COCA Email Updates: June 20–July 05, 2011

COCA News & Announcements Upcoming Call July 14
CDC News & Announcements
Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID)
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Natural Disasters & Severe Weather
Infectious, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Disease
Travelers’ Health Outbreak Notices
Food & Drug Safety Public Foodborne pathogen sampling strategy meeting

If you have any questions on these or other clinical issues, please write to us at coca@cdc.gov

Available for download: July 05, 2011 COCA Email Update

COCA News and Announcements

New: Upcoming COCA Call/Webinar
Title: Applying Cultural Competency to Emergency Risk Communication
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
Participate by Phone: 888-790-6180
Passcode: 1281914
Register for this webinar
Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately impacted by disasters, and disparities that existed prior to the event are exacerbated following the event. Employing a culturally and linguistically appropriate emergency risk communication framework in the context of a disaster can aid in the reduction of health disparities associated with disaster response and recovery. This COCA webinar will illustrate the importance of cultural competency in the everyday communication activities between clinicians and patients, and discuss culturally competent emergency risk communication strategies that clinicians can use during any crisis. CE Credits are being offered with this activity!
Additional information on this COCA Call/Webinar

CDC Health Partners Outreach Facebook Page
CDC’s Facebook page for Health Partners provides real time updates, guidance, and situational awareness for public health partners about how to prepare and respond to public health emergencies and disasters. Become a fan today! “Like” the page to receive updates, participate in future conversations, and more.

COCA Webinars Available Online – CE Credit Available
Archived COCA Conference Calls are available on the COCA Web site. Free CE credit/contact hours (CME, CNE, ACPE, CEU, and CECH) are available for most COCA calls.

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CDC News and Announcements

Upcoming Crisis and Emergency-Risk Communication (CERC) Training Course(CDC)
CDC is sponsoring a CERC course July 13 – 14, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois at the UIC MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice, School of Public Health. CDC’s Crisis and Emergency-Risk Communication (CERC) course is a free interactive course that gives participants essential knowledge and tools to navigate the realities of communicating to the public, media, partners and stakeholders during a public health emergency.

CDC Public Health Matters Blog: When Preparedness Hits Home - June 29 (CDC)
Getting people to think about an emergency before it happens is not always easy. Unfortunately, it usually takes a disaster for people to realize the importance of being prepared. Read this and other blogs related to preparing for and responding to a public health emergency.

Science Clips– June 27
This week’s top scientific articles, selected on the basis of potential for population impact and practical implementation, include: Protecting workers in large-scale emergency responses: NIOSH experience in the Deepwater Horizon response and Reproductive health assessment after disaster: introduction to the RHAD toolkit.

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Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID)

EID is prepared by the CDC. EID Home Page
Vol 17, Number 7 – July 2011 - Highlights in this issue include:

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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

MMWR weekly reports and publications are prepared by the CDC. Subscribe
July 1, 2011 / Vol. 60 / No. 25 Download .pdf of this Issue

June 24, 2011 / Vol. 60 / No. 24 Download .pdf of this Issue

MMWR Recommendations and Reports (Current Volume)
The MMWR Recommendations and Reports contain in-depth articles that relay policy statements for prevention and treatment on all areas in CDC's scope of responsibility (e.g., recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices).

MMWR Surveillance Summaries (Current volume)
The CDC Surveillance Summaries provide a means for CDC programs to disseminate surveillance findings, permitting detailed interpretation of trends and patterns based on those findings.

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Natural Disasters and Severe Weather

Health and Safety Concerns for Natural Disasters and Severe Weather (CDC)

“Information for Specific Groups” on this page provides guidance for human and veterinary response workers, volunteers, and evacuation center personnel about Illnesses, injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning, animals and insects, food, water, cleanup, mold, environmental concerns, mental effects of disasters, and other consequences of these events.

Hurricane Information for Health Care Professionals (CDC)
Clinical guidance for Carbon Monoxide poisoning and environmental health and toxicology, infection control, and reopening healthcare facilities are among the features on this page.

Tornado Cleanup and Response Web Page Features Preventive Measures for Occupational Hazards (CDC)
This page includes CDC immunization recommendations for disaster responders, health recommendations for relief workers, and interim assessment tools for occupational safety and health in various healthcare settings, as well as guidance for hazards and disaster site management.

Guidance on Microbial Contamination in Previously Flooded Outdoor Areas(CDC)
Bacterial and viral microbial contamination of flood waters can cause great concern for use of previously flooded outdoor areas; harmful organisms can persist in the environment up to 6 months. Risk assessment of such conditions is discussed.

Guidelines for Fire Service Operations in a Hurricane Response (CDC)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides the following guidelines for preventing injury, illness, and death among fire fighters during responses to hurricanes, floods, and other large scale natural disasters.

Wildfires(CDC)
The Wildfires page includes links to guidance for responders, evacuation center personnel, veterinary evacuation centers, and relevant health care topics.

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Infectious, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

Weekly Flu View– July 1 (CDC)
During week 25, 6.6% of all deaths reported through the 122-Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to pneumonia and influenza. This percentage was below the epidemic threshold of 6.8% for week 25.

Seasonal Flu: International Situation Update– June 23 (CDC)
This report is a summary of key influenza-related updates created from regional World Health Organization (WHO) reports, country reports, CDC field staff updates, and other sources. Updates are listed by region.

UPDATED: Questions and Answers about Seasonal Flu Vaccine - July 1 (CDC)

Questions and Answers from past flu seasons (2006 -2010) – July 1 (CDC)

UPDATED: Fluzone High-Dose Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Questions and Answers – June 27 (CDC)

UPDATED: National Influenza Vaccination Week – June 23 (CDC)
National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) 2011-2012 is scheduled for December 4 -10, 2011.

CDC Health Advisory: High Number of Reported Measles Cases in the U.S. in 2011—Linked to Outbreaks Abroad – June 22 (CDC)
CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN) distributed a Health Advisory on June 22. This advisory provides information on measles cases in the United States January 1 - June 10, 2011. Most cases were associated with importations from measles-endemic countries.

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Travelers’ Health

Outbreak Updates for International Cruise Ships – July 5 (CDC)
Cruise ships participating in the Vessel Sanitation Program are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal (GI) illness cases (including zero cases) evaluated by the medical staff before the ship arrives at a U.S. port, when sailing from a foreign port.

Outbreak Notice: Polio Outbreak in Tajikistan, Cases in Russia, Risk of Spread to other Central Asian Countries - June 30 (CDC)
The Tajikistan Ministry of Health continues to respond to an outbreak of poliovirus imported from India. The outbreak was confirmed on April 21, 2010, by the World Health Organization (WHO). It represents the first importation of polio into the WHO European Region since it was certified polio-free in 2002.

Outbreak Notice: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104:H4 infections in Germany - June 23 (CDC)
German health authorities have reported an outbreak of Escherichia coli O104:H4, a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria) in Germany since May 1, 2011 that has resulted in a severe illness called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS in 823 patients. .This strain of E. coli causes an illness similar to infection with E. coli O157:H7.

Current Travel Warnings – June 22 (US Department of State)

Warnings are issued when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country, or when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html

Israel, the West Bank and Gaza (06/22/2011)
Sudan (06/22/2011)

Outbreak Notice: Rabies in Bali, Indonesia- June 20 (CDC)
As of June 2011, over 100 deaths caused by rabies have been reported in Bali. Human and animal rabies cases have been confirmed near popular tourist destinations on the southern tip of Bali and throughout the island. CDC advises travelers to the entire island of Bali to take precautions against rabies.

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Food & Drug Safety

Investigation Announcement: Multistate Outbreak of Human Salmonella Enteritidis Infections Linked to Alfalfa Sprouts and Spicy Sprouts - June 28 (CDC)
CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to alfalfa sprouts and spicy sprouts. There is no connection between this Salmonella outbreak and the European E. coli O104:H4 outbreak.

Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts – June 28 (FDA)

Information on recent FDA recalls, market recalls, and safety alerts for food, drugs, and medical devices

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The CDC and HHS logos are the exclusive property of the Department of Health and Human Services and may not be used for any purpose without prior express written permission. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organizations.

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