Issue Number 64
March 19, 1999
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC releases ACIP recommendations on
rotavirus vaccine
- Reminder: CDC's "Epidemiology and
Prevention of Vaccine-
Preventable Diseases" course starts March 25
- "Introduction to Public Health
Surveillance" course
offered in June
- Learn and earn CME credit on the
Internet
- Free for the asking! Bulk copies of
"VACCINATE ADULTS!"
- "Immunizations Across the
Lifespan" conference set for
April 14
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March 19, 1999
CDC RELEASES ACIP RECOMMENDATIONS ON ROTAVIRUS VACCINE
Today, March 19, 1999, CDC released "Rotavirus Vaccine for the Prevention of
Rotavirus Gastroenteritis Among Children," the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices (ACIP) recommendations for rotavirus vaccine use in infants.
Published in MMWR, Recommendations and Reports, Vol. 48, No. RR-2, these recommendations
concern the use of an oral, live rotavirus vaccine licensed by the Food and Drug
Administration on August 31, 1998, for use in infants. The ACIP's summary statement is as
follows:
"These recommendations represent the first statement by the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) on the use of an oral, live rotavirus vaccine licensed by
the Food and Drug Administration on August 31, 1998, for use among infants. This report
reviews the epidemiology of rotavirus, describes the licensed rotavirus vaccine, and makes
recommendations regarding its use for the routine immunization of infants in the United
States. These recommendations are based on estimates of the disease burden of rotavirus
gastroenteritis among children in the United States and on the results of clinical trials
of the
vaccine.
"Rotavirus affects virtually all children during the first 5 years of life in both
developed and developing countries, and rotavirus infection is the most common cause of
severe gastroenteritis in the United States and worldwide. In the United States, rotavirus
is a common cause of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and outpatient clinic
visits, and it is responsible for considerable health-care costs. Because of this large
burden of disease, several rotavirus vaccines have been developed. One of these vaccines
-- an oral, live, tetravalent, rhesus-based rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) -- was found to be
safe and efficacious in clinical trials among children in North America, South America,
and Europe and on the basis of these studies is now licensed for use among infants in the
United States.
"The vaccine is an oral, live preparation that should be administered to infants
between the ages of 6 weeks and 1 year. The recommended schedule is a three-dose series,
with doses to be administered at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. The first dose may be
administered from the ages of 6 weeks to 6 months; subsequent doses should be administered
with a minimum interval of 3 weeks between any two doses. The first dose should not be
administered to children aged greater than or equal to 7 months because of an increased
rate of febrile reactions after the first dose among older infants. Second and third doses
should be administered before the first birthday. Implementation of these recommendations
in the United States should prevent most physician visits for rotavirus gastroenteritis
and at least two-thirds of hospitalizations and deaths related to rotavirus."
NOTE: Continuing education credits (CMEs, CEUs, CNEs) sponsored by CDC are available for
reading the 1999 ACIP recommendations on rotavirus vaccine and completing the test which
is printed at the end of the document.
To access the complete document in text format, click here:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056669.htm
For the camera-ready copy (pdf format) of the document, click
here: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/mmwr/rr/rr4802.pdf
TO GET A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR (delivered weekly), go to the MMWR
website and sign up. When you sign up, you will also automatically begin to receive all
new ACIP statements which are published as MMWR's "Recommendations and
Reports." To get the MMWR website, click here: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/mmwr.html
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March 25, 1999
REMINDER: CDC'S "EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PREVENTION OF VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES"
COURSE STARTS MARCH 25
Session One of the four-session series, "Epidemiology and Prevention of
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases," will be broadcast on March 25, from 12:00-3:30 p.m.
eastern time. Session One will cover principles of vaccination, general recommendations on
vaccination, and strategies to improve vaccination coverage levels.
The other sessions are as follows:
Session Two (April 1) will cover diphtheria,
tetanus, pertussis, rotavirus, and polio.
Session Three (April 8) will cover measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.
Session Four (April 15) will focus on hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b,
influenza, and pneumococcal disease.
If you haven't already registered, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/130021.htm
to find out more about the course,or call CDC's fax information line at 888-232-3299 and
request document #130021.
For information about where to view the broadcast, contact your state immunization program
manager. Find his/her phone number at: http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/stcoords.htm
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March 19, 1999
"INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE" COURSE OFFERED IN JUNE
The March 5, 1999, issue of MMWR included the following "Notice to Readers":
"CDC and the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University will cosponsor a
course, 'Introduction to Public Health Surveillance' during June 7-11, 1999, in Atlanta.
The course is designed for state and local public health professionals.
"The course will provide practicing public health professionals with the theoretical
and practical tools necessary to design, implement, and evaluate effective surveillance
program. Topics include overview and history of surveillance systems; planning
considerations; sources and collection of data; analysis, interpretation, and
communication of data; surveillance systems technology; ethics and legalities; state and
local concerns; and future considerations. There is a tuition charge.
"Deadline for applications is April 30. Additional information and applications are
available from Emory University, International Health Dept., 1518 Clifton Rd., N.E., Room
746, Atlanta, GA 30322; telephone (404) 727-3485; fax (404) 727-4590; e-mail pvaleri@sph.emory.edu"
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March 19, 1999
LEARN AND EARN CME CREDIT ON THE INTERNET
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed a valuable website as part of
its Medical Products Reporting Program known as "MEDWATCH." Medical continuing
education articles can be accessed and read online, and test answers can be submitted
directly via the Internet. Among the articles that are currently available for credit are
the following two:
"Post-marketing surveillance for adverse
events after vaccination: the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
(VAERS)"
"Recommendations for prevention and control
of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and HCV-related chronic disease"
To view these articles, visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch and click on
the continuing education area. Continuing medical education is sponsored by the Continuing
Medical Education Committee of the National Institutes of Health/Foundation for Advanced
Education in the Sciences.
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March 19, 1999
FREE FOR THE ASKING! BULK COPIES OF "VACCINATE ADULTS!"
We're giving away bulk copies (up to 400 per request) of the fall/winter '98 issue of
"VACCINATE ADULTS!" to make room for our new issues. This issue of
"VACCINATE ADULTS!" contains our ever-popular "Summary of Recommendations
for Adult Immunization," a table that combines adult immunization recommendations,
schedules for those on time as well as those who have fallen behind, contraindications and
precautions, and rules of simultaneous administration. "VACCINATE ADULTS!" also
contains lots of other up-to-date immunization information such as "Vaccination for
Adults with Hepatitis C Infection" and "Ask the Experts."
If you have an immunization conference or educational program coming up for adult medicine
specialists, this is an excellent handout. (Remember, "VACCINATE ADULTS!" is an
abbreviated version of "NEEDLE TIPS" with all pediatric content removed.)
To request bulk copies, send an e-mail to admin@immunize.org
or click here: mailto:admin@immunize.org
and send us the following information:
The number of copies you want, your name and mailing address, and a description of how the
issues will be used. If you have questions, call 651-647-9009.
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March 19, 1999
"IMMUNIZATIONS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN" CONFERENCE SET FOR APRIL 14
"Immunization Across the Lifespan: New and Emerging Issues," a conference
co-sponsored by the National Coalition for Adult Immunization and the Immunization
Education and Action Committee, a program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
Coalition, is set for April 14. The conference will be held at the Ellipse Conference
Center, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, Virginia.
Presentations will address the following issues: new vaccines, vaccine safety, and the
latest developments in immunization registries and their relevance to immunization in
childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Speakers will include Bruce Gellin, director of the
Vaccine Initiative, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Rob Linkins, branch chief
of the Systems Development Branch, Data Management Division at CDC's National Immunization
Program (NIP). A representative from NIP will review the newest vaccines available,
including rotavirus and pneumococcal conjugates. For more information about the meeting,
contact Dena Wichansky by phone at 703-836-6110, or by e-mail at: dwichans@hmhb.org |
