Re-emergence of vector-borne disease causes a pandemic

The re-emergence of vector-borne infectious disease, the surfacing of new diseases or the emergence of super-strains of, for example, tuberculosis, causes a pandemic. Early detection and management is critical, and impacts on public health services, where pharmacists play a core role, advising, monitoring and managing the supply of medication. The pharmacy workforce also suffer ill-health as a result of the pandemic, and the supply pool of pharmacists temporarily diminishes.

Proposed workforce impact

• Increased demand for pharmacists in advisory and strategic roles.
• Temporary reduction in the supply of pharmacists leading to a sharp rise in demand.

Sources or references

• http://ih.stanford.edu/emerging%20diseases%20-%20nature.pdf
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52945/

Additional research questions

• Which diseases are most likely to re-emerge in the UK?

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.