AM25-SN-05-L - Planning for Disease X: To Ensure a Safe and Sufficient Blood Supply During the Next Emerging Pathogen Event

A variety of natural and human-driven factors including climate change, changing arthropod vector distribution, human expansion into new ecosystems, and air travel create an environment capable of supporting the next global emerging human pathogen event. Although emerging respiratory virus events are the traditional focus of many pandemic plans, broad approaches for a variety of emerging agents should be included in pandemic plans and emerging pathogen preparedness activities. The next emerging agents, “Pathogen X”, may be related to known agents (e.g., avian influenza, coronaviruses, retroviruses) or may be novel (e.g., new viruses, proteins, parasites, or bacteria). Key to generic preparedness plans is pathogen reduction which is currently only available for some products
A broadly focused approach to plan and prepare for “Pathogen X” can draw on expertise from a variety of operational, administrative, scientific and medical experts. These planning and preparedness activities include, research & development, artificial-intelligence-supported pathogen surveillance, drafting of preparedness protocols/documents, physical response exercises, and table-top exercises. The current state of pathogen reduction and a few alternative approaches will also be explored.
The session will provide unique perspectives from both the blood operator and transfusion medicine perspectives. The chair will introduce several planning, preparedness, risk assessment, and risk reduction concepts for “Pathogen X”. The speakers, representing a blood operator and a transfusion medicine expert will then identify variables that can impact on both the safety and sufficiency of the blood supply. Concepts will be general and will be applicable to a variety of international practice settings.