Past Updates from the Clinician Listserv

Update Sent June 21, 2010

COCA’s Weekly Updates are moving to a new distribution schedule. Updates will be disseminated every other week (biweekly). More frequent distributions will occur when there is emergency information or event-specific updates to share. Due to the upcoming holiday look for the next COCA Update on July 6, 2010.

The following updates were made to CDC information and guidance from June 07 - June 21, 2010. If you have any questions on these or other clinical issues, please write to us at coca@cdc.gov.

Today's topics Include:

Upcoming COCA Calls
2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
H1N1 & Seasonal Influenza Resources and Updates
Emergency Preparedness & Response
MMWR
Food and Drug Safety

Other Resources

Upcoming COCA Conference Calls

Leveraging the Electronic Health Record for Public Health Alerting
Date: June 22, 2010 (Tomorrow)
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Presenters: Nedra Garrett, MS (CDC)
Call-in: 1-888-790-6180
Passcode: 1281914

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its focus on Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, public health has an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the information, technologies and standards enabled by this effort to support critical public health functions such as alerting and surveillance.

Please join us for this COCA conference call, in which a CDC subject matter expert will discuss strategies to increase compliance with public health recommendations and guidelines, as well as, the role of EHR systems in improving dissemination of public health information at point-of-care.

CE credit/contact hours will be available for this call! For more information including the Powerpoint slides for this call visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/callinfo.asp

2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Updated: Health Surveillance - CDC (June 18)
CDC, with state and local health departments, is conducting surveillance across the Gulf States for health effects possibly related to the oil spill using national and state-based surveillance systems. For the most recent Health Surveillance data through June 5, 2010 visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/2010gulfoilspill/health_surveillance.asp

Updated: CDC Gulf Oil Spill Webpage - CDC (June 18)
CDC has been responding to the Oil Spill in the Gulf, and we know that many of our partners have also been engaged. You’ll find new and updated information for coastal residents, clinicians, response workers, and others at CDC’s Oil Spill Web site.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/

New: Gulf Oil Spill Information for Pregnant Women - CDC (June 18)
http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/2010gulfoilspill/pregnancy_oilspill.asp

Environmental Surveillance - EPA (June 18)
www.epa.gov/bpspill/

Deepwater Horizon Fact Sheets
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/

H1N1 & Seasonal Influenza Resources and Updates

WHO Updates International H1N1 Flu Situation - WHO (June 18)
Overall pandemic influenza activity remains low worldwide with geographically limited circulation of pandemic influenza virus in parts of the tropics. As of June 13, 2010, more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18172 deaths. WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and Member States.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_18/en/index.html

Tamiflu: Counterfeit Product Sold on Internet - FDA (June 17)
FDA notified consumers and healthcare professionals about a potentially harmful product represented as “Generic Tamiflu” sold over the Internet. FDA tests revealed that the fraudulent product does not contain Tamiflu’s active ingredient, oseltamivir, but cloxacillin, an ingredient in the same class of antibiotics as penicillin. Patients who are allergic to penicillin products are at risk of experiencing similar reactions from cloxacillin. The FDA advises anyone possessing or encountering any of these fraudulent Tamiflu drugs not to use them and to contact the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations by visiting the OCI website (http://www.fda.gov/OCI).
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm216183.htm

Q & A: Average and Median Ages of 2009 H1N1-Related Deaths in the United States, Spring and Fall 2009 - CDC (June 17)
This document provides information about the average and median ages of 2009 H1N1-related deaths that occurred in the United States in the spring and fall of 2009.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ages_deaths.htm

Deaths and Hospitalizations Related to 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) - Greece, May 2009 - February 2010 - CDC/MMWR (June 14)
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) June 11, 2010 / 59(22); 682-686. This report summarizes the findings in Greece during May 18, 2009--February 28, 2010, when 18,075 laboratory-confirmed 2009 H1N1 cases, 294 ICU admissions, and 140 deaths were reported. The majority of severe 2009 H1N1 cases were associated with underlying medical conditions (68.4% of ICU admissions and 82.1% of deaths), including pregnancy.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5922a2.htm

2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights of CDC's Response, April 2009-April 2010 - CDC (June 16)
This document summarizes key events of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and CDC's response activities for historical purposes.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm

Locate all H1N1 Flu and Public Health Guidance Documents
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/

H1N1 Information for Healthcare Providers
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/clinicians/

Emergency Preparedness & Response

Hurricane Health & Safety Tips - CDC (June 18)
Get important, timely tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hurricane Preparedness web site. The site also contains fact sheets, podcasts, and other resources to help you stay safe and healthy in a storm.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/

Sebelius Announces New $250 Million Investment to Lay Foundation for Prevention and Public Health - HHS (June 18)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $250 million in new Affordable Care Act investments to support prevention activities and develop the nation’s public health infrastructure. These investments are the second allocation from the new $500 million Prevention and Public Health fund and will go to Community and Clinical Prevention, Public Health Infrastructure, Research and Tracking, and Public Health Training.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/06/20100618g.html

Fun Summer Days - NIH (June 7)
The warmer weather brings lots of new opportunities to improve your health: plenty of fresh, local produce and more choices for outside activities. Read more about safe summer fun at the link below.
http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/Jun2010/Feature1

MMWR

MMWR Weekly - CDC (June 18)
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data in the weekly MMWR are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. The following emergency preparedness and response related articles of interest were recently published:
June 18, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 23 / Pg. 705 - 736

June 11, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 22 / Pg. 677 - 704

Addition of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency as a Contraindication for Administration of Rotavirus Vaccine

To electronically subscribe to the MMWR, go to www.cdc.gov/mmwr and enter your email address in the box entitled Get email updates or click on MMWR Subscriptions.

Food and Drug Safety

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts - FDA (June 18)
For information on recent FDA recalls, market recalls, and safety alerts please click on the following link: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

Mcneil Consumer Healthcare Recalls Four Product Lots of Benadryl® Allergy Ultratab™ Tablets, 100 Count, and One Product Lot of Extra Strength Tylenol® Rapid Release Gels, 50 Count - FDA (June 15)
This recall is a follow-up to the product recall that McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced on January 15th, 2010 and is being taken because the products were inadvertently omitted from the initial recall action. The additional lots involved are four product lots of BENADRYL® ALLERGY ULTRATAB™ TABLETS, 100 count, sold in the U.S.; and one product lot of EXTRA STRENGTH TYLENOL® Rapid Release Gels, 50 count sold in the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. For specific recall information visit: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm215921.htm

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