LibGuides: Emergency Responders and Pandemics : General Resources

Epidemic vs Pandemic, What's the Difference?

"An epidemic is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread to multiple countries or continents across the world, really. A simple way to remember the difference is to think of the P in pandemic as a passport to travel. So in a way, a pandemic is a globe-trotting epidemic."

Visit Coronavirus Vocabulary for a narrated visual.

General Resources

The History of EMS

While Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the United States date back to as early as the Civil War, EMS as we know it did not begin to take root until the late 1960s. Learn more about the history of EMS through the sources provided below.

50 Years of Modern EMS
A timeline of events of Modern EMS over the past 50 years, from ems.gov.
The Formation of the Emergency Medical Services System
An article describing the evolution of the emergency medical services system in the United States, from the American Journal of Public Health, 2006.

Unfortunately, information regarding the emergency response to epidemics predating Modern EMS is not as organized as epidemics from recent history. Because of that, we are only including information about American emergency responses to each epidemic when applicable. Please reach out to the IFSI Library if you would like more information about the emergency response to a specific epidemic- we are happy to assist you!

Pandemics That Changed History
From History.com- "The more civilized humans became, building cities and forging trade routes to connect with other cities, and waging wars with them, the more likely pandemics became. See a timeline of pandemics that, in ravaging human populations, changed history."
America's Forgotten Epidemics
A Wall Street Journal article about America's history of epidemics.
Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease: Workshop Summary
An essay by David Heymann, Executive Director for Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO), which reflects on key outbreaks of emerging infectious disease over the past three decades and examines what these outbreaks reveal about the implications of future pandemics.

Fire fighters' ability and willingness to participate in a pandemic, 2008
A thesis that addresses the general ability and willingness of firefighters to assist in a pandemic situation. Online access provided by the IFSI Library.
EMS Infectious Disease Playbook
This PDF playbook from the Department of Health and Human Services gives protocols for avoiding exposure and what to do after exposure to many infectious diseases.