This book focuses on how to formulate a mental health response to a massive infectious disease
outbreak including a pandemic outbreak. The book combines an emergency mental health response
utilized by disaster psychiatry with clinical aspects and expertise on infectious diseases
mental health developed by consultation-liaison psychiatry making it an excellent resource for
tackling each stage of an infectious outbreak crisis quickly and thoroughly. The book opens by
contextualizing the issues with a historical overview of pandemics ranging from plagues of
ancient times through Black Death in the Middle Ages Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to
outbreaks of modern times including HIV Ebola and Zika. The text acknowledges the new
infectious disease challenges presented by climate changes and bioterrorism and considers how
to implement systems to prepare for these issues from an infection and social perspective. The
manuscript then delves into the mental healthaspects of these crises including community and
cultural responses emotional epidemiology and mental health concerns in the aftermath of a
disaster. Finally the text considers medical responses to situation-specific trauma including
quarantine and isolation-associated trauma the mental health aspects of immunization and
vaccination (including vaccine hesitancy) survivor mental health and support for healthcare
personnel thereby providing guidance for some of the most alarming situations facing the
medical community organizing a mental health response to an infectious outbreak. Written by
experts in the field Psychiatry of Pandemics is an excellent resource for infectious disease
specialists psychiatrists psychologists immunologists hospitalists public health officials
nurses disaster mental health workers and all medical professionals who may work with
patients in an infectious disease outbreak.
