Integral Global Consulting (IGC), in collaboration with Emory University School of Medicine, has developed the multisectoral Outbreak Investigation Workshop and clinician oriented Especially Dangerous Pathogens training to expand efforts in quick diagnosis of toxicological conditions and improve coordination in response. A tabletop model is used to support clinicians, veterinarians, public health professionals, and laboratorians in connecting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and systems activation. These training events result in improved surveillance, increase speed of differential diagnosis and clinical symptom identification, and teach epidemiological principles that mitigate outbreaks as they arise.
Training #1
Istanbul, Türkiye 2020
In 2020, IGC and Emory conducted the first outbreak investigation training in Istanbul, Türkiye. This training was in support of the Middle East North African Toxicology Association (MENATOX) and was a part of their annual seminar. The participants learned key skills about epidemiology and surveillance measures.
Training #2
Abu Dhabi 2023
In 2021, IGC, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy Sandia National Laboratories (DOE/SNL) and Emory, was awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of State Chemical Security Program (DOS/CSP). The scope of work entails training professionals in both sectors of law enforcement and healthcare. Although the training was originally planned to be conducted in February of 2022, but due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, it was rescheduled for 2023 at the MENATOX Conference in Abu Dhabi. 20 Iraqi participants representing the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defense, and emergency first responders learned how to conduct an outbreak investigation training specific to organophosphate poisonings. Both the Government of Iraq (GOI) and the Kurdistan Government (KRG) collaborated throughout this engagement.
Training #3
Istanbul, Türkiye 2024
In January 2024, IGC, Emory, and DOE/SNL co-implemented a training titled “Chemical Incident Risk Management Training for Healthcare Professionals in Türkiye” in partnership with the Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital and Turkish Emergency Medicine Foundation. 25 participants from across the country attended the 2-day training at the Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul that covered chemical toxidrome recognition and incident investigation.
IGC, DOE/SNL, and Emory’s experience suggest that formal communication protocols between health professionals and law enforcement are often missing or poorly established in many countries. Thus, this project aimed to minimize the consequences of toxicological events in Türkiye by bridging the gap between emergency medicine physicians/first responders and the attribution of chemical incidents.