Disease in the desert: Las Vegas as a case study of how first responders and emergency managers understand novel threats to human health and plan to respond during biological emergencies

摘要

Over recent years it has become clear that technological advancements, globalization, and ecological change, combined with the onset of increased terrorist incidents, are all currently working to create an extremely hazardous environment in terms of pathogenic invasion. Realizing that infectious diseases are both newly emerging and re-emerging in many parts of the world, the question of how prepared an expansive United States will be in the face of an oncoming global pandemic is easily raised. Using Las Vegas as an example of just how unequipped a largely visited U.S. city may be in the face of such a situation, this thesis analyzes biological emergency preparedness methods amongst local emergency response agencies. No matter what the origin, during any large-scale emergency it is extremely important for response to be quick and effective, with decision making responsibilities retained within agencies that posses strong understandings of local capabilities, rather than shifted towards federal agencies that do not often take into account unique local needs. For this reason, the following thesis will test the relationship that exists between emergency managers across different levels of disaster response in order to reveal the true effectiveness of a federalist-dominated disaster mitigation system.