Inside our Special Pathogens Unit: How we prepare to treat emerging infectious diseases

The world has seen a number of high-profile infectious disease outbreaks over the last decade.

In response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, M Health Fairview opened a dedicated unit to treat patients with the infectious, potentially severe illness. We’ve grown the unit since then, and now have two dedicated high-level isolation, negative-airflow rooms as part of our Special Pathogens Unit at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center.

In 2016, our Special Pathogens Unit was designated as a Regional Treatment Center for Ebola and Other Special Pathogens by the federal government. We’re a point of contact and emergency treatment for a six-state region including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

We’ve grown from specializing in Ebola treatment to being prepared for a wide range of infectious diseases – including mpox.

What are special pathogens?

“We define special pathogens as high-consequence infectious diseases that are emerging or unusual,” said M Health Fairview Infectious Disease Physician Susan Kline, MD, MPH, medical director of our Special Pathogens Unit. “These illnesses have the capacity to be highly-contagious and severe.”

Kline and her team worked with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) soon after being designated as a regional treatment center to define what types of infection would qualify as special pathogens that might be appropriate for admission to our unit.

Mpox was on the list, something that’s become highly relevant in recent weeks as an outbreak of mpox spreads across the country. As of July 13, there were 10 confirmed cases in Minnesota. Numbers are changing frequently, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sharing updated case counts regularly.