Issue Number
294
February 4, 2002
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC publishes
article on increase in pertussis cases
- It's not too late
for flu shots!
- IAC launches
Hepatitis B Information web page
- OSHA publishes
Compliance Directive for revised Bloodborne
Pathogens Standard
- Curriculum for
nurses and self-paced course simplify
immunization education
- February 14 is
Immunize Georgia's Little Guys Conference
- National Pediatric
Infectious Disease Seminar is set for April
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February 4, 2002
CDC PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON INCREASE IN PERTUSSIS CASES
On February 1, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) published "Pertussis--United States,
1997-2000" in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR).
According to the article, after the widespread use of
pertussis vaccine began in the late 1940s,
incidence of reported pertussis declined and
reached a historic low in 1976 at 1,010 cases.
Since the early 1980s, incidence has
increased in cycles, peaking every 3 to 4 years. Comparing
surveillance data from 1997-2000 with data
from 1994-1996, researchers found that reported
incidence increased 60
percent among adults and 11 percent among infants.
Continued high vaccination rates and
outbreak management are suggested for prevention.
The last sentence of the Editorial Note says:
"Studies among older children, adolescents,
and adults examining pertussis disease burden and
transmission of disease to infants might guide future
policy decisions on the use of acellular pertussis
vaccines among persons aged 7 or more years."
The CDC's synopsis of the article reads as follows:
*******************************
Despite an effective vaccine, pertussis continues to occur
in the United States in all age groups. There
has been an increase in the number of
reported U.S. pertussis cases in the last two
decades. This increase is primarily among
infants too young to have received 3 pertussis-containing
vaccine doses, and among adolescents and
adults. . . . the increase in cases among infants
<6 months of age suggests
that a true increase in pertussis circulation has
occurred. The number of cases of pertussis
among children who are old enough to have received
3 or more pertussis vaccinations has remained
stable.
*******************************
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5104a1.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue
of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5104.pdf
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR), visit
CDC's MMWR website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr Select
"Free MMWR Subscription" from the menu
at the left of the screen. Once you have
submitted the required information, weekly issues
of the MMWR and all new ACIP statements (published
as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports") will
arrive automatically by email.
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February 4, 2002
IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR FLU SHOTS!
So far, the U.S. has had a mild case of collective
influenza this season, but that's no reason to skip the
flu shot if you haven't had one already. There is no
shortage of flu vaccine, so be sure to continue to
give it to your patients, as well.
Although cases of influenza have been fewer than usual for
this time of year, CDC's "Influenza Summary
Update" for the week ending January 19 said that
"forty-five states have reported laboratory-
confirmed influenza" since September.
In the third week of January, four states reported
widespread influenza activity: Colorado, New York,
Utah, and Virginia. Forty-two other states
reported regional or sporadic activity.
According to CDC epidemiologist Dr. Scott Harper, the flu
season this year may peak later than
expected. A CDC chart shows that in ten out of 18
recent years (1982-2000), the influenza rate
peaked in February or March rather than in
December or January. Therefore, it's important to
remember that, whenever it peaks, the flu season
generally lasts through March. We should not stop
vaccinating until then.
In the February 1 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report (MMWR), the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published
"Update: Influenza Activity--United States, 2001-02
Season." The following is an excerpt from
the Editorial Note to the article:
*******************************
The best protection against influenza is vaccination, and
approximately 10 million doses of 2001-02
influenza vaccine remain available. Health-care
providers should continue to offer influenza
vaccine during February
because influenza activity is expected to increase, and
unvaccinated persons can benefit from
vaccination even after influenza has been detected
in their communities. Influenza vaccine
is strongly recommended for those at
increased risk for serious complications from influenza
(e.g., persons aged 6 months-64 years with
certain chronic medical conditions and persons
aged 65 years or older) and
health-care providers. In addition, household contacts of high-risk
persons, healthy persons aged 50-64 years, and any
person who wants to reduce their risk for becoming ill
with influenza should be vaccinated.
*******************************
To obtain the complete text of the Update online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5104a3.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) version of the
entire MMWR issue, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5104.pdf
For more information on influenza and influenza vaccine,
go to the CDC Flu web page at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/Flu/default.htm
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February 4, 2002
IAC LAUNCHES HEPATITIS B INFORMATION WEB PAGE
The new Hepatitis B Information page on IAC's website
directs (or links) you to 24 medical journal
articles about hepatitis; CDC
recommendations; state laws; case histories;
photos; and a list of resources and
organizations.
Visit this page often, because we will be updating it
continually. Occasionally, we will announce major
additions to the page here in IAC EXPRESS. Make it your
first stop for . . . hepatitis B information!
To see IAC's new Hepatitis B Information
web page, go to:
http://immunize.org/hepb/
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February 4, 2002
OSHA PUBLISHES COMPLIANCE DIRECTIVE FOR REVISED BLOODBORNE
PATHOGENS STANDARD
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has issued a new Compliance Directive for
enforcing the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard that
was revised in January 2001 and that became
effective in April. IAC has received many
inquiries about the Standard's requirements for
safer needle devices.
Directive no. CPL 2-2.69 is titled "Enforcement Procedures
for the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne
Pathogens." The text is 93 pages long, not
including five appendixes.
The OSHA trade news release about the Directive (dated
November 28, 2001) reads in part as follows:
******************************
The compliance directive guides OSHA's safety and health
inspection officers in enforcing the
standard that covers occupational exposure to
blood and other potentially infectious materials,
and ensures consistent inspection
procedures are followed. It updates an earlier directive
issued in 1999 and incorporates changes
mandated by the Needlestick Safety and Prevention
Act passed in November
2000.
The directive implements changes made to the standard that
focus on the requirement that employers
select safer needle devices as they become
available and involve employees in identifying and
choosing those devices. The standard now
also requires most employers to maintain a log of
injuries from contaminated sharps.
The directive highlights the major new requirements of the
standard including: (1) evaluation and
implementation of safer needle devices as part of
the re-evaluation of appropriate engineering
controls during an employer's
annual exposure control plan; (2) documentation of the
involvement of non-managerial, frontline employees in
choosing safer devices; and (3) establishment and
maintenance of a sharps injury log for
recording injuries from contaminated sharps.
Compliance officers are reminded that no one safer medical
device is appropriate for all situations;
employers must consider and implement devices that
are appropriate, commercially available and
effective. The directive also includes
detailed instructions on inspections of multi-employer worksites,
including employment agencies, personnel
services, home health services, physicians and
healthcare professionals in independent practices,
and independent contractors.
Also included in the directive are engineering control
evaluation forms, a web site resource list, a
model exposure control plan which
incorporates the most current guidelines from the
Centers for Disease Control regarding
management of occupational exposure to the hepatitis B and
C viruses, and the HIV virus.
******************************
Currently the Directive is available online only in PDF
format. An HTML version is expected to be
available soon.
To read or download the OSHA Directive, go to:
http://www.osha-slc.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_2-2_69.pdf
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February 4, 2002
CURRICULUM FOR NURSES AND SELF-PACED COURSE SIMPLIFY
IMMUNIZATION EDUCATION
The Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM)
has created two highly useful educational
products through the Project to Enhance
Immunization Content in Nursing Education and
Training.
"Teaching Immunization Practices (TIP) for Nurses" is a
newly updated curriculum for nurse educators
consisting of three modules: Basic
Principles of Immunization; Basic Principles of
Vaccine Use; and Immunization Practice,
Delivery, and Program Design. Student objectives are
listed for each module, along with clearly
defined lessons with figures and handouts to use.
Challenging case studies make the
information especially relevant and interesting.
This thorough curriculum is designed to cover enough
material for 13.5 hours of teaching time, but individual
modules or parts of modules can also be used
for single-topic lectures.
"TIP for Nurses" can be downloaded from the Internet or
purchased as a CD-ROM for $25 by calling
(800) 235-0882.
To download "TIP for Nurses" onto your computer free of
charge, go to:
http://healthsoftonline.com/portal/tip.asp
"Immunization: You Call the Shots" is a self-paced,
interactive computer program for approximately 6
hours of independent learning. IAC's staff
reviewers spent at least that much time exploring
the two-part program and taking
its instant-feedback competency tests.
In Part 1, students learn (or re-learn) the basics of
vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccines, from
the classification of vaccine types to
details about the major vaccines and their use.
In Part 2, students get to "walk through" a virtual
clinic, stopping in eight different rooms to learn about
the entire immunization process. This "imm-sim show" makes
learning fun. In the Reception Area, you
can learn about reminder and recall systems. In
the Waiting Room, hear a nurse explaining
immunization to patients of different ages.
In the Vaccine Administration Room, see a close-up
of proper injection technique. Visit the Community
Room to identify barriers to immunization and
consider ways to
overcome them.
According to the program's documentation, institutional
users of "Immunization: You Call the Shots"
may be able to award contact-hour credit using
their organization's provider number; check with
your state regulatory agency.
"Immunization: You Call the Shots" costs $295 (includes
site and network license). Special pricing is
available for federally funded public
health clinics. Annual updates cost $25. For more
information, or to request a free 30-day preview,
call HealthSoft at (800) 235-0882.
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February 4, 2002
FEBRUARY 14 IS IMMUNIZE GEORGIA'S LITTLE GUYS CONFERENCE
You can still attend the 9th Annual Immunize Georgia's
Little Guys Conference next Thursday,
February 14, at the Macon Centreplex Convention
Centre in Macon, Georgia. The theme is "Back to
Basics." Speakers include William Atkinson,
M.D., M.P.H.; Walter Orenstein, M.D., M.P.H.; and
Joanne Cono, M.D., S.C.M. from CDC; and Michael Chaney
and others from Georgia Immunization
Program.
The registration fee is $30 on or before February 7, 2002,
and $60 thereafter. On-site registration is
available.
Hotel accommodation has been arranged at the Crowne Plaza
Macon near the Macon Centreplex Convention
Center. Call (800) 227-6963 for reservations.
For registration or general conference information,
contact Angie Moore, Conference Coordinator, by
phone at (404) 929-8456 or email at
angela.moore@choa.org
To access the conference brochure online, go to:
http://www.choa.org/immunization/ninth_iglg_conf.pdf
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February 4, 2002
NATIONAL PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE SEMINAR IS SET FOR
APRIL
The 22nd Annual National Pediatric Infectious Disease
Seminar will be held April 3-6, 2002, at the
Hyatt Regency New Orleans in Louisiana. The
seminar will be "an intensive review designed for
practicing clinicians and related health
care workers who want to remain abreast of current
issues and an update of the latest developments in
pediatric infectious diseases."
The seminar is jointly sponsored by the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and
the National Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Foundation. The registration fee is $525 for
physicians and $375 for
residents, fellows, physician assistants, nurses, and
others.
For registration information, call the Synergy Medical
Education Group at (972) 541-0973 or visit the
NPIDS website at
http://www.npids.org
You can register online through the above link, but don't be
thrown off by the dialog box labeled
"Certificate Name Check." Just click on "continue"
and then hit "register online" again.
For hotel registration, call the Hyatt Regency New Orleans
at (504) 561-1234. The early-bird rate
deadline is March 2.
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