Issue Number 31
November 26, 1998
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC to broadcast course on
surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases on December 3
- CDC releases "Recommendations for
prevention and control of hepatitic C virus (HCV) infection and HCV-related chronic
disease"
- Continuing medical education credits
are now a component of certain MMWR publications
- "Laboratory-based surveillance
for rotavirus - United States, July 1997-June 1998" published in MMWR
- "Update: Influenza activity -
United States, 1998-99 season" published in MMWR
- "Vaccination coverage by
race/ethnicity and poverty level among children aged 19-35 months - United States,
1997" published in MMWR
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(1)
December 3, 1998
CDC TO BROADCAST COURSE ON SURVEILLANCE OF VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES ON DECEMBER 3
On Thursday, December 3, CDC will present the satellite course,
"Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases" from 12 noon to
3:30 p.m., EST. This course is designed to provide guidelines
for vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) surveillance, case
investigation, and outbreak control. A comprehensive manual for
VPD surveillance will be included with the training course.
This live, interactive 3.5 hour broadcast will feature a question
and answer session in which participants nationwide can address
questions to the course instructors William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH,
medical epidemiologist, National Immunization Program, CDC, and
Melinda Wharton, MD, MPH, chief, Child Vaccine-Preventable
Diseases Branch, National Immunization Program, CDC.
Physicians, infection control practitioners, nurses,
epidemiologists, laboratorians, sanitarians, and disease
reporters are encouraged to participate. Continuing education
credit will be offered for a variety of professions, based on 4
hours of instruction.
For information on the availability of this program in your area
and to register and order materials, contact your satellite
broadcast state coordinator. Click here for these phone numbers:
http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/stcoords.htm
or call your state
immunization program manager. Click here for these phone
numbers: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n18/coord18.htm
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(2)
October 16, 1998
CDC RELEASES "RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS (HCV)
INFECTION AND HCV-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASE"
On October 16, 1998, CDC released "Recommendations for Prevention
and Control of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and HCV-Related Chronic Disease."
Published in MMWR, Recommendations and Reports, Vol. 47, No. 19,
these recommendations provide guidelines for (1) preventing transmission of HCV, (2)
identifying, counseling, and testing persons at risk for HCV, and (3) providing
appropriate medical evaluation and management of HCV-infected persons.
Click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00055154.htm
to
access the complete document in text format. For the camera-ready (pdf format) copy of the
document, click here:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/rr/rr4719.pdf
NOTE: There is a continuing medical education (CME) component for this report. See the
article that follows.
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(3)
November 10, 1998
CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION CREDITS ARE NOW A COMPONENT OF CERTAIN MMWR PUBLICATIONS
An announcement from John W. Ward, MD, editor, MMWR, about the availability of continuing
medical education (CME) credits and continuing nursing education (CNE) credits for certain
MMWR publications was sent via e-mail to Internet MMWR subscribers on November 10, and is
reprinted in its entirety below:
Continuing medical education (CME) and continuing
nursing education (CNE) components are available in the paper and electronic versions of
two recent MMWRs - a CME component is available for "Recommendations for Prevention
and Control of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and HCV-Related Chronic Disease"
(Vol 47, No. RR-19), and CME and CNE components are available in "Prevention and
Treatment of Tuberculosis Among Patients Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus:
Principles of Therapy and Revised Recommendations" (Vol 47, No. RR-20).
The CME component was planned and implemented by CDC according to the "Essentials and
Standards" of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). CDC
is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. CDC
designates the educational activity in RR-19 and RR-20 for a maximum of 2.0 hours per
report in category 1 credit toward the American Medical Association's Physician's
Recognition Award. CDC also is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing
Center's Commission on Accreditation to provide continuing education for nurses. CDC
designates the educational activity in RR-20 for a maximum of 2.4 contact hours of CNE
credit.
To register and receive credit, physicians and nurses may return their responses
electronically to http://www2.cdc.gov/cep/
Responses may also be returned by a card or letter sent by fax (404-639-4198) or mail no
later than 1 year from the publication date of these reports (October 16, 1999 for RR-19
and October 30, 1999 for RR-20). No fee is charged for participating in these continuing
education activities.
Other CME and CNE components are planned for future MMWR series of publications.
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(4)
November 20, 1998
"LABORATORY-BASED SURVEILLANCE FOR ROTAVIRUS - UNITED STATES, JULY 1997-JUNE
1998" PUBLISHED IN MMWR
An article entitled, "Laboratory-Based Surveillance for Rotavirus - United States,
July 1997-June 1998" was published in the MMWR on November 20, 1998. This report
summarizes rotavirus surveillance data and reviews issues related to rotavirus
surveillance. It also includes a brief summary of the disease burden and costs associated
with rotavirus disease for which there is now an FDA approved vaccine.
To access the complete rotavirus article in text
format, click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00055737.htm
For a camera-ready (pdf format) copy of the MMWR containing this article, click here:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/wk/mm4745.pdf
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(5)
November 20, 1998
"UPDATE: INFLUENZA ACTIVITY -- UNITED STATES, 1998-99 SEASON" PUBLISHED IN MMWR
A report entitled, "Update: Influenza Activity - United States, 1998-99 Season"
was published in the MMWR on November 20, 1998. The report summarizes influenza
activity from October 4 through November 7, 1998. The report states that during this time
the overall influenza activity in the U.S. was low but that outbreaks of influenza A
occurred in New York during October-November.
The editorial note reminds MMWR readers that even though the optimal time for influenza
vaccination is October through mid-November, they should vaccinate any time influenza
activity has been detected in the community. Also included in the editorial note are the
1998 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding who to
vaccinate against influenza. The recommendations from the article are reprinted below:
"Although the optimal time for influenza vaccination is October through mid-November,
health-care providers should continue to offer influenza vaccine to unvaccinated high-risk
persons after mid-November, even if influenza activity has been detected in
the community. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends annual
vaccination against influenza for persons aged greater than or equal to 65 years;
residents of nursing homes or chronic-care facilities; persons with chronic cardiovascular
or pulmonary disorders, including children with asthma; persons requiring medical
follow-up or hospitalization during the previous year because of diabetes or other chronic
metabolic diseases, renal dysfunction, hemoglobinopathies, or immunosuppression; children
and teenagers (aged 6 months-18 years) receiving long-term aspirin therapy (who may
therefore be at risk for developing Reye syndrome after influenza); and women who will be
in their second or third trimester of pregnancy during the influenza season. Vaccination
also is recommended for health-care workers and others, including household members, in
frequent contact with persons at high risk for influenza-related complications. Influenza
vaccine also can be administered to other persons who want to reduce their likelihood of
acquiring influenza and for whom vaccination is not contraindicated. "Antiviral
agents can provide a useful adjunct to influenza vaccination. Amantadine and rimantadine
are available for the prophylaxis or treatment of influenza A infection, but they are not
effective against influenza type B viruses. In settings that house persons at high risk
for influenza-related complications (e.g., nursing homes), contingency plans for rapid
diagnostic testing for influenza type A viruses can help detect outbreaks early and guide
use of antiviral drugs for prophylaxis and treatment."
To access the complete influenza article in text format, click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00055731.htm
For a camera-ready (pdf format) copy of the MMWR containing this article, click here:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/wk/mm4745.pdf
To obtain a text format copy of the complete ACIP recommendation on influenza for 1998
entitled "Prevention and Control of Influenza," click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00052500.htm
For a camera-ready (pdf format) copy of the same ACIP document, click here:
ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/rr/rr4706.pdf
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(6)
November 13, 1998
"VACCINATION COVERAGE BY RACE/ETHNICITY AND POVERTY LEVEL AMONG CHILDREN AGED 19-35
MONTHS - UNITED STATES, 1997" PUBLISHED IN MMWR
A report entitled, "Vaccination Coverage by Race/Ethnicity and Poverty Level Among
Children Aged 19-35 Months - United States, 1997" was published in the MMWR on
November 13, 1998. The findings, based on the National Immunization Survey data from 1997,
indicate improvements in vaccination coverage levels among children living below poverty
level although these levels were lower than levels among children living at or above
poverty level. To review vaccination coverage levels for specific vaccines among two year
olds living below poverty level and for all children by race/ethnicity, see Table 1 in the
article.
To obtain the entire article on immunization rates in text format, click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00055635.htm
For a camera-ready (pdf format) copy of the document, click here: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/wk/mm4744.pdf |
