingestion. As in many other chemical incidents, the health consequences of a deliberate release of synthetic opioid would manifest quickly, within minutes. Such an incident is unlikely, but the consequences could be grave. Awareness of the risk of this type of incident and preparedness to respond are required to save lives and reduce illness. Coordinated planning across the entire local community emergency response system is also critical. The ability to rapidly recognize the opioid toxidrome, education on personal protective actions, and training in medical management of individuals experiencing an opioid overdose are key components of preparedness for an opioid mass casualty incident.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Cibulsky, Wille, Funk, Sokolowski, Gagnon, Lafontaine, Brevett, Jabbour, Cox, Russell, Jett, Thomas and Nelson.