| Issue 1046: March 19, 2013 TOP STORIES
IAC HANDOUTS
FEATURED RESOURCES NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS TOP STORIES U.S. Department of Justice settles with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey over discrimination against people with hepatitis B On March 5, the United States Department of Justice issued a press release titled Justice Department Settles with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Over Discrimination Against People with Hepatitis B. Portions of the press release are reprinted below. The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School (UMDNJ) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement resolves complaints that the UMDNJ School of Medicine and the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine unlawfully excluded applicants because they have hepatitis B. This is the first ADA settlement ever reached by the Justice Department on behalf of people with hepatitis B. In 2011, the two applicants in this matter applied and were accepted to the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine, and one of them was also accepted to the UMDNJ School of Medicine. The schools later revoked the acceptances when the schools learned that the applicants have hepatitis B. The Justice Department determined that the schools had no lawful basis for excluding the applicants, especially because students at the schools are not even required to perform invasive surgical procedures, and that the exclusion of the applicants contradicts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance on this issue. According to the CDC’s July 2012 “Updated Recommendations for Preventing Transmission and Medical Management of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)-Infected Health Care Workers and Students,” no transmission of Hepatitis B has been reported in the United States from primary care providers, clinicians, medical or dental students, residents, nurses, or other health care providers to patients since 1991. Related Links
CDC confirms recent rabies death in Maryland organ transplant recipient On March 15, CDC issued a media statement titled CDC Confirms Rabies Death in Organ Transplant Recipient: Other patients who received organs from same donor getting anti-rabies shots. A portion of the statement is reprinted below. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have confirmed that a patient who recently died of rabies in Maryland contracted the infection through organ transplantation done more than a year ago. The patient was one of four people who had received an organ from the same donor. This week, CDC laboratories tested tissue samples from the donor and from the recipient who died to confirm transmission of rabies through organ transplantation. In early March, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene initiated an investigation after the organ recipient died, which led to the rabies diagnosis. The investigation revealed that the organ recipient had no reported animal exposures, the usual source of rabies transmission to humans, and identified the possibility of transplant-related transmission of rabies, which is extremely rare. . . . The three other people who received organs from the donor have been identified and are currently being evaluated by their healthcare teams and receiving rabies anti-rabies shots (immune globulin and anti-rabies vaccination). CDC is working with public health officials and healthcare facilities in five states (Fla., Ga., Ill., Md., and N.C.) to identify people who were in close contact with the initial donor or the four organ recipients and might need rabies post-exposure treatment. Related Link Back to top Measles & Rubella Initiative announces that more than 700 million children in 49 countries are to be vaccinated against measles and rubella by 2020 On March 13, the Measles & Rubella Initiative, along with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and the GAVI Alliance, issued a press release titled Over 700 Million Children in 49 Countries to Be Protected against Measles and Rubella. The first paragraph is reprinted below. Rwanda’s measles-rubella vaccination campaign, which is being launched today, is the beginning of an effort to vaccinate more than 700 million children under 15 years of age against two disabling and deadly diseases. The combined measles-rubella vaccine will be introduced in 49 countries by 2020 thanks to financial support from the GAVI Alliance. The support builds on the efforts of the Measles & Rubella Initiative (M&RI) that have helped countries to protect 1.1 billion children against measles since 2001. Founded in 2001 as the Measles Initiative, the Measles & Rubella Initiative is a global partnership committed to ensuring no child dies from measles or is born with congenital rubella syndrome. It is led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization. Since 2000 when the GAVI Alliance was launched, GAVI support has led to 370 million additional children being immunized against leading vaccine-preventable diseases in the world's poorest countries. Related Links
Compelling videos featured each week on the vaccineinformation.org home page, IAC's newly launched website for the public IAC's Vaccine Information You Need website for the public is a comprehensive and user-friendly source of scientifically accurate and easily navigable immunization information on the Web today. Fresh content is highlighted on the home page of vaccineinformation.org each week: featured videos from the Video Library, personal testimonies about vaccine-preventable diseases, just released immunization resources, and more. Be sure to visit often! Visit the home page of vaccineinformation.org and scroll down to the new Video Library. The box now features a selection of compelling videos about child and adult vaccination. By clicking the title, "Video Library," or the "View All Videos" image, you will be connected to the entire collection of more than 100 video clips, which include public service announcements and personal stories about vaccine-preventable-diseases. We hope you'll take the time to explore www.vaccineinformation.org. If you have a website, blog, or Facebook page, please link to www.vaccineinformation.org. Thanks! Back to top IAC HANDOUTS IAC updates its guides to contraindications and precautions IAC's Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines (covers adults and children) and Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines in Adults have been updated based on information included in ACIP's General Recommendations on Immunization and the 2013 U.S. immunization schedule for adults. IAC's Handouts for Patients & Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public more than 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely. Back to top Four popular handouts for healthcare professionals and their patients now available in Turkish Turkish-language translations of the following handouts are now available. IAC thanks Mustafa Kozanoglu, MD, for the translations.
Related Links
FEATURED RESOURCES Influenza is serious; vaccination is recommended for nearly everyone, so please keep vaccinating your patients Vaccination remains the single most effective means of preventing influenza. Vaccination is recommended for everyone age 6 months and older, so please continue to vaccinate your patients. If you don't provide influenza vaccination in your clinic, please recommend vaccination to your patients and refer them to the HealthMap Vaccine Finder to locate sites near their workplaces or homes that offer influenza vaccination services. If you are seeking influenza vaccine for your clinic, check the Influenza Vaccine Availability Tracking System (IVATS), which is a resource for healthcare settings looking to purchase influenza vaccine. The IVATS chart contains information from approved, enrolled, and participating wholesale vaccine distributors or manufacturers of U.S. licensed influenza vaccine. Information is updated on an ongoing basis. Following is a list of resources related to influenza disease and vaccination for healthcare professionals and the public.
NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS March 25 is new nomination deadline for the National Adult and Influenza Vaccine Summit's 2013 Immunization Excellence Awards The National Adult and Influenza Vaccine Summit has extended the deadline for submitting nominations for its 2013 Immunization Excellence Awards. The extended deadline is the close of business on March 25. The 2013 awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions towards improved adult and/or childhood influenza vaccination rates within their communities during the 2012–2013 influenza season. This year an award has been added to recognize immunization activities focused on the adult population, beyond influenza. A national winner and honorable mention recipient will be selected for each award category. The winners will be given their awards at the National Adult and Influenza Vaccine Summit meeting, which will be held in Atlanta on May 14–16. The national winner in each category will be invited to present their programs at the meeting. There are five categories of recognition:
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ISSN 2771-8085
Editorial Information
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Editor-in-ChiefKelly L. Moore, MD, MPH
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Managing EditorJohn D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
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Associate EditorSharon G. Humiston, MD, MPH
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Writer/Publication CoordinatorTaryn Chapman, MS
Courtnay Londo, MA -
Style and Copy EditorMarian Deegan, JD
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Web Edition ManagersArkady Shakhnovich
Jermaine Royes -
Contributing WriterLaurel H. Wood, MPA
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Technical ReviewerKayla Ohlde