Webinar Anouncement: Detecting and Investigating a Large Community Outbreak of Legionellosis - South Bronx, July 2015

ISDS invites you to attend a free webinar led by members of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Sharon Balter, MD and Sharon Greene, PhD MPH.

Date and Time: 
Thursday, April 21, 2016 3:00 pm - 4:00pm EDT

Description: 
This webinar will present an overview of: (1) the epidemiology of Legionnaires' disease (LD), (2) techniques applied by the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for routine LD surveillance and outbreak investigation, (3) detection and investigation of the second largest community-acquired LD outbreak in the U.S (South Bronx, July 2015), and (4) recent legislation enforcing regular maintenance, testing, and mediation of NYC cooling towers.

The presenters will conclude by soliciting suggestions from the ISDS community for techniques for defining an outbreak zone and for analyzing point patterns of case locations and cooling towers.

Presenters:
Sharon Balter is the Director of the Enteric, Waterborne, and Health Education Unit within the Bureau of Communicable Disease, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She has an MD from the New York University School of Medicine.

Sharon Greene is the Director of the Data Analysis Unit within the Bureau of Communicable Disease, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She holds a PhD and MPH from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

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2016 CDC Surveillance Strategy Report to Congress

We are pleased to share the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2016 Report on the CDC Surveillance Strategy and the Integrated CDC Surveillance Platform. The attached report is a summary of the CDC letter to Congress.

Systemic Failure and Health Catastrophe: The Final Report from the Flint Water Advisory Task Force

"The Flint water crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction, and environmental injustice. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) failed in its fundamental responsibility to effectively enforce drinking water regulations.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) failed to adequately and promptly act to protect public health. Both agencies, but principally the MDEQ, stubbornly worked to discredit and dismiss others’ attempts to bring the issues of unsafe water, lead contamination, and increased cases of Legionellosis (Legionnaires’ disease) to light."

Matthew M Davis, MD, MAPP, Chris Kolb, Lawrence Reynolds, MD, Eric Rothstein, CPA, Ken Sikkema, Executive Summary Statement, Flint Water Advisory Task Force Final Report, 2016, p. 5

From the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and all the way to the Governor’s office, there are more than enough culpable participants in the failure to protect the health of Flint’s children. According to pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, who first alerted government officials of concerns for her patients, the lead-contaminated water could impact as many as 8000 children.¹

The unimaginable happened. The repercussions are still unknown. But for persons engaged in disease surveillance, public health, health informatics and policy-making, the Final Report is a "must-read" to gain understanding of how separate individual and agency failures compounded to allow a catastrophic outcome. We recommend all practitioners review the report.

1. Abby Goodnough, Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water, nytimes.com, January 29, 2016

 

HSIP Host-Site Application Now Open

Host-site applications are now being accepted from state and local public health agencies to host a fellow in the Health Systems Integration Program (HSIP). HSIP host-site applications will be accepted through December 11, 2015.

HSIP is an opportunity for health systems capacity building, specifically between public health and clinical care partners. HSIP is one of three fellowship programs of Project SHINE (Strengthening Health Systems through Interprofessional Education). Project SHINE is supported by CDC, CSTE, and NACCHO. The emphasis on interprofessional education aims to build health department and fellow capacity to improve population health through health systems integration. 
 
The HSIP fellowship places public health practitioners with a background in epidemiology and informatics at health departments for a one-year program. Fellows are involved in projects that address: community epidemiologic surveillance to support community health needs assessments, the public health interface and use of electronic health records, and the sharing of lessons learned from successful public health and primary care professional partnerships. Fellows have a master’s degree or higher with a commitment to working in applied public health.
 
Host-Site Application Information
Host-site applications should describe the fellowship assignment, supervision, support structure and workplace environment proposed for the fellow. All applications must include a letter of support from the applicant’s state health officer, State Epidemiologist, or local health officer. Applications will be reviewed by a panel and are evaluated on:

• The scope, quality, and diversity of experience offered to the fellow
• Experience of supervisors in management, informatics, and mentoring
• Potential long-term career placement for the fellow
• Potential professional development opportunities and financial support provided for the fellow
• Availability of office space, computer, and office/technical support
• Letters of support for the mentor seeking a fellow

Fellows are supported through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are matched to health departments. Host-site applications are limited to one per state health agency or local health agency. Assignments will begin in summer 2016.
 
Mentorship
Applications must include a description of two designated mentors: a primary mentor and a secondary mentor. Mentors must have either a doctoral or master’s degree related to public health with at least eight years of experience in public health management and/or informatics. Both mentors must devote at least four hours per week with the fellow during the first month and at least two hours per week for the duration of the training period. Approved health agencies will have a demonstrated capacity to provide technical training, applied research opportunities, and opportunities for experience in the application of public health informatics in a practical setting.

How to Apply
Please visit http://shinefellows.org for complete information and the link to the electronic application. Host-site applications will be accepted through December 11, 2015. Please note that applying to the Health Systems Integration Program fellowship does not guarantee acceptance or placement of a fellow at your host health agency.

If you have any questions about the Health Systems Integration Program or the host-site application, please contact Jessica Pittman at jpittman@cste.org or Amanda Masters at amasters@cste.org or 770-458-3811.
 
Best regards,

Jeffrey P. Engel, M.D.
Executive Director, CSTE

17th International Congress on Infectious Diseases to be held in Hyderabad, India on March 2-5, 2016

17th International Congress on Infectious Diseases

Hyderabad, India, March 2-5, 2016

We are excited to share the program for the 17th International Congress on Infectious Diseases to be held in Hyderabad, India on March 2-5, 2016 http://www.isid.org/icid/   The program and plenary speakers encompass all fields in infectious diseases with particular attention being paid to the major infectious causes of morbidity and mortality in India and elsewhere. Diseases presented will include HIV, malaria, TB, vaccine preventable diseases, neglected diseases and many others. Current issues and the latest results related to these diseases will be presented in Hyderabad. I encourage you to visit the website for the meeting to find program updates, register for the meeting and also submit abstracts of your own work for presentation during the Congress.   Abstract submission instructions: http://www.isid.org/icid/abstract_guidelines.shtml and complete hotel and registration information http://www.isid.org/icid/registration_guide.shtml are also posted.   Please note the following important deadlines:   Abstract submission deadline:             Abstract submission deadline: November 1, 2015             Early registration fee deadline: January 10, 2016   We are looking forward to welcoming you to Hyderabad, the center of India.   Sincerely, Britta Lassmann ISID Program Director

Join the 17th ICID Mailing List ISID would like to acknowledge the 17th ICID Premier Sponsors: Daiichi-Sankyo India Pharma Pvt. Ltd. Pfizer 17th ICID Official Airline Travel on Etihad to Hyderabad, India The ISID is pleased to announce that Etihad Airways has been selected as the official airline for the 17th ICID in Hyderabad, India. Etihad has excellent connections to Hyderabad from around the globe via Abu Dhabi with more than 100 destinations worldwide. 17th ICID Discount Codes are available, click here for more information.

Job Opportunity: CDC recruiting for architects for next generation surveillance system

Job Opportunity: CDC recruiting for architects for next generation surveillance system

CDC is looking for IT innovators to help build the next-generation disease surveillance system. Put your experience and skills to work for America’s public health. HHS Entrepreneur-in-Residence is recruiting a data integration architect and software platforms architect for CDC at http://go.usa.gov/3MV94.

Some additional Information on HHS Entrepreneur-in-Residence program:

http://www.hhs.gov/idealab/2015/05/28/looking-great-entrepreneurs-residence-apply-now/.

PhD Graduate Study in Epidemiology - Focusing on Animal Health Surveillance

PhD Graduate Study in Epidemiology 

Focusing on Animal Health Surveillance

The Veterinary Public Health Institute at the University of Bern in Switzerland has a 3 year graduate study opportunity in Epidemiology. The Swiss Federal Veterinary Office is currently exploring many livestock data sources for their utility for syndromic surveillance. This funded research project will focus on approaches for identifying outbreaks of emerging or important endemic diseases using event detection signals from many diverse syndromic surveillance data streams. The student will work in collaboration with the main applicant, a Post-Doctoral student and surveillance practitioners in the Early Detection Unit of the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office. The goal of the research is to develop methods that will have direct application to early detection of important livestock diseases in Switzerland.

Applicants must possess an undergraduate or MSc degree in any of Biology, Ecology, Computer Science, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health or related discipline, or have completed their studies in Veterinary Medicine. Students must be eligible for admission to the Graduate School at the University of Bern. An interest in epidemiology, surveillance and quantitative research are essential qualities.

The city of Bern is located in central Switzerland with easy access to skiing, snowshoeing, mountain hiking, mountain biking and other recreational opportunities in the Swiss Alps. Switzerland is centrally located in Europe with easy access by train, plane and car to many European countries including those on the Mediterranean. The Veterinary Public Health Institute focuses on applied research in the areas of animal health surveillance, risk assessment, antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease modelling.

The position is available starting on January 1^st 2016. Interested applicants must submit: 1) a letter of intent outlining their strengths, interests and future career goals, 2) their curriculum vitae and 3) the names and addresses of three references. For more information, or to apply please send an email to: 

Dr. John Berezowski

Surveillance Research Group Leader

Veterinary Public Health Institute 

Liebefeld, Switzerland

john.berezowski@vetsuisse.unibe.ch