THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ- SCHOOL
OF PUBLIC HEALTH
NJCPHP News PHlash
JUNE 23 - JULY 6 2007
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S:
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] NJ braces for less in federal homeland security funds- AP (6/27/07)
[2] States' post-9/11 grants unspent- USA Today (6/27/07)
[3] Selling the threat of bioterrorism- Los Angeles Times (7/1/07)
[4] Little-known virus challenges a far-flung health system- New York Times
(7/3/07)
[5] Severity of TB case in health scare downgraded- CIDRAP (7/5/07)
II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Technology Fundamentals: Data Entry During Surge
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] HHS Launches Blog on Pandemic Preparedness
[2] CDC/CSTE release new three-day avian influenza (H5N1) online
training
course
[3] Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance from the CDC
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS:
[1] NJ braces for less in federal homeland security funds- AP (6/27/07)
Even though New Jersey is home to such potential terrorism targets as
nuclear reactors, international ports, chemical plants and one of the
world's busiest airports, the state is all but guaranteed to receive less
homeland security funding for the coming year. With less money in the
federal budget dedicated to homeland security, all 50 states including New
Jersey are bracing to receive less money when the Department of Homeland
Security announces funding next month. "The national priorities this year
seem to be shifting toward border security and immigration," said Scott
Kisch, state Homeland Security chief of staff. "Here in New Jersey, we're
more interested in protecting critical infrastructure such as mass transit,
chemical facilities and dealing with the overall threat to the population."
The federal government allocates money based on population and assessment of
risk. How much of a funding hit New Jersey will take is impossible to gauge.
Kisch says it probably won't have a big effect on funding for security
initiatives in the coming year, but said the cuts are still cause for
concern.
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-26/118297860674880.x
ml&storylist=jersey
[2] States' post-9/11 grants unspent- USA Today (6/27/07)
Nearly a third of the anti-terrorism money the government has doled out to
states and cities since 9/11 hasn't been spent by police and emergency
workers who would respond to attacks and natural disasters. Almost $5
billion of $16.04 billion in grants approved by Congress for states and
Washington, D.C., from fiscal 2002 to 2007 remain in federal coffers,
according to Homeland Security Department budget figures. That's fueled
concerns in the Bush administration and Congress that the government has
been dishing out money faster than local governments can spend it. "Why put
billions more dollars in the hopper when it's full already?" asks Rep. Hal
Rogers, R-Ky., the top Republican on the House Appropriations Homeland
Security Subcommittee. The programs were created after Sept. 11, 2001, to
tighten security and pay for equipment and training. Rogers and others say
many security gaps have been filled and the government should slow the flow
of money from Washington.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-06-25-state-terror-grants_N.htm
[3] Selling the threat of bioterrorism- Los Angeles Times (7/1/07)
In the fall of 1992, Kanatjan Alibekov defected from Russia to the United
States, bringing detailed, and chilling, descriptions of his role in making
biological weapons for the former Soviet Union. As a doctor of microbiology,
a physician and a colonel in the Red Army, he helped lead the Soviet effort.
He told U.S. intelligence agencies that the Soviets had devoted at least
30,000 scientists, working at dozens of sites, to develop bioweapons,
despite a 1972 international ban on such work. He said that emigrating
Russian scientists and others posed imminent threats. After the breakup of
the Soviet Union, he said, several specialists went to Iraq and North Korea.
Both countries, he said, may have obtained anthrax and smallpox. The
transfer of smallpox would be especially ominous because the Russians, he
said, had sought to genetically modify the virus, posing lethal risk even to
those who had been vaccinated. His expertise, combined with his dire
pronouncements, solidified his cachet in Washington. He simplified his name
to Ken Alibek, became a familiar figure on Capitol Hill, and emerged as one
of the most important voices in U.S. decisions to spend billions of dollars
to counter anthrax, smallpox and other potential bioterrorism agents.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-alibek1jul01,0,6749433.
story?coll=la-home-center
[4] Little-known virus challenges a far-flung health system- New York Times
(7/3/07)
A little-known virus is causing a big fuss in Micronesia, the Pacific island
nation partly managed by the United States. The Zika virus, spread by
mosquitoes, produces an itchy rash, pinkeye, joint pain and fever. Since its
discovery 60 years ago in an ill monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda, it has
caused rare cases and outbreaks in Africa and Southeast Asia. There is no
specific treatment or vaccine. Now Zika has made its first appearance in
Micronesia, on the island of Yap, where health officials say there have been
at least 42 confirmed cases and 65 probable ones. Additional cases may be
occurring on other islands. While Zika does not seem to be fatal, it is
posing unusual challenges to the public health system, not just in this
remote chain of islands, about 600 miles east of the Philippines, but also
in the United States. The virus can be misleading, giving false positive
results on screening tests; also, studies are needed to gain insights into
how infectious agents move unexpectedly in new areas and to be sure that
Zika does not lead to long-term complications. Scientists from the CDC in
Atlanta, the Pasteur Institute and the World Health Organization have joined
Yap doctors in investigating the outbreak and trying to prevent further
spread.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/health/03virus.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
[5] Severity of TB case in health scare downgraded- CIDRAP (7/5/07)
Experts have concluded that the Atlanta man whose case of drug-resistant
tuberculosis triggered an international health scare in May has a less
dangerous form of the disease than was previously believed. The patient,
Andrew Speaker, has multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB), not
extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB), experts from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Jewish Medical and Research Center
(NJMRC) reported at a press conference on Jul 3. The finding means it will
be easier to treat him because more drugs are likely to work, but the CDC
would have issued an international alert even if it had known the true
diagnosis when Speaker was traveling in Europe, potentially exposing other
airline passengers to the deadly disease, officials said. The change in
Speaker's diagnosis was good news for him and his fellow airline passengers.
But the lengthy Jul 3 news conference pointed up the lack of a foolproof
test for distinguishing between MDR and XDR TB and put the CDC on the
defensive concerning its testing procedures and response to the situation.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/other/news/jul0507tb.html
II. UPCOMING EVENTS:
[1] Technology Fundamentals: Data Entry During Surge
Who: Health Department and Hospital Staff and volunteers who would conduct
data entry during a public health emergency such as a large outbreak, flu
pandemic or bioterrorist attack.
Why: Learn how to use computer data entry software that will be utilized
during a public health emergency (CDRSS and MS ACCESS) and how the important
role of data entry fits into an emergency response.
If you are interested in planning a special Data Entry During Surge training
session for your staff and volunteers locally, please email Andrea Marcus at
marcusab@umdnj.edu
For a complete listing of preparedness training events and educational
course offerings, please visit the ASPH Centers for Public Health
Preparedness Online Education Calendar at: http://www.asph.org/acphp/
educationCalendar.cfm
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] HHS Launches Blog on Pandemic Preparedness
To encourage the public to join discussions on pandemic influenza
preparedness, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Launched a 5-week blog on the topic in conjunction with a June 13 leadership
forum. The "Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog," hosted on the government's
Pandemicflu.gov Web site, features writings by a group of 13 experts from
public health, medicine, disaster preparedness, government, business,
communications, and online media, according to HHS. The public is invited to
comment on the contributors' entries. To read the blog:
http://blog.pandemicflu.gov/
[2] CDC/CSTE release new three-day avian influenza (H5N1) online training
course
A three-day training course which provides a standardized curriculum to
state and local public-health responders about how to identify and
control human infections and illness associated with avian influenza A
(H5N1) is being released on-line. The course, entitled "CDC/CSTE Rapid
Response Training: The Role of Public Health in a Multi-Agency Response to
Avian Influenza in the United States" is the result of a partnership between
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Council of
State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). The course is available at
http://www.cste.org/influenza/avian.asp.
[3] Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance from the CDC
The document "Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community
Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States‹ Early,
Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions" has been released.
The CDC and the USDHHS in collaboration with other Federal agencies and
partners in the public health, education, business, healthcare, and private
sectors, have developed this interim planning guidance on the use of
nonpharmaceutical interventions to mitigate an influenza pandemic. The
document is available at
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/community_mitigation.pdf
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