Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Cooperative Agreement Program
Funding Initiated In 1997

FY05 Funding April 1, 2005 through March 31, 2006 - $885,605

Activities Proposed for FY 05

Antimicrobial Resistance, Food Safety, Hepatitis Prevention and Control, Influenza Surveillance and Response, National Electronic Disease Surveillance System, West Nile Virus, and General Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity

Key Performance Indicators

Antimicrobial Resistance

• Calculate age specific incidence rates of invasive DRSP and the proportion of invasive S. pneumoniae that are resistant to penicillin, quinolones, and vancomycin.
• An evaluation tool is being developed to track the impact of the use of billboards and signs on buses on Tennessee's Appropriate Antibiotic Use Campaign. This evaluation will compare current knowledge, attitudes and behaviors with the baseline survey conducted in 2002.
• Distribute evaluation sheets after each presentation conducted by a TAAUC coalition member.
• Analyze and evaluate the number of TAAUC website visits during respiratory season 2004-2005 to previous respiratory season site visits.
• We will continue to evaluate process measures such as number of brochures, prescription pads, and posters distributed.
• We will continue to monitor invasive drug resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.
• We will monitor invasive MRSA rates.

Food Safety

• A target of 90 percent success includes plan to submit initial reports of outbreaks within 60 days, and final reports to include number of lab confirmed cases, ages, sex of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
• Successfully use of DPDx training and consultation on 100 percent of diagnostically challenging parasitic cases handled at the laboratory in 2005.

Hepatitis Prevention and Control

• Completion of a report with the Tennessee Department of Correction on prevention and management of HCV in Tennessee correctional facilities.
• Development of an integrated risk assessment tool for blood borne viruses to be used in settings that reach high risk individuals.

Influenza Surveillance and Response

• Number of sentinel providers enrolled during the influenza season (and year round) for ILI surveillance meets or exceeds 1/250,000 population.
• Number of cultures sent to the State Laboratory.

National Electronic Disease Surveillance System

• Successful implementation of Electronic Laboratory Reporting from at least one major commercial laboratory into the NEDDS Base System.
• All PHLIS data will be entered into the NEDSS Base System for FoodNet.
• All variables for FoodNet will be extracted from the reporting database and available to FoodNet staff.

West Nile Virus

• More than 95 percent of corvids submitted for testing will have WNV results reported within five days of submission until five positives have been reported in a county or other identified surveillance area. The Department of Agriculture and Department of Health will exchange more than 95 percent of report of positive tests on humans, mosquitoes, birds and equine within 2 days of results being available.
• 100 percent of equine, humans, mosquito pools and birds testing positive for WNV in Tennessee will be reported on ArboNet.
• More than 95 percent of requests from regional and local health departments for WNV educational material will be met.

General Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity

• Number of outbreaks in which OMS was used.
• Integration of OMS with NBS- sharing of demographic information between the two systems.

Contact Information and Links

Marion A. Kainer, MBBS, MPH, FRACP
Medical Epidemiologist
Tennessee Department of Health
425 Fifth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37247-4911

Tennessee Department of Health: http://www.state.tn.us/health/