NJCPHP News PHlash: Preparedness News & Events, Issue 101

Date:

Fri, 03/06/2009

NJCPHP News PHlash
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 6, 2009

THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ- SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Experimental Vaccine Protects Animals From Deadly Ebola Virus; May Prove
Effective In Developing The First Human Vaccine- Newswise (2/26/09)
[2] Schwarzenegger proclaims statewide drought emergency- Los Angeles Times
(2/28/09)
[3] Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.: study- Reuters (3/2/09)
[4] Military study: Flu shot yields less illness than mist- CIDRAP (3/2/09)
[5] The Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition Announces Its
Official Formation- PRNewswire (3/3/09)

II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) –
Introductory Level
[2] Program on Science and Global Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity,
Biotechnology, and Global Health" seminar series
[3] The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference
[4] Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Lessons Learned From the Field of Emergency Preparedness
[2] CDC Widgets
[3] Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs)
[4] Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER)
[5] Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness
[6] FirstResponder.gov
[7] AHRQ Releases Hospital Surge Capacity Tool for Disaster Planning
[8] NJHA issues pandemic flu planning tool

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS

[1] Experimental Vaccine Protects Animals From Deadly Ebola Virus; May Prove
Effective In Developing The First Human Vaccine- Newswise (2/26/09)
Protection against Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest viruses, can be
achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for
developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest
Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio. “The findings are
significant in that the vaccine is not only extremely safe and effective,
but it is also produced by a method already established in the
pharmaceutical industry,” says SFBR’s Ricardo Carrion, Ph.D., one of the
primary authors of the study. “The ability to produce the vaccine
efficiently is attractive in that production can be scaled up quickly in the
case of an emergency and doses can be produced economically.” The new study
was published in the January 2009 issue of the journal Virology, and was
supported by the National Institutes of Health. Jean Patterson, Ph.D., also
of SFBR, participated in the research.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/549554/

[2] Schwarzenegger proclaims statewide drought emergency- Los Angeles Times
(2/28/09)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought emergency urging
Californians to cut water use by 20% and easing the way for water sales from
Northern California to Southern California cities and San Joaquin Valley
farms. The proclamation amplifies a drought emergency that Schwarzenegger
declared last year in several agricultural counties, where more than 100,000
acres of farmland have gone unplanted for lack of water. The drought
declaration stops short of mandatory water rationing. But it asks urban
water users to step up conservation efforts. And it directs state agencies
to cut back on landscape irrigation, including along highways. The governor
issued the declaration even though a series of February storms have fattened
the critical Sierra Nevada snowpack and pushed up reservoir levels in
Northern California. "Prepare for the worst and hope for the best," state
water resources director Lester Snow said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-california-drought28-2009feb28,0...
703.story

[3] Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.: study- Reuters (3/2/09)
Virtually all cases of the most common strain of flu circulating in the
United States now resist the main drug used to treat it, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reported. CDC researchers said 98
percent of all flu samples from the H1N1 strain were resistant to Roche AG's
Tamiflu, a pill that can both treat flu and prevent infection. Four patients
infected with the resistant strain have died, including two children. This
year, H1N1 is the most common strain of flu in the United States, although
the flu season is a mild one so far, and still below the levels considered
an epidemic. Few doctors even test patients for flu, and Tamiflu is not
widely prescribed. But the news is sobering because the pill, known
generically as oseltamivir, is one of the few weapons against influenza,
which kills an estimated 36,000 people in the United States in an average
year. It is also considered a key weapon against a potential pandemic of a
new type of influenza, and this study suggests the virus can rapidly evade
its effects.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090302/ts_nm/us_flu_tamiflu

[4] Military study: Flu shot yields less illness than mist- CIDRAP (3/2/09)
In one of the largest head-to-head studies comparing two different seasonal
flu vaccines in a healthy, adult population, those who received trivalent
inactivated vaccine (TIV) had fewer medical visits for respiratory illnesses
compared to those who received the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV).
The difference between the injected TIV vaccine and the nasal-spray LAIV
vaccine, however, was not as great for those who hadn't been vaccinated in
the past season or two. The study, which was posted ahead of print and will
appear in the Mar 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA), was conducted in military personnel who were stationed in the United
States during three flu seasons, from 2004 through 2007. Since 2004, the
Department of Defense has increased its use of LAIV—FluMist, made by
MedImmune—because it is easier to use and is typically available earlier in
the season, according to the report. The surveillance study was conducted to
guide military vaccine policy.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/mar0209f...
st-jw.html

[5] The Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition Announces Its
Official Formation- PRNewswire (3/3/09)
The Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition
(CleanMedWaste.org) has been formed to raise awareness and provide education
about two major problems-- healthcare facility operational sustainability
during a crisis and the proper methods of discarding hazardous medical
waste. The coalition consists of hospitals, waste solutions companies, and
others who are committed to ensuring a safe and clean medical waste disposal
system that fully considers the challenges of maintaining health facility
sustainability during emergencies, transportation breakdowns, and patient
surges. "The readiness of our healthcare facilities should not be taken for
granted," said Darrell Henry, Executive Director of the Coalition. "Our
healthcare system faces serious tests of preparedness and sustainability,
especially in the area of managing hazardous medical waste in the time of
crisis."
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/ww...
ory/03-03-2009/0004982445&EDATE

II. UPCOMING EVENTS

[1] Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) –
Introductory Level

When: March 9 - 11, 2009

Where: DHS/FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), Anniston, AL

Sponsored by DHS/FEMA and CDC/NCEH, the EHTER – Introductory Level course is
a 24-hour (3-day) course that provides an overview of environmental health
topics, issues, and challenges faced during emergency response. The purpose
of the course is to increase the level of emergency preparedness of
environmental health practitioners and other emergency response personnel by
providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills to address the
environmental health impacts of emergencies and disasters. Transportation,
lodging, and meals are provided by DHS/FEMA to students from state and local
jurisdictions at no cost to their agency. For more details about this course
and other EHTER courses being offered in 2009, please visit:
https://cdp.dhs.gov/schedules/program/s.html

[2] Program on Science and Global Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity,
Biotechnology, and Global Health" seminar series

When: multiple dates

Where: Carl Icahn building Room 280, Princeton, NJ from 12:30pm to 2pm

Please mark your calendar for the upcoming Program on Science and Global
Security's Spring 2009 "Biosecurity, Biotechnology, and Global Health"
seminar series sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation. All seminars will take
place at the Carl Icahn building Room 280 from 12:30 to 2pm unless otherwise
noted. Lunch will be served.

The schedule is as follows:

Mar 6: Margaret Race, Ph.D. , Principal Investigator, Planetary Protection
and Risk Communiation, SETI Intitute, Mountain View, CA. Title: “Biosafety,
biosecurity and biocontainment-- the rocky road ahead.”

Mar 13: Marc Ostfield, PhD., Former Senior Advisor-Bioterrorism, Biodefense,
and Health Security. U.S. Department of State, Office of International
Health and Biodefense. Title: “Bioterrorism, Counterterrorism, Science and
Foreign Policy: Challenges at the Intersection with National Security.”

Mar 27: DA Henderson, MD, MPH , Professor, Department of Medicine, School
of Medicine. Resident Scholar at the Center for Biosecurity of the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Title: “Smallpox eradication: What
it taught us or did it?”

Apr 3: Victor W. Sidel, MD, Distinguished University Professor of Social
Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Bronx, New York. Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Weill Medical
College, Cornell University. Title: "The Saga of Anthrax"

Apr 17: Maureen Ellis, PhD, Senior Biosecurity Advisor, Global Partnership
Program—IGX. Foreign Affairs And International Trade, Canada. Title:
“Supporting Biosecurity in Countries of the Former Soviet Union"

May 1: Kristine Smith, DVM, Assistant Director for Field Programs Global
Health Programs ,Wildlife Conservation Society Title: “Zoonotic disease:
minimizing risk in a global society.”

May 8: Michael Oborne, PhD, Director, Multidisciplinary Issues OECD
International Futures Programme. Title: “Building international consensus
on biosecurity - the experience of the OECD".

Any questions, please contact Laura Kahn at lkahn@princeton.edu or 609 258
6763. For additional information please see the website at:
http://www.princeton.edu/~globsec/BW_series/index.html

[3] The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference

When: May 4-8, 2009

Where: Tropicana Resort and Casino, Atlantic City, NJ

The 11th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference will be held
May 4-8, 2009 in Atlantic City, NJ. The conference will offer programs to
best serve the needs of New Jersey’s Emergency Managers and the private
partners in the emergency management community. The goal is to present
timely and informative, up-to-date preparedness information and training to
better prepare Emergency Managers and ultimately the public served. Cost of
the conference will be $75 until Sunday, March 15, 2009 then $100 until
Wednesday, April 29, 2009. On site registration will be $125. For more
information, visit: http://www.njepa.org/mainpages/conference.asp

[4] Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After

When: On-going

Where: National September 11 Memorial & Museum website

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum launched a new on-demand
webcast series, “Exploring 9/11: The World Before and After.” The series
examines the continuing global impact of the 9/11 attacks, presenting expert
analysis of the emergence of Al-Qaeda, the events leading up to 9/11 and the
effects of the attacks on the United States and the global community. Each
month, new interviews will be added to the series. “Exploring 9/11: The
World Before and After” can be viewed at:
http://www.national911memorial.org/new_history_exploring

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

[1] Lessons Learned From the Field of Emergency Preparedness
In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, health care facilities may
have a sudden surge of patients with diverse medical needs. This influx may
cause them to reach capacity quickly and, in some cases, deplete available
resources. In order to effectively manage mass medical care, communities
must identify additional treatment sites and allocate resources
appropriately. To support community emergency preparedness planning, the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed a range of
tools. To help communities use these tools, AHRQ hosted a Webcast entitled,
Lessons from the Field of Emergency Preparedness. This event featured
stories from three communities representing different regions with distinct
populations, geographies, and threats.
http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/fieldemprep/

[2] CDC Widgets
CDC.gov provides widgets that are online applications built by one Web site
that can be displayed onto another Web site. Adding a CDC.gov widget to your
page means that you will have up-to-date, credible health and safety content
in your favorite spaces – no more searching or browsing! Recent widgets
include information on the FDA peanut recall and flu activity.
http://www.cdc.gov/widgets/

[3] Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs)
The Health Education Reaching Others and Ensuring Surge Capacity during
Public Health Emergencies (HEROEs) is an online module which provides an
introductory training to health educators and other individuals who might be
called upon to perform health education tasks during a public health
emergency. The training will describe the importance of health education
during a public health emergency, explain the role of health educators and
explain health education surge capacity and why it is important. The program
is provided by and in partnership with the NJCPHP at UMDNJ-SPH, NJDHSS and
NJSOPHE. Visit https://njlmn.rutgers.edu/cdr/jsp/heroes2/player.html

[4] Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER)
MCEER is a national center of excellence dedicated to the discovery and
development of new knowledge, tools and technologies that equip communities
to become more disaster resilient in the face of earthquakes and other
extreme events. MCEER accomplishes this through a system of
multidisciplinary, multi-hazard research, education and outreach
initiatives. Among other items, there is a series of reports on Hurricanes
Katrina/Rita at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/publications/Katrina/default.asp

[5] Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness
The Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness is a gateway to freely
available online resources related to public heath preparedness. Resources
include expert guidelines, factsheets, websites, research reports, articles,
and other tools aimed at the public health community. All resources are
cataloged and may be searched by keyword or browsed by topic.
http://www.phpreparedness.info/

[6] FirstResponder.gov
FirstResponder.gov, is a website created by the Department of Homeland
Security. Its mission is to provide a portal that enables Federal, State,
Local, and Tribal First Responders to easily access and leverage federal web
services, information on resources, products, standards, testing and
evaluation, and best practices, in a collaborative environment.
http://www.firstresponder.gov/

[7] AHRQ Releases Hospital Surge Capacity Tool for Disaster Planning
HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new Web-based
interactive tool to help hospitals and emergency planners identify resource
requirements to treat an influx of patients due to major disasters such as
an influenza pandemic or a terrorist attack. The Hospital Surge Model
provides essential resource information for emergency planning strategies.
It is able to estimate, by day, the number and flow of casualties needing
medical attention for scenarios selected by users. These scenarios are
consistent with the Homeland Security Counsel’s National Planning Scenarios.
The model estimates resources for biological, chemical, nuclear or
radiological attacks.
http://hospitalsurgemodel.ahrq.gov/

[8] NJHA issues pandemic flu planning tool
The New Jersey Hospital Association has published all of the installments of
a guide hospitals can use to develop or assess a pandemic flu response plan.
The 10-module guide will address critical planning areas such as clinical
care, communication, ethics, finance, human resources, leadership,
operations and supplies. The modules can be found at:
http://www.panfluplanning.com/

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NJCPHP News PHlash
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 6, 2009

THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ- SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC HEALTH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Experimental Vaccine Protects Animals From Deadly Ebola Virus; May Prove
Effective In Developing The First Human Vaccine- Newswise (2/26/09)
[2] Schwarzenegger proclaims statewide drought emergency- Los Angeles Times
(2/28/09)
[3] Resistance to flu drug widespread in U.S.: study- Reuters (3/2/09)
[4] Military study: Flu shot yields less illness than mist- CIDRAP (3/2/09)
[5] The Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition Announces Its
Official Formation- PRNewswire (3/3/09)