The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Works Monthly Update is provided to national health care provider and consumer groups for distribution to their members and constituencies. The immunization information provided is non-proprietary and is encouraged to be widely disseminated and shared.
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NIP Has New Name, New Mission |
In April 2006, the National Immunization Program (NIP) will become the proposed National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), to be housed in CDC’s Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID). NCIRD will be led by Anne Schuchat, MD, who currently serves as NIP’s Director. NCIRD's proposed mission will be to prevent disease, disability, and death through immunization and by control of respiratory and related diseases. The new center will support both domestic and global immunization and respiratory disease prevention and control priorities, and will link epidemiology and laboratory science around vaccine-preventable diseases and acute respiratory infections with prevention and control programs and strong communication science.
As shown on this organizational chart, NCIRD will contain five divisions:
- Immunization Services Division (ISD)
- Global Immunization Division (GID)
- Division of Bacterial Diseases (DBD)
- Division of Viral Diseases (DVD)
- Influenza Division (ID)
ISD and GID will retain similar structures and functions in NCIRD as they had in NIP. Functions from NIP’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Division (ESD) will be relocated into NCIRD’s three new divisions: ID, DVD, and DBD.
NCIRD will strive to work closely with partners to provide a key focus for vaccine-preventable disease and immunization program issues. NCIRD will also work within CDC to synthesize vaccine-related information from other parts of CDC with immunization expertise.
NCIRD will not be responsible for all vaccine-preventable disease functions nor all respiratory infectious disease functions. For example, the Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) – which is now part of CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) – will be moved into the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and Tuberculosis Prevention (NCHHSTP). Like NCIRD, NCHHSTP will be housed in CDC’s Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID). DVH will have primary responsibilities concerning Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, and will retain subject matter experts for these diseases. However, DVH will work in collaboration with ISD to provide program support to state immunization partners on issues concerning Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B.
As always, working with partners will remain a high priority for immunization staff at CDC. Future updates about NCIRD and other CDC organizational changes will continue to be shared with immunization partners through this publication.
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CDC Statement Regarding Autism-Related Ad: CDC has posted a statement on its website in response to the autism-related advertisement that was published in the April 6, 2006 edition of USA Today. The statement can be found at the OD Press Release page. For more information about autism, immunizations, or thimerosal, please visit the CDC homepage.
Record Attendance at 40th NIC: More than 1500 attendees participated in the 40 th National Immunization Conference (NIC), which was held March 6-9, 2006, in Atlanta, GA. The 3 ½ day conference included 3 full plenaries, 12 topic track plenaries, 12 workshop sessions, and 2 Immunization Q &A sessions. Sessions focused on 6 different topic tracks: Adult/Adolescent Immunization, Epidemiology/Vaccine Safety, Health/Risk Communications, Immunization Information Systems, Programmatic Issues and Policy and Legislation.
Senior leadership from HHS and CDC participated in the conference’s opening session. Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of CDC’s proposed National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), welcomed NIC participants. CDC’s Director, Dr. Julie Gerberding, provided introductory remarks and Mike Leavitt, the Secretary of HHS, delivered the keynote address. During the opening session, awards were presented to state and local immunization leaders, and The Phil Horne Award was presented to CDC’s Dr. Ray Strikas.
Additional conference highlights included The Hilleman Lecture, presented by Dr. Paul Offit, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the closing session, featuring Mrs. Rosalynn Carter and Mrs. Betty Bumpers. Following their remarks, Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers were surprised with a special award recognizing their long-standing efforts and tremendous achievements in childhood immunizations.
Handouts and audio/video recordings from the 40 th NIC are now available online. To obtain handouts and audio/video recordings, please visit the NIC website, scroll down to “Conference Recordings and Slides,” and click “Go.” Handouts and audio/video recordings can be accessed by searching with key words or by scrolling through the NIC program and selecting a specific plenary or workshop session. If available, the audio and/or handout for a specific presentation can then be selected. Also, conference participants can receive Continuing Education (CE) credits for participation until April 13, 2006. Please visit the NIC CE statements page for CE information. Remember to mark your calendars for the 41 st NIC, to be held March 5-8, 2007, in Kansas City, Missouri.
National Infant Immunization Week: National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is an annual observance to promote the benefits of immunizations and to focus on the importance of immunizing infants against vaccine-preventable diseases by age two. This year, NIIW will again be held in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organization’s Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), from April 22-29, 2006. The U.S. will join together with 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere to concurrently promote the need for routine vaccinations for infants and children during the last week in April. Special NIIW-VWA events will be held in Arizona and Utah. Additional information including public relations materials, talking points, and public service announcements are available on the NIIW website.
Iowa
Mumps Outbreak: In Iowa, an average
of five Mumps cases have been reported
annually since 1996. In 2006, by
March 28, a total of 219 mumps cases
had been reported in Iowa, and an
additional 14 persons with clinically
compatible symptoms were being investigated
in three neighboring states (11
in Illinois, two in Nebraska, and
one in Minnesota) in what has become
the largest epidemic of mumps in
the United States since 1988. Of
the 219 cases reported in Iowa,
the median patient age was 21 years,
with 48% of patients 17--25 years
old; 30% (34 of 114) were known
to be college students. Of the 133
patients with investigated vaccine
history, 87 (65%) had documentation
of receiving 2 doses, 19 (14%) 1
dose, and eight (6%) no doses; vaccine
status could not be documented in
19 (14%) patients. Mumps generally
is a mild and self-limited viral
infection but can also lead to serious
complications such as encephalitis
or pancreatitis. For more information,view
the complete article, Mumps
Epidemic -- Iowa, 2006, in
CDC's Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Antiviral Medication Sales Increased in New York City: As part of syndromic surveillance, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) monitors sales of antiviral influenza medications paid for by the Medicaid system, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) monitors sales of antiviral influenza medications by a retail pharmacy chain. Syndromic data are used in combination with data provided by laboratories, health-care facilities, and health-care providers to monitor influenza activity.
In October 2005, a spike in antiviral medication sales was noted. The spike did not coincide with other markers of influenza activity but did coincide with the beginning of media coverage of avian influenza A (H5N1) and the potential for an influenza pandemic. Tracking prescription medication sales can detect spikes for which no immediate indication exists. Such syndromic data might be used to guide issuance of public health recommendations regarding the limited availability of certain medications and the inadvisability of personal stockpiling.
For
more information, view the complete
article, Increased
Antiviral Medication Sales Before
the 2005-06 Influenza Season -- New
York City,
in CDC's MMWR.
Progress in Reducing Global Measles Deaths: Measles remains a substantial cause of global childhood mortality, particularly in developing countries. In their joint strategic plan for Measles Mortality Reduction, 2001--2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) targeted 45 priority countries with the highest measles mortality for implementation of a comprehensive strategy for accelerated and sustained measles mortality reduction.
Components of this strategy include achieving high routine vaccination coverage (greater than 90%) in every district and ensuring that all children receive a second opportunity for measles vaccination. In May 2003, the World Health Assembly endorsed a resolution urging member countries to achieve a goal (adopted in 2002 by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children) to reduce 1999 deaths resulting from measles by half by the end of 2005.
Results from surveillance data combined with the natural history model (which incorporates historical figures with population data) indicate that overall global measles mortality decreased 48%, from 871,000 deaths in 1999 to 454,000 deaths in 2004. Because the 2005 measles mortality reduction goal likely was met on schedule (final 2005 data will not be available until 2007), a more ambitious goal has been proposed in the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS). The new goal calls for a 90% reduction in measles mortality by 2010 compared with the 2000 level.
For
more information, view the complete article, Progress
in Reducing Global Measles Deaths, 1999-2004,
please visit CDC’s MMWR.
HHS
Buys More Antiviral Medication: Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary
Mike Leavitt recently announced
additional purchases of antiviral
drugs that could be used in the
event of a potential influenza pandemic.
The department has ordered 2.2 million
more treatment courses of antiviral
drug zanamivir (Relenza®)
from GlaxoSmithKline and 3.8 million
more treatment courses of oseltamivir
phosphate (Tamiflu®)
from Roche. With these purchases,
the Strategic National Stockpile
will have a total of 26 million
treatment courses of antiviral drugs
for distribution to the states when
an influenza pandemic is deemed
to be imminent.
For
more information, consult the
complete HHS press release, "HHS
Buys More Antiviral Medication for
the Strategic National Stockpile" on the
HHS website.
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