NJCPHP News PHlash
DECEMBER 15 - 27, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ- SCHOOL OF
PUBLICHEALTH
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Flu shots now mandatory for New Jersey preschoolers- AP (12/14/07)
[2] Texas to Screen Evacuees It Buses- AP (12/16/07)
[3] Significant Progress Made in Nation's Preparedness to Respond to Public
Health Emergencies; But Gaps in Critical Areas Threaten Overall Readiness-
Trust for America’s Health (12/18/07)
[4] Pakistan H5N1 situation stable as Indonesia reports possible cluster-
CIDRAP (12/21/07)
[5] College Stadium Safety Concerns Experts- AP (12/25/07)
II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Planning Today for a Pandemic Tomorrow: Ensuring Continuity of
Operations- January 7, 2008
[2] 2008 Public Health Preparedness Summit- February 19-22, 2008
[3] Epidemiological Computing and Graphics in Public Health with R- February
22, 2008
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Policy Review: Global Public Health Security
[2] Call for Papers for Public Health Reports Special Issue: Occupational
Health and Safety Interventions
[3] Resource (book): Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic:
Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers.
[4] Resource (journal abstract): Patient knowledge and attitudes
about antiviral medication and vaccination for influenza in an internal
medicine clinic
[5] Resource (journal abstract): Mortality benefits of influenza
vaccination in elderly people: an ongoing
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Flu shots now mandatory for New Jersey preschoolers- AP (12/14/07)
New Jersey became the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers,
saying their developing immune systems and likelihood of spreading germs
make them as vulnerable to complications as the elderly. State Health
Commissioner Dr. Fred M. Jacobs approved the requirement and three other
vaccines for school children starting September 1, 2008, over the objections
of some parent groups. The new requirements "will have a direct impact on
reducing illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths in one of New Jersey's most
vulnerable populations -- our children," Jacobs said in a statement.
Parents are concerned about the safety of the vaccines. The state does
allow exemptions on religious grounds or for medical reasons.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/14/flu.fight.ap/
[2] Texas to Screen Evacuees It Buses- AP (12/16/07)
Texans who board evacuation buses during hurricanes or other emergencies
must now submit to criminal background checks, the state’s emergency
management director said. The policy is an effort to keep sex offenders and
fugitives from boarding evacuation buses with children, the elderly and the
disabled, Jack Colley, the chief of the state’s Division of Emergency
Management, told The Houston Chronicle. Mr. Colley said that sex offenders
or other criminals would be evacuated on different buses. “We’re not going
to leave anyone,” he said. The intent, he said, is to make sure that
vulnerable residents are not victimized. Mr. Colley also said that state
officials would be able to segregate evacuees, even in the chaos of an
emergency. “We’ll have procedures,” he said, “and we’re not going to
advertise what they are.” Under the plan, anyone who boards must provide a
name. Officials can ask for photo identification, but it is not needed to
board, Mr. Colley said. Officials will check names against sex offender
registries and other criminal databases, Mr. Colley said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/us/16texas.html
[3] Significant Progress Made in Nation's Preparedness to Respond to Public
Health Emergencies; But Gaps in Critical Areas Threaten Overall Readiness-
Trust for America’s Health (12/18/07)
Press Release: Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released the fifth annual
"Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and
Bioterrorism" report, which found that while important progress has been
made, critical areas of the nation's emergency health preparedness effort
still require attention. In addition, the continuing trend of annual cuts in
federal funding for state and local preparedness activities threatens the
nation's safety. The "Ready or Not?" report contains state-by-state health
preparedness scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency
preparedness capabilities. All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia
(D.C.) were evaluated based on data from publicly available sources or
public officials in 2007. Thirty-five states and D.C. scored eight or higher
on the scale of 10 indicators. Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia scored the highest with 10 out of 10.
Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming scored the
lowest with six out of 10. The full report can be read at
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror07/BioTerrorReport2007.pdf
[4] Pakistan H5N1 situation stable as Indonesia reports possible cluster-
CIDRAP (12/21/07)
The World Health Organization (WHO) said there has been no evidence of more
cases of H5N1 avian influenza in the wake of a recent case cluster in
Pakistan, as news services reported at least five suspected H5N1 cases in an
Indonesian family. WHO officials in Geneva said no more H5N1 cases have been
identified in the area of Abbotabad in northern Pakistan, where the cluster
was reported. Keiji Fukuda, coordinator of the WHO's global influenza
program, told Reuters that the Pakistan cases probably represent a mix of
poultry-to-human infections and human-to-human transmission resulting from
close contact when people cared for infected relatives. The patients who
tested positive include four brothers in one family, one of their cousins,
and two other people, according to news reports. The family group was
originally described as four brothers and two cousins, but one patient
initially identified as a cousin was actually a brother, the Associated
Press reported on Dec 21. One of the four brothers died, and a fifth brother
also was suspected of having the disease but died without being tested. The
other three people were described as a man and his niece who were involved
in culling poultry in connection with avian flu outbreaks, and a male farm
worker from another town nearby.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/dec2107avian.
html
[5] College Stadium Safety Concerns Experts- AP (12/25/07)
After more than a decade in counterterrorism, Jim McGee can no longer relax
and enjoy watching a sports event. The fans look like potential victims of
terrorism to the former FBI agent turned college instructor. The players are
possible targets and the security gaps are easy to detect. "It's always in
the back of my mind, even when I'm watching them on TV," McGee said. "You're
kind of looking at things. The thing is if I can sit there or any spectator
can sit there, and think, 'Hmmm, that doesn't look right,' that's probably a
little bit of a risk there." While professional leagues and NASCAR appear to
be taking security seriously, officials worry enough isn't being done at
college sports events. Those contacted about the issue believe it's only a
matter of time before another domestic or international terrorist attack
targets a sports event. This time of year is especially worrisome because of
all the high-profile games during bowl season. Bill Flynn, head of Homeland
Security's protective security coordination division, said stadiums and
arenas are "a concern, something that we want to pay attention to. Why?
Because we've seen attacks overseas in resorts, hotels and arenas, so
obviously while al-Qaida and the terrorists have attempted to hit hard
targets like refineries, soft targets and commercial facilities become more
of a target of opportunity."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/25/AR200712...
842.html?sub=AR
II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Planning Today for a Pandemic Tomorrow: Ensuring Continuity of
Operations
When: January 7, 2008
Where: New Jersey Hospital Association, 760 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ
NJHA will host this full-day program addressing pandemic influenza
preparedness. Speakers will address critical issues regarding the planning
process. A variety of breakout sessions will focus on areas of preparedness
that continue to challenge healthcare providers. Participants will have an
opportunity to learn about New Jersey’s pandemic flu plan and its impact on
the healthcare community as well as hear presentations from experts in two
critical areas related to pandemic influenza planning: financial and legal
issues. Hospitals are encouraged to send teams of staff who are involved
with or responsible for pandemic flu planning. For more information and to
register: http://www.njha.com/education/conted.aspx
[2] 2008 Public Health Preparedness Summit
When: February 19 – 22, 2008
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
The goal of the 2008 Public Health Preparedness Summit is to improve the
ability of participants to plan, prepare, respond to, and recover from
public health emergencies. Summit objectives include: 1) to describe new
methods to address challenges in responding to public health emergencies, 2)
to Identify sources of research, materials and resources to assist in
preparedness activities and 3) to define means to improve existing
preparedness programs at all levels of government. For more information,
visit http://www.phprep.org/.
[3] Epidemiological Computing and Graphics in Public Health with R
When: Friday, February 22, 2008, 9am – 4pm
Where: UMDNJ School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, Room 2A
Piscataway, NJ 08854
NJPHA is hosting Epidemiological Computing and Graphics in Public Health
with R. This 1-day course provides hands-on experience with: R basics, and
more, for data professionals; example real Public Health applications; and
quality color graphics. Practitioners of epidemiology and statistical
computing, with intermediate to advanced skills, who wish to do analysis and
graphics in the R language on IBM compatible PCs, Macintosh, or other
computers running Windows NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, Linux or Unix operating
system should attend. Please visit www.njpha.org for more information and
to download the registration form. For more information contact Giles Crane
at gilescrane@verizon.net
III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Policy Review: Global Public Health Security
This policy review published in the Emerging Infectious Disease journal,
highlights recent revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHR
(2005)). In 2005, the World Health Assembly unanimously approved IHR (2005),
to establish a legally binding framework designed to build and strengthen
national alert and response systems. IHR (2005) includes commitments from
the World Health Organization (WHO) and each of its 193 member states, and
it provides new rules for them to address national public health threats
that could escalate to global emergencies. The new framework is one built on
³timely notification of all events that constitute a public health emergency
of international concern,² rather than the previous disease-specific
approach, which only applied to cholera, plague, and yellow fever, said the
authors. http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/10/1447.htm
[2] Call for Papers for Public Health Reports Special Issue: Occupational
Health and Safety Interventions
Public Health Reports (PHR), the journal of the U.S. Public Health Service
is inviting papers for a special issue on Occupational Health and Safety
Interventions. The editors are looking for analytic or descriptive
manuscripts, including implications for practice, policy analyses,
innovative partnerships, intervention comparisons and evaluations, and
training case studies that advance the applied scientific knowledge on
occupational health and safety interventions. Topics of interest include:
(1) target population descriptions; (2) special populations (e.g. children,
non-English speaking, small businesses); (3) prevention through design; (4)
integration of hierarchy of controls; (5) use of behavioral-based models;
(6) application of study and intervention design models; (7) innovative
outcome measures and evaluation methods; and (8) intervention dissemination.
For more information, contact Robert Rinsky, Editor, PHR, at
robert.rinsky@cchmc.org
[3] Resource (book): Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic:
Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers. Lewis R. Goldfrank
and Catharyn T. Liverman, Editors. In 2006, the National Personal Protective
Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) at the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine
issues regarding PPE for healthcare workers in the event of pandemic
influenza. The IOM committee was charged with examining research
directions, certification and the establishment of standards, and risk
assessment issues specific to PPE for healthcare workers during an
influenza.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11980
[4] Resource (journal abstract): Patient knowledge and attitudes about
antiviral medication and vaccination for influenza in an internal medicine
clinic
Study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal finds that
patients are ill-informed about antiviral medication and its benefits, and
medication costs may present a barrier to treatment. Researchers recommend
physicians discuss antiviral medication with patients who are at high risk
for complications from influenza before the influenza season, and education
programs for physicians and patients to be developed.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CID/journal/issues/v45n9/51042/brief/51042
abstract.html
[5] Resource (journal abstract): Mortality benefits of influenza vaccination
in elderly people: an ongoing controversy
The effectiveness to reduce the mortality burden of influenza by targeting
people aged at least 65 years for vaccination is under debate. A study
published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reports that, although
placebo-controlled randomized trials show influenza vaccine is effective in
younger adults, few trials have included elderly people, and especially
those aged at least 70 years, the age-group that accounts for three-quarters
of all influenza-related deaths. They state that recent excess mortality
studies were unable to confirm a decline in influenza-related mortality
since 1980, even as vaccination coverage increased from 15% to 65%.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473309907702360/ab...
ct
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