Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids
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 di...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1158479/full |
| _version_ | 1827949581422297088 |
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| author | Susan M. Cibulsky Susan M. Cibulsky Timo Wille Timo Wille Timo Wille Renée Funk Renée Funk Danny Sokolowski Danny Sokolowski Christine Gagnon Christine Gagnon Marc Lafontaine Marc Lafontaine Carol Brevett Rabih Jabbour Jessica Cox David R. Russell David R. Russell David A. Jett David A. Jett Jerry D. Thomas Lewis S. Nelson |
| author_facet | Susan M. Cibulsky Susan M. Cibulsky Timo Wille Timo Wille Timo Wille Renée Funk Renée Funk Danny Sokolowski Danny Sokolowski Christine Gagnon Christine Gagnon Marc Lafontaine Marc Lafontaine Carol Brevett Rabih Jabbour Jessica Cox David R. Russell David R. Russell David A. Jett David A. Jett Jerry D. Thomas Lewis S. Nelson |
| author_sort | Susan M. Cibulsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:12:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ce1bddb0b7348fca8dd4e5494399166 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:12:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ce1bddb0b7348fca8dd4e54943991662023-05-12T06:22:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-05-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11584791158479Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioidsSusan M. Cibulsky0Susan M. Cibulsky1Timo Wille2Timo Wille3Timo Wille4Renée Funk5Renée Funk6Danny Sokolowski7Danny Sokolowski8Christine Gagnon9Christine Gagnon10Marc Lafontaine11Marc Lafontaine12Carol Brevett13Rabih Jabbour14Jessica Cox15David R. Russell16David R. Russell17David A. Jett18David A. Jett19Jerry D. Thomas20Lewis S. Nelson21Chemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaAdministration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, US Department of Health and Human Services, Boston, MA, United StatesChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaBundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Munich, GermanyBundeswehr Medical Academy, Munich, GermanyChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaCenters for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, United StatesChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaChemical Emergency Management and Toxicovigilance Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaChemical Emergency Management and Toxicovigilance Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, United StatesChemical Security Analysis Center, US Department of Homeland Security, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United StatesChemical Security Analysis Center, US Department of Homeland Security, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United StatesChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaChemicals and Environmental Hazards Directorate (Wales), UK Health Security Agency, Cardiff, Wales, United KingdomChemical Events Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada0National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, United States1National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, United States2Department of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United StatesThe 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.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1158479/fullchemical incidentemergency preparednessopioidsdisasterillicit opioidsfentanyl |
| spellingShingle | Susan M. Cibulsky Susan M. Cibulsky Timo Wille Timo Wille Timo Wille Renée Funk Renée Funk Danny Sokolowski Danny Sokolowski Christine Gagnon Christine Gagnon Marc Lafontaine Marc Lafontaine Carol Brevett Rabih Jabbour Jessica Cox David R. Russell David R. Russell David A. Jett David A. Jett Jerry D. Thomas Lewis S. Nelson Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids Frontiers in Public Health chemical incident emergency preparedness opioids disaster illicit opioids fentanyl |
| title | Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| title_full | Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| title_fullStr | Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| title_short | Public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| title_sort | public health and medical preparedness for mass casualties from the deliberate release of synthetic opioids |
| topic | chemical incident emergency preparedness opioids disaster illicit opioids fentanyl |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1158479/full |
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