Discover Background Data and Resources:

• Get introduced to NETEC through the interactive timeline of special pathogens below.* This timeline describes some significant special pathogen events in recent history.

• Find out more about the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the development of the ASPR/CDC-supported network of healthcare facilities preparing for the next outbreak through the Ebola timeline.

• This NETEC Repository helps to provide training and educational resources to prepare for future special pathogen events.

• Explore the files BELOW THE TIMELINE to discover and learn more about Ebola and other Special Pathogens, an overview of special pathogens, clinically managing patients affected, and readying healthcare teams and systems to keep everyone safe.

Timeline of Special Pathogens:

*Click for a screen reader accessible table of this timeline.

Collection Resources

• Healthcare Workers’ Strategies for Doffing Personal Protective Equipment

  Tags Donning and Doffing, Gloves, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub
  Creator: Baloh, Jure, Heather Schacht Reisinger, Kimberly Dukes, Jaqueline Pereira da Silva, Hugh P. Salehi, Melissa Ward, Emily E. Chasco, Priyadarshini R. Pennathur, and Loreen Herwaldt.
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2019-10-01
  Description: Personal protective equipment (PPE) helps protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from pathogens and prevents cross-contamination.

• Understanding Workflow and Personal Protective Equipment Challenges Across Different Healthcare Personnel Roles

  Tags Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub, Staff Rotations, Staffing
  Creator: Harrod, Molly, Laura Petersen, Lauren E. Weston, Lynn Gregory, Jeanmarie Mayer, Matthew H. Samore, Frank A. Drews, and Sarah L. Krein.
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2019-10-01
  Description: Hospitals use standard and transmission-based precautions, including personal protective equipment (PPE), to prevent the spread of infectious organisms.

• Environmental Contact and Self-contact Patterns of Healthcare Workers: Implications for Infection Prevention and Control

  Tags Contact Transmission, Infection Prevention and Control, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PPE, R-Res&Pub, Respiratory Pathogen
  Creator: C. D. C. Prevention Epicenters Program (CDC)
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2019-10-01
  Description: Respiratory viruses on fomites can be transferred to sites susceptible to infection via contact by hands or other fomites.

• Optimizing Contact Precautions to Curb the Spread of Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria in Hospitals: A Multicenter Cohort Study to Identify Patient Characteristics and Healthcare Personnel Interactions Associated With Transmission of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

  Tags Contact Transmission, Gloves, Infection Prevention and Control, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PPE, R-Res&Pub
  Creator: C. D. C. Prevention Epicenters Program (CDC)
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2019-10-01
  Description: Healthcare personnel (HCP) acquire antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their gloves and gowns when caring for intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

• Improving the Use of Personal Protective Equipment: Applying Lessons Learned.

  Tags Contact Transmission, Infection Prevention and Control, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub
  Creator: Reddy, Sujan C., Amy L. Valderrama, and David T. Kuhar.
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2019-10-01
  Description: Unrecognized transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings can lead to colonization and infection of both patients and healthcare personnel. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is an important strategy to protect healthcare personnel…
• 

  Pregnancy, Labor, and Delivery after Ebola Virus Disease and Implications for Infection Control in Obstetric Services, United States

  Tags Ebola, Infection Prevention and Control, Labor and Delivery, Neonates, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-SP, Survivors
  Creator: Kamali, Amanda, Denise J. Jamieson, Julius Kpaduwa, Sarah Schrier, Moon Kim, Nicole M. Green, Ute Ströher, Atis Muehlenbachs, Michael Bell, Pierre E. Rollin, and Laurene Mascola.
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2016-07
  Description: Many of the survivors of the 2014–2015 epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa were women of childbearing age.

• Assessing Viral Transfer During Doffing of Ebola-Level Personal Protective Equipment in a Biocontainment Unit

  Tags Ebola, Gloves, Internal Transport, Occupational Exposure, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-IIT, R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub, Trained Observer, Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
  Creator: Casanova, L. M., K. Erukunuakpor, C. S. Kraft, J. M. Mumma, F. T. Durso, A. N. Ferguson, C. L. Gipson, V. L. Walsh, C. Zimring, J. DuBose, J. T. Jacob, Control Centers for Disease, and Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion Prevention Epicenters…
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2018-05-05
  Description: The 2014–2015 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) placed healthcare workers (HCWs) at high risk for acquiring EVD during patient care.
• 

  Human Factors Risk Analyses of a Doffing Protocol for Ebola-Level Personal Protective Equipment: Mapping Errors to Contamination

  Tags Ebola, Gloves, Occupational Exposure, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub
  Creator: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epicenters Program, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2018-02-17
  Description: Doffing protocols for personal protective equipment (PPE) are critical for keeping healthcare workers (HCWs) safe during care of patients with Ebola virus disease.
• 

  Virus Transfer from Personal Protective Equipment to Healthcare Employees’ Skin and Clothing

  Tags Occupational Exposure, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub
  Creator: Lisa Casanova, Edie Alfano-Sobsey, William A. Rutala, David J. Weber, and Mark Sobsey.
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2008-08
  Description: We evaluated a personal protective equipment removal protocol designed to minimize wearer contamination with pathogens.

• Identification and Characterization of Failures in Infectious Agent Transmission Precaution Practices in Hospitals

  Tags Contact Transmission, Donning and Doffing, Droplet Transmission, Infection Prevention and Control, Occupational Exposure, Occupational Health, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), R-PM, R-PPE, R-Res&Pub, Staff Support, Staffing
  Creator: Sarah L. Krein, PhD, RN; Jeanmarie Mayer, MD; Molly Harrod, PhD; Lauren E. Weston, MPH; Lynn Gregory, NP; Laura Petersen, MHSA; Matthew H. Samore, MD; Frank A. Drews, PhD
  Subject: Infection Control
  Item Type: Publication
  Date Last Updated: 2018-08-01
  Description: Using personal protective equipment (PPE) and transmission-based precautions are primary strategies for reducing the transmission of infectious agents.