CALL FOR PAPERS: 165 Years After Broad Street - Progress in Spatial/Temporal Analysis to Identify Infectious Disease Outbreaks

The year 2019 marks the 165th anniversary of the Broad Street cholera outbreak, which resulted in more than 500 deaths in the Soho neighborhood of London. John Snow, a medical doctor, created a simple spot map to identify the Broad Street pump as the most likely source of the outbreak. Thus, spatial/temporal modeling became foundational in epidemiology and remains vital to modern outbreak investigations.

A special feature in Health Security  will be devoted to geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, spatial/temporal analysis, and disease modeling as they pertain to the prevention, detection, or prediction of infectious disease outbreaks that threaten public health security. This special issue seeks papers that focus on infectious diseases with moderate to high potential to cause pandemics in human, animal, or plant populations.

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October 16, 2018

RESEARCH

Vaccination Coverage for Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten - United States, 2017-18 School Year. Median vaccination coverage was 94.3% for 2 doses of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; 95.1% for the state-required number of doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine; and 93.8% for 2 doses of varicella vaccine.  (MMWR, 10/12/18)

RESEARCH

Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19-35 Months - United States, 2017. In 2017, coverage with most recommended vaccines among children aged 19-35 months remained stable and high but was lower in more rural areas and among uninsured or Medicaid-insured children. A small but increasing proportion of children received no vaccines by age 24 months.  (MMWR, 10/12/18)

RESEARCH

Differences in Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes Among Hispanic/Latino Men and Women Receiving HIV Medical Care - United States, 2013-2014. During 2013-2014, among Hispanics/Latinos with HIV infection in care, women were significantly more likely than were men to live in poverty, have English language difficulties, and receive ancillary services. Prescription of antiretroviral therapy and sustained viral suppression did not significantly differ by sex.  (MMWR, 10/12/18)

NEWS

Flooding from Hurricane Michael Creates Food Safety Issues Across South. In addition to the devastating damage that is immediately visible today, less obvious hazards in the wake of the massive storm are expected to last weeks. Food safety dangers come in various forms and can cause severe illnesses and deaths as floodwaters recede.  (Food Safety News, 10/11/18)

PRESS RELEASE

Flu Vaccine Reduces Risk of Flu Hospitalization among Pregnant Women. Over the course of six flu seasons, getting a flu shot reduced a pregnant woman's risk of being hospitalized from flu by an average of 40 percent.  (CDC, 10/11/18)

See Also:  Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Influenza-associated Hospitalizations During Pregnancy: A Multi-country Retrospective Test Negative Design Study, 2010-2016 (CID, 10/11/18)

PRESS RELEASE

HHS Awards $2.34 Billion in Grants to Help Americans Access HIV/AIDS Care and Medication. The US Department of Health and Human Services announced that approximately $2.34 billion in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grants were awarded to cities, counties, states, and local community-based organizations in fiscal year (FY) 2018.  (HHS, 10/11/18)

BLOG

Introducing GRANTOMICS: Our Enhanced Search Engine and Analysis Tool for Grant Information Associated with Publications on Genomics and Population Health Impact. The CDC Office of Public Health Genomics has launched GRANTOMICS, an extension of the Public Health Genomics Knowledge Base (PHGKB). GRANTOMICS is an upgraded version of the Grant Database, introduced in March, 2018.  (CDC, 10/5/18)

NEWS

USDA Finds Oral Rabies Vaccine Poses No Significant Impact On the Human Environment After Field Trails in Selected States. The finding, which is based on the Environmental Assessment (EA) and the 2013, 2015, and 2017 supplements to the EA, reflects APHIS' determination that the distribution of this experimental wildlife rabies vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.  (USDA, 10/10/18)

RESEARCH

100 Years of Medical Countermeasures and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness.  Over the past 100 years, improvements in medical care, influenza vaccines, antiviral medications, community mitigation efforts, diagnosis, and communications have improved pandemic response. A number of gaps remain, including vaccines that are more rapidly manufactured, antiviral drugs that are more effective and available, and better respiratory protective devices.  (AJPH, 10/10/18)

BLOG

A Bacterial Reboot for Penicillin. Currently, germs resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics account for 23,000 US deaths annually. One counter strategy could come from tunicamycin, a natural compound made by certain soil bacteria that repel rival microbes.  (USDA, 10/9/18)

NEWS

Infectious Disease Preparedness: Reflections from CDC's Pandemic Flu Exercise. On September 12-14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a pandemic influenza functional exercise in response to a fictional influenza pandemic with federal, state, local, and non-governmental partners.  (NACCHO, 10/5/18)

MEETING

Science Board to the Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces a forthcoming public advisory committee meeting of the Science Board to the Food and Drug Administration. The Science Board provides advice to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs and other appropriate officials on specific, complex scientific and technical issues important to FDA and its mission, including emerging issues within the scientific community.  (FDA, 9/13/18)

NEWS

DOD Responds to Hurricane Michael. Hurricane Michael has made landfall in the Florida panhandle. In preparation for this Category 4 hurricane, the Defense Department pre-positioned active-duty and National Guard members to help civilians during the storm.  (Defense.gov, 10/10/18)

See Also:  Hurricane Michael Becomes One of Strongest Storms to Ever Make Landfall in Continental US (FEMA, 10/11/18)

NEWS

Department of Defense Faces Increasing Challenges in Weapons Cybersecurity. Faced with mounting challenges in protecting its weapon systems from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the US Department of Defense (DOD) has stepped up its efforts to address weapon systems cybersecurity.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 10/11/18)

NEWS

DHS Releases Strategy to Protect United States from Electromagnetic Threats. The strategy focuses on DHS efforts to counteract threats to critical infrastructure and respond to them accordingly, be they EMP attacks or naturally-occurring GMD situations. These pose a serious threat to the electrical grid, communications equipment, and transportation capabilities, and the new strategy forms a consensus on how the department can react.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 10/11/18)

REPORT

AIR FORCE READINESS: Actions Needed to Rebuild Readiness and Prepare for the Future. This statement provides information on Air Force (1) readiness and management challenges including personnel, equipment, training, and organization and utilization, and (2) plans to grow and modernize its force in the context of readiness recovery across DOD. Also, GAO summarizes recommendations to address these challenges and actions taken by the Air Force.  (GAO, 10/10/18)

NEWS

Disaster Preparedness Bill Signed into Law. The act reforms the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include predisaster mitigation practices that will address the rising costs of disasters throughout the nation and help prevent future deaths.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 10/9/18)

BLOG

Protecting our Future: Emergency Preparedness and Children's Mental Health. Among the many lessons learned during the 2017 Hurricane season, we recognized that addressing children's mental and behavioral health needs is a major concern in hurricane-affected areas.  (CDC, 10/9/18)

NEWS

Discovering New Molecules for Military Applications. Today, DARPA announced the Accelerated Molecular Discovery (AMD) program, which aims to develop new, AI-based systematic approaches that increase the pace of discovery and optimization of high-performance molecules.  (DARPA, 10/4/18)

WEBINAR

CDC EPIC Webinar: Hurricane Recovery. Hurricanes can have long-lasting effects. After the storm, affected communities may deal with challenging physical, mental, emotional, and environmental consequences. Join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for a discussion about hurricane recovery.  (NACCHO, 10/18)

PERSPECTIVE

The Next Phase of Human Gene-Therapy Oversight. As gene therapy continues to change, so must the federal framework set up to oversee it. As new biotechnologies continue to emerge, the NIH and the FDA are proposing reductions in duplicative oversight and changes to the role of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.  (NEJM, 10/11/18)

There are no hearings this week.