The Ebola virus epidemic burst in West Africa in late 2013, started in Guinea, reached in a few months an alarming diffusion, actually involving several countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali). Guinea and Liberia, the first nations affected by the outbreak, have put in place measures to contain the spread, supported by international organizations; then they were followed by the other nations affected. In the present EVD outbreak, the geographical spread of the virus has followed a new route: the achievement of large urban areas at an early stage of the epidemic has led to an unprecedented diffusion, featuring the largest outbreak of EVD of all time. This has caused significant concerns all over the world: the potential reaching of far countries from endemic areas, mainly through fast transports, induced several countries to issue information documents and health supervision for individuals going to or coming from the areas at risk. In this paper the geographical spread of the epidemic was analyzed, assessing the sequential appearance of cases by geographic area, considering the increase in cases and mortality according to affected nations. The measures implemented by each government and international organizations to contain the outbreak, and their effectiveness, were also evaluated.

With the aim to have risk mitigation for people and first responders, active remote sensing standoff detection is a fruitful technology, both in case of accidental (natural or incidental) or intentional dispersion in the environment of volatile chemical substances. Nowadays, several laser-based methodologies could be put in place to perform extensive areal monitoring. The present study regards the proposal for a new system architecture derived from the integration of a low-cost laser-based network of detectors for pollutants interfaced with a more sophisticated layout mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) able to identify the nature and the amount of a release. With this system set up, the drone will be activated by the alarm triggered by the laser-based network when anomalies are detected. The area will be explored by the drone with a more accurate set of sensors for identification to validate the detection of the network of Lidar systems and to sample the substance in the focus zone for subsequent analysis. In this work, methodologies and requirements for the standoff detection and the identification features chosen for this integrated system are described. The work aims at the definition of a new approach to the problem through the integration of different technologies and tools in the operative field experiments. Some preliminary results in support of the suitability of the integration hypothesis proposed are presented. This study gives rise to an integrated system to be furtherly tested in a real environment.

Background: Iraq has endured several conflicts and socio-political tensions that have disrupted its public health system. Nowadays, because health data are not collected on a routine basis, the country still lacks proper statistics and, consequently, response plans to meet present and future health needs of its population. An international partnership is developing in the Iraqi Kurdistan a Health Monitoring System with the aim of supporting evidence-based health policy decisions. Methods: The pilot phase for assessing the feasibility of the programme was launched in 2015. In 2018 the implementation phase began. The first step was to choose the software platform and the coding system, as well as to identify the public hospitals (PH) and Public Health Centers (PHC) to be included in the e-health system. The technical infrastructure of each PHC or PH was updated. The staff of each center was trained in the use of the e-health system and in disease coding. Several seminars introduced regional and district health managers to the basic concepts of data-driven decision making. A local team of experts was trained to create a highly specialized staff with the objective of “training the trainers” and ensuring the future self-sufficiency of the system. Results: By September 2019, 59 PHC and PH were entering data in the Health Monitoring System, while 258 health operators (medical doctors, administrative staff, nurses, statisticians, IT and public health specialists, pharmacists) have been already trained. Currently, more than 600,000 disease events have been collected. Additionally, further 734 medical doctors, statisticians, and health managers have been trained on the basics of public health practice. The goal during the next 3 years is to reach 120 operative centers within the region, envisaging a subsequent expansion of the system to all Iraq. Conclusions: The creation of a functioning health monitoring system is feasible also in regions characterized by socio-political tensions. However, multiple stakeholder partnerships are essential. The provision of an e-health information system, coupled with the establishment of a team of local experts, allows the routinely and timely collection of health information, facilitating prompt responses to present and emerging needs, while guiding the formulation and evaluation of health policies.

Unconventional scenarios with hazardous radioactive levels are expected as consequences of accidents in the industrial sector of the nuclear energy production or following intentional releases of radioactive materials for terrorist purposes (dirty bombs, indoor contaminations, etc.). Nowadays, the need to balance the high standards of safety and security through an effective detection network is a matter of paramount importance. In this work, the authors’ challenge has been to design, realize and test a low-cost gamma detection and spectroscopy system which may be used in unmanned vehicles in general and/or drones with low payload capabilities. The designed platform may be used to carry out mapping or localization operations in order to reduce the risk factor for first responders or for the population affected by radiological and nuclear events. In this paper, the design process of a gamma ray detection and spectroscopy system based on affordable and commercially available technologies is presented along with the results of our ongoing characterization of the prototype.

The contemporary geopolitical environment and strategic uncertainty shaped by asymmetric and hybrid threats urge the future development of hands-on training in realistic environments. Training in immersive, virtual environments is a promising approach. Immersive training can support training for contexts that are otherwise hard to access, dangerous, or have high costs. This paper discusses the challenges for virtual reality training in the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear) domain. Based on initial considerations and a literature review, we conducted a survey and three workshops to gather requirements for CBRN training in virtual environments. We structured the gathered insights into four overarching themes—the future of CBRN training, ethical and safety requirements, evaluation and feedback, and tangible objects and tools. We provide insights on these four themes and discuss recommendations.