You probably remember the H1N1 (swine flu) epidemic of 2009. For many of our customers, Mediasite was central to pandemic and academic continuity planning during that time.
For example, when more than 2,000 students from the Washington State University system reported symptoms, the university took measures to stop the spread of the disease between campuses. Faculty at WSU Spokane used Mediasite to record lectures from home, and students watched from home, so no one missed a class.
Similarly, Brazil was hit the hardest, according to the World Health Organization, and many organizations that were planning to meet in Brazil that year needed alternatives to face-to-face events. Atitude Digital Media, a webcasting provider in Brazil, used Mediasite to create online conferences for pharmaceutical companies, so professionals could meet online while avoiding exposure to the flu.
Now, seven years later, universities and healthcare organizations are in crisis mode again with the Zika Virus. On Feb. 1, the World Health Organization declared the disease, caused by the bite of an infected mosquito, a public health emergency. Since then, Mediasite has been used to share disease updates and preventative tips with the masses.
On Tuesday, the Provincial Health Services Authority, on behalf of the British Colombia Centre for Disease Control, is presenting a live webcast, “Zika Virus: Known Knowns, Known Unknowns and …,” that is open to the public. You can watch here live at 12 p.m. PDT. It’ll also be available on-demand.
Using live webcasts to deliver this type of presentation means that schools and organizations can take their messages far and wide with big impact, all while saving time and money – time that would have been spent on delivering the same presentation over and over and money that would have been spent on travel.
Here’s a look at some of the other Mediasite presentations about Zika. If we missed yours, comment with a link, and we’ll add it to the list.
- “Zika Virus & Emergency Legal Preparedness,” Arizona State University Public Health Law Policy Program, Feb. 9
- “Legal Response to Zika,” University of Connecticut Health Center, Feb. 10
- “Zika Virus Update Town Meeting,” Johns Hopkins Medicine, March 1
- “Zika Virus Disease,” Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc., March 4
- “Zika Virus: Another Emerging Infectious Disease Coming to the Americas,” College of Public Health, The Ohio State University (from June 2015)