Issue
Number 312
May 13, 2002
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids can
now be obtained by clinicians for wound
prophylaxis
- New! Almost-foolproof temperature
logs for vaccine refrigerators and freezers
- "The Immunization Encounter": Live
satellite broadcast to examine critical issues
on June 27
- Hepatitis B Foundation creates
informational web-page articles in Chinese and
Korean
- CDC issues public health dispatch
on pertussis in infant adopted from Russia
- Free! Copies of NEEDLE TIPS
(Fall/Winter 2001-2002 issue) available
- NIH Consensus Development
Conference on Management of Hepatitis C will
take place June 10-12
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(1 of 7)
May 13, 2002
TETANUS AND DIPHTHERIA TOXOIDS CAN NOW BE OBTAINED BY
CLINICIANS FOR WOUND PROPHYLAXIS
Beginning in June 2002, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids
adsorbed for adult use (Td) will be available to
office-based health care providers in limited quantities for
wound prophylaxis, saving many people
unnecessary and costly trips to emergency rooms.
For many months, Td has been distributed only to
hospitals and public health clinics for
critical immunization needs. Aventis Pasteur, the
sole supplier of Td, announced the change in
availability on May 6.
Deferral of 10-year booster doses of Td is still in effect
until further notice, according to a letter from
Aventis Pasteur. Booster doses for adults
may be reinstated as policy by the end of summer
when the supply of Td
increases to meet demand.
Office-based health care providers may place advance
orders with Aventis for Td online May 13-May 28
at:
http://www.vaccineshoppe.com
Starting May 28, orders may be placed online as above or
by telephone at (800) 822-2463 (800-VACCINE).
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(2 of 7)
May 13, 2002
NEW! ALMOST-FOOLPROOF TEMPERATURE LOGS FOR VACCINE
REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS
There may not be a better mousetrap, but there IS a better
temperature log for vaccine storage! A new
and improved log sheet helps prevent a common
human error made when recording daily
temperatures. It's an easy error to make
when checking temps twice every day (especially at the end
of the day as one's last official act at
work): peer into compartment, look at thermometer,
note temperature, write temperature down on log,
and fail completely to realize that the
temperature noted and logged is 2 or 3 degrees
too high for the vaccines being stored!
Whoops. Instead of taking action to fix the problem and
preserve the vaccines, the person dutifully
recording the temperature, with lots of other
things on his or her mind, just walks away.
A new and improved monthly log sheet, courtesy of the
Michigan Department of Community Health,
makes it harder not to notice when a
recorded temperature is out of range. Instead of
writing in the temperature on a blank line next
to the date and time in an ongoing diary-style log, the
recorder locates the temperature in a
vertical column of possible temperatures and marks
an "X" on that temperature's
line under the date of the month, with days
1-31 spanning the top of the page, in the new monthly
table-style log. If the "X" lands in a gray-shaded block
of horizontal temperature cells, that means the
temperature is out of range and you should consult your
clinic's protocol for what to do next. Perhaps
the vaccines need to be moved to another
refrigerator. Or perhaps the refrigerator door
just needs to be closed more
carefully. You may need to call the vaccine manufacturer
or your state health department. A
gray temperature cell tells you that you need to
do something according to your clinic's protocol.
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of the two-page
Fahrenheit Temperature Log, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/news.d/fahren.pdf
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of the two-page
Celsius Temperature Log, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/news.d/celsius.pdf
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(3 of 7)
May 13, 2002
"THE IMMUNIZATION ENCOUNTER": LIVE SATELLITE BROADCAST TO
EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES ON JUNE 27
On Thursday, June 27, 12:00 noon-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time,
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) will present a live satellite and
web broadcast, "The Immunization Encounter:
Critical Issues."
Program faculty are William L. Atkinson, M.D., M.P.H.;
Judy V. Schmidt, R.N., Ed.D.; and Donna L.
Weaver, M.N., R.N; all from the National
Immunization Program at CDC. The broadcast program
will address best practices at each
phase of the vaccination encounter, including intake and
screening, vaccine administration, and
documentation. For program details, registration,
continuing education credit information, and
satellite specifications, go to:
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtnonline
You may also obtain further information about registration
by calling (800)418-7246 (800-41-TRAIN).
If you are unable to watch the live broadcast and would
like to order a videotape, go to the Public Health
Training Network website at:
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/default.asp
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(4 of 7)
May 13, 2002
HEPATITIS B FOUNDATION CREATES INFORMATIONAL WEB-PAGE
ARTICLES IN CHINESE AND KOREAN
The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) has created new web-page
articles about hepatitis B for Chinese and
Korean readers. These "language chapters" offer
accessible and culturally appropriate information
for people in high-risk ethnic
communities. An English version of each chapter is
available for use by family members or
health care providers in discussing the material.
At less than 40 pages in length, these
chapters are more than a brochure and less
than a book, touching on many important points about
hepatitis B in a single document that can be read in a
single sitting.
Each language chapter includes text written by a high-profile community
physician. In the Chinese chapter, Dr.
Alan Tso, Associate Medical Director of the Chinatown
Health Clinic in New York City, writes
about hepatitis B among Chinese and other Asian
immigrants. In the Korean chapter, Dr. Hie-Won
Hann of Thomas Jefferson University tells readers
about the current status of hepatitis B in the
Korean community.
To view the Chinese chapter web page, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/c/
To print a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of the Chinese
chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/c/0215HEP1chi.pdf
For the English version of the Chinese chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/c.english/
To view the Korean chapter web page, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/k/
To print a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of the Korean
chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/k/0215HEP1kor.pdf
For the English version of the Korean chapter, go to:
http://www.hepb.org/k.english/English%20Version%20of%20Korean2.pdf
For more information, contact the Hepatitis B Foundation
by email at info@hepb.org
or phone at (215) 489-4900.
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(5 of 7)
May 13, 2002
CDC ISSUES PUBLIC HEALTH DISPATCH ON PERTUSSIS IN INFANT
ADOPTED FROM RUSSIA
On May 10, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) published "Pertussis in an
Infant Adopted from Russia--May 2002" in
the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The 10- month-old infant had traveled
from Moscow to Raleigh, North Carolina, via New York City
on commercial airplanes.
The dispatch reads in part as follows:
*******************************
Health-care providers and public health officials are
advised to consider pertussis when evaluating or
notified of a person with an acute illness
characterized by cough with paroxysms, whoop, or
post-tussive gagging or vomiting. Following are
CDC guidelines on the management of patients with
pertussis and their contacts:
- For symptomatic patients, test by culture
of nasopharyngeal aspirate or swab; a
nasopharyngeal Dacron(TM) swab should be used.
Swabs or aspirate should be placed in Regan Lowe
transport media if direct
inoculation of selective media is not possible.
- For hospitalized patients, respiratory
isolation (droplet precautions) is recommended
for at least the first 5 days
of antimicrobial treatment.
- For symptomatic patients, the treatment of
choice for pertussis is erythromycin for 14
days. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxozole is an
alternative antibiotic. Limited clinical data
suggest that newer macrolides, such as
azithromycin for 5-7 days or clarithromycin for 14 days,
might be as effective as
erythromycin in the treatment of pertussis and
are alternatives for patients who cannot
tolerate erythromycin.
- For exposed persons, chemoprophylaxis is
recommended to limit secondary transmission.
Exposure is defined as having
face-to-face contact, having direct contact with
respiratory, oral, or nasal secretions, or
being in the same room with a coughing pertussis
case-patient. The recommended chemoprophylaxis
regimen is erythromycin for 14 days. Alternative
therapies are the same as for
symptomatic patients.
- Pertussis vaccination should be initiated
or continued according to the recommended
schedule for exposed children
aged <7 years who are undervaccinated or who have received
<4 DTaP doses. Exposed children may
receive DTaP dose 2 or 3 if 4 weeks have elapsed
after dose 1 or 2, respectively.
Children may receive DTaP dose 4 as early as age 12
months, and preferably 6 months after
dose 3. Children should be administered DTaP
dose 5 unless a dose was given within
the last 3 years or they are aged 7 or more years.
Additional information about pertussis is
available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/pertussis/guide.htm
*******************************
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5118a3.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue
of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5118.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.
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(6 of 7)
May 13, 2002
FREE! COPIES OF NEEDLE TIPS (FALL/WINTER 2001-2002 ISSUE)
AVAILABLE
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is giving away
bulk copies (up to 210 per request) of the
Fall/Winter issue of Needle Tips to make
room for our new Spring/Summer 2002 issue.
If you have an immunization conference or an educational
program coming up for health professionals,
this is an excellent item to distribute.
Because supplies are limited, it's best to make your
request right away. The free copies go quickly.
Sorry, we can only mail orders to addresses
within the United States.
To request copies, fill out the online form on IAC's
website: http://www.immunize.org/oldnt/
You will be asked to supply the following information:
- the number of copies you want (maximum
210)
- a description of how you plan to use the copies
- your name and complete contact information, including
mailing address, telephone number, and email address
If you don't have access to the Web, please
contact Patti by email (pat@immunize.org)or phone (651-647-9009).
----------------------------------------------------------
Back to Top
(7 of 7)
May 13, 2002
NIH CONSENSUS DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ON MANAGEMENT OF
HEPATITIS C WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 10-12
Next month is the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Consensus Development Conference on Management of
Hepatitis C. The conference will be held at the Natcher
Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Monday, June 10
through the morning of Wednesday, June 12.
The two-and-a-half-day conference will examine the current
state of knowledge regarding the management of hepatitis C
and identify directions for future research. Session
topics will include "The Burden of Hepatitis C in the
U.S.," "Non-invasive Monitoring of Hepatitis C,"
"Screening for HCC," "Sexual Transmission," and "Hepatitis
C and HIV."
For more information about the conference, go to:
http://consensus.nih.gov/news/upcoming/hepc/hepc_info.htm
To register for the conference online, go to:
http://www.prospectassoc.com/omar_scripts/hepc_register.asp
You may also register or inquire by phone at (301) 592-3320, fax (301) 593-9433, or email at
hepatitisc@prospectassoc.com providing your complete
name, mailing address, and phone number.
|
