Past Updates from the Clinician Registry Listserv

Update Sent March 26, 2007

NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only and may not provide our most accurate and up-to-date information. The most current Clinician's information can be found on the Clinician Home Page..

Today's topics include:

• COCA Conference Call

• Avian Influenza

• Pandemic Influenza

• Seasonal Influenza

• Emergency Preparedness and Response

• Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Journal

• Traveler's Health

COCA Conference Call

Please join us for our next COCA call on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Human Parapoxvirus.

Title: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Human Parapoxvirus
Speakers: Dr. David Swerdlow & Dr. Edith Lederman
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Time: 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Dial-in Number: 888-469-2982
Passcode: COCA

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever- From Dog Ticks to Doxycycline
-- Dr. David Swerdlow

Human Parapoxvirus Infections – A Field Investigation Evaluating Clinical, Epidemiologic and Molecular Aspects
-- Dr. Edith Lederman

Objectives:
    1. Identify routes of transmission of parapoxviruses and Rickettsia rickettsii
    2. Identify current diagnostic techniques available for confirmation of      
        parapoxvirus and rickettsial infections
    3. Distinguish human parapoxvirus infections from cutaneous anthrax using      
        clinical and historical information

Speaker Bios:

David Swerdlow is the team leader of the Disease Assessment and Epidemiology Team, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vectorborne, and Enteric Diseases, CDC. The Branch studies rickettsial infections in the United States and abroad. He is also Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine and an adjunct associate professor at Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Before becoming a medical epidemiologist at CDC he completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1993 and a preventive medicine residency at the San Diego County, Department of Health Services in 1992. He was in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) at CDC in 1989-1991 and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle in 1989. His medical education was at Harvard Medical School and his undergraduate education was at the University of California, San Diego. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

Edie Lederman is a US Navy infectious diseases physician, currently in her second year of Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer fellowship with the Poxvirus Program. She has conducted investigations on monkeypox, parapoxviruses, vaccinia, Rift Valley fever, acute skin disease among roofers, blood stream infections, food-borne illness, malaria, ehrlichia and rickettsiae.

Slides, handouts and any other supporting documentation for these presentations may be found on the COCA Conference Call page: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/coca/callinfo.asp.

Avian Influenza

Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 10 - March 20
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has announced a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case was confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and by the US Naval Medical Research Unit No.3 (NAMRU-3).
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_03_20/en/index.html

CIDRAP News - Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia report first H5N1 outbreaks - March 23
Agriculture officials in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in birds, a first for each country.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/mar2307avian.html

Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO - March 23
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2007_03_20/en/index.html
 

Pandemic Influenza

Health Insurer Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist - March 20
In the event of an influenza pandemic, national and regional health insurers will have several key responsibilities: protecting their employees’ health and safety, providing coverage and related services to their enrollees, and coordinating access to care through the provider community. Pandemic influenza planning is critical and will help limit the negative impact on our economy and society.

MMWR Weekly - March 23
Notice to Readers: Availability of FluWorkLoss 1.0 Software to Estimate Loss of Work Days During a Pandemic Influenza Pandemic
Illness rates during an influenza pandemic are likely to be two to five times higher than during a typical influenza season. To maintain continuity of essential operations, public health officials, policy makers, health-care facilities managers, and business leaders must plan for influenza-related work absences during an influenza pandemic. FluWorkLoss is a software program that allows estimation of the potential number of days lost from work because of an influenza pandemic.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5611a5.htm

Pandemic influenza vaccine: WHO and international community make progress towards ensuring access of developing countries - March 22
Pandemic influenza vaccine: WHO and international community make progress towards ensuring access of developing countries.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np13/en/index.html

Seasonal Influenza

Weekly Report: Influenza Summary Update - March 23
:During week 11 (March 11 – March 17, 2007), influenza activity continued to decrease in the United States. Data from the U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories indicated a decline in activity for the fifth consecutive week; 17.0% of specimens tested positive for influenza this week. ILI data was similar to the previous week and above baseline for the thirteenth week this season. Fifteen states reported widespread influenza activity; 22 states reported regional influenza activity; nine states, New York City, and the District of Columbia reported local influenza activity; and four states reported sporadic influenza activity. The reporting of widespread or regional influenza activity decreased from 42 for week 10 to 37 for week 11. The percent of deaths due to pneumonia and influenza remained below baseline level.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

Weekly US Map - March 23
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm 

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Building Community Resilience for Children and Families
The Community Resilience Guidebook provides information about building community resilience, which involves helping communities improve their capacity to respond effectively to natural or man-made disasters. The Guidebook is intended for individuals in decision-making and leadership roles in all sectors of a community, who are committed to improving the emotional outcomes of children and families in the face of disaster. Additionally, specific guidelines are provided for leaders representing the following nine sectors: business, community, culture and faith-based, first responders, health care, media, mental health, public health, and school and other child care settings.
Two download sites:
http://www.nctsn.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/edu_materials/BuildingCommunity_FINAL_02-12-07.pdf and http://tdc.ouhsc.edu/cr_guidebook.htm

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Journal

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Journal
The Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) journal provides recognition of new and re-emerging infections and understanding of factors involved in disease emergence, prevention, and elimination. It also represents the scientific communications component of CDC's efforts against the threat of emerging infections. See the April 2007 issue of the EID journal at the following link: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm.

Traveler's Health

Meningococcal Disease and International Travel - March 20
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported cases of meningococcal disease in several African countries within or near the meningitis belt: Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. Specimens tested have been positive for N. meningitidis serogroup A. Ministries of Health in affected countries have initiated vaccination campaigns with assistance from WHO and other international partners. Detailed outbreak reports can be found on the WHO website.
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentMeningococcalInternationTravel.aspx
 

 

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