Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Cooperative Agreement Program
Funding Initiated In 1996

FY05 Funding July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 - $635,794

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

• Analysis of audience evaluation of all educational activities and distribution of summary to IDES staff.
• Publication of a trend analysis of antimicrobial resistant pathogens in the 2005 IDES annual report.
• Dissemination of revised MRSA guidelines by 2/01/2006.
• Development of Get Smart course for veterinarians by 4/01/2006.
• Recruitment of at least 15 new facilities as participants in the Active Laboratory Surveillance for Antibiotic Resistance.
• Analysis of program evaluation for regional Get Smart campaigns.

Food Safety

• Educational activities, such as the videoconference, will be evaluated by the members of the audience.
• Trend analysis of foodborne pathogens will be published in state publication by the end of the following grant year.

Hepatitis Prevention and Control

Hepatitis C Coordinator activities may be measured through:

• Written evaluation of the Awareness Campaign.
• Develop logic models of HCV interventions.
• Number off hepatitis A and B vaccinations provided to Bridge House residents and the number of Bridge House residents receiving hepatitis C counseling and testing services.

Influenza Surveillance and Response

The following endpoints will be utilized as measures of effectiveness for the Influenza Surveillance and Response:

• Submission of weekly reports of influenza like illness occurring throughout the state.
• Expansion of the sentinel provider network through recruitment of additional physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and schools into the sentinel surveillance program.
• Migration of historical influenza surveillance data to the web based Influenza database.
• Deployment of EASE influenza module by September 2005.

National Electronic Disease Surveillance System

• A continued effort in data exchange will ensure participation in the NEDSS program.

West Nile Virus

• Annual summaries of surveillance data will be produced.
• Parish grant awardees will be monitored for the completion of the objectives stated in their grants awarded in 2004, throughout the 2005 arboviral season.
• New educational information will be evaluated. Louisiana ArboNet will be continually evaluated by users, and IDE will be updated by Tulane programmers.
• Data entered in CDC's ArboNet will be thoroughly checked at the completion of the calendar year.

General Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity

In order to evaluate program activities, the following will be utilized as measures of effectiveness:

• Analysis of audience evaluation of all educational activities and distribution of summaries to IDES staff.
• Successful completion of scheduled DSS and Regional Epidemiologist meetings.
• Addition of enhanced vibrio forms to RDD by September 2005.
• Development of Disaster Surveillance System application architecture by October 2005.
• Completion of Disaster Surveillance System application testing by March 2006.
• Development of Special Needs Shelter Surveillance System application architecture by May 2006.
• Maintenance of staffing levels at no less than 90 percent.
• Export of at least 95 percent of weekly data transmissions to CDC, as scheduled.

Contact Information and Links

Raoult Ratard, MD, MPH
State Epidemiologist
Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section
Louisiana Office of Public Health
325 Loyola Ave., Room 615
New Orleans, LA 70112

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals—Office of Public Health: http://www.oph.dhh.state.la.us/