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

ISDS' ICD-10 Master Mapping Reference Table Now Available!

ICD-10 Master Mapping Reference Table

ISDS is pleased to release the ICD-10 Master Mapping Reference Table (MMRT) as a tool and resource to assist public health professionals in code-mapping the conversion between ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM diagnostic codes. Learn more and download here!

Background The upcoming ICD-9/ICD-10 transition will have a significant impact on public health surveillance systems and activities that involve coded clinical data. It is imperative that public health agencies begin to prepare their systems, modify current business processes, and train their workforce to ensure a seamless transition to ICD-10 coded data. To address this urgent need, CDC worked with clinicians and public health professionals to develop ICD-9 to ICD-10 translations based on conceptual mapping for 140 syndromes arranged into 16 broader syndrome groupings. ISDS coordinated the community input on these codesets and concepts, to ensure that they reflect how public health agencies use diagnostic codes for syndromic surveillance activities. Three reviews for each syndrome chapter were compiled, and a panel of syndromic surveillance experts subsequently assessed that the reviews for inclusion. The resulting reference tables, which include 90 syndromes grouped into 13 chapters, serve as a resource for public health agencies looking to ensure a smooth transition between ICD-9 and ICD-10 code-mapping.

Feedback If you have any questions or comments for fellow users of the ICD-10 MMRT, please visit the ISDS Community Forum ICD-10 MMRT page. If you have any questions for the creators of the ICD-10 MMRT, please e-mail icd10@syndromic.org. If providing feedback on code mappings, please be specific with chapter, syndrome and line number. Thank you!

Acknowledgement The ICD-10 Master Mapping Reference Table is made possible by funding to ISDS through the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) from the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CSELS) within the Office of Public Health Scientific Services (OPHSS) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Optimizing Infectious Disease Surveillance

On Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 2:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern Time, CSTE will be hosting a webinar entitled “Optimizing Infectious Disease Surveillance.”

The explosion of public health data provides an opportunity for resource-constrained public health agencies to engage in cost-efficient and truly innovative disease surveillance.  However, to design robust surveillance with limited resources we propose a four-step process that systematically evaluates and integrates candidate data streams:  (1) define surveillance objectives, (2) specify candidate data sources, (3) simulate historical data where data are missing, and (4) select the most informative combination of data sources.  This methodology determines system right-size by quantifying the performance of data sources in terms of the specified surveillance objectives and prioritizes them for incorporation into surveillance systems.  In this webinar, I will demonstrate the flexibility and utility of this approach on a provider-based influenza surveillance network in Texas with both traditional and digital data streams across two surveillance objectives: situational awareness and early detection.

After the webinar, participants will be able to:

1.       Demonstrate how an integrative surveillance system can be used to improve situational awareness and early detection.

2.       Assess the performance of various data sources, e.g. primary healthcare providers, laboratory data, emergency department chief complaints, and Google Flu Trends, for surveillance.  

3.       Evaluate the utility of primary healthcare providers and emergency department chief complaints for predicting influenza-associated hospitalizations in at risk populations.  

The presenter is Samuel V. Scarpino, a postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute, where he holds the prestigious Omidyar Fellowship. He completed his Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of Texas at Austin, where his dissertation research focused on the design of disease surveillance networks and the integration of diverse data streams to better inform public health decision-making. Dr. Scarpino is an incoming Assistant Professor in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Vermont.  His research focuses on the evolutionary and population dynamics of infectious diseases. He applies this work to the design of both public health surveillance systems and intervention strategies.

Register for this webinar at: https://csteevents.webex.com/csteevents/onstage/g.php?d=665423224&t=a

The webinar recording and slides will be available on the CSTE website shortly after the session has concluded.

MMWR Vol. 64 / Early Release 07/07/2015   MMWR Early Release  Vol. 64, Early Release  July 7, 2015   PDF   In this report Vital Signs: Demographic and Substance Use Trends Among Heroin Users — United States, 2002–2013  Christopher M. Jones, PharmD, Joseph Logan, PhD, R. Matthew Gladden, PhD, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2015;64(Early Release):1-7  Heroin use and overdose deaths have increased significantly in the United States. Assessing trends in heroin use among demographic and particular substance-using groups can inform prevention efforts. FDA and CDC analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and National Vital Statistics System reported during 2002–2013. This report summarizes their findings. See also: ISDS webinar: Approaches to Syndromic Case Definitions for Drug Overdose Surveillance

NACDD Now Accepting Applications for the 2015-2016 Epidemiology Mentoring Program

Applications are now being accepted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors 2015-2016 National Mentorship Program in Applied Chronic Disease Epidemiology cohort. 
The goals of the Mentorship Program are to:
·    enlarge the pool of trained chronic disease epidemiologists at public health agencies,
·    improve the practice of chronic disease epidemiology; and
·    increase the epidemiological science in chronic disease programs and policies.
NACDD will select up to nine newly-hired (less than one year) and junior-level epidemiologists from state, tribal, local and territorial health departments.  Interested applicants must select a project that will serve as the focus of their mentorship.  
NACDD is also accepting resumes or curricula vitae from senior chronic disease epidemiologists and senior-level epidemiologists with substantial experience in applied chronic disease epidemiology.  Mentors will receive a $5,000 stipend and travel support to complete a mentor site visit.  Anyone interested in serving as a mentor must be able to enter into a contractual agreement with NACDD to receive the stipend. 
The mentoring program will begin in August 2015 and continue until June 30, 2016.  Program participants will receive travel support to attend the 16^th annual Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Conference, June 19-23, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska.    To Apply:
Mentee: Send completed mentee application, letters of support and required documents to nmccoy@chronicdisease.org
Mentor: Send cover letter and most recent resume or curriculum vitae to nmccoy@chronicdisease.org.   Address all letters to John Robitscher, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, ATTN: Epidemiology Mentoring Program, 2200 Century Parkway, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA, 30345.  
NACDD must receive all applications and resumes by midnight, local time, on Friday, August 14, 2015.
Application and supporting documents attached.  Information on the CDC-NACDD National Mentorship in Applied Chronic Disease Epidemiology can be accessed online at http://www.chronicdisease.org/members/group_content_view.asp?group=128220&id=321462. 

Access official application announcement online at http://www.chronicdisease.org/forums/Posts.aspx?topic=1127936&page=1#post_1127936. 

The CDC and NACDD National Mentorship Program in Applied Chronic Disease Epidemiology serves to enhance state and local capacity through networking and professional development opportunities.  This program is supported by a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Population Health.

Research Committee Selected Articles of the Week, July 13, 2015

Research Committee Selected Articles for the Week of July_06_2015

★ ***-Article is considered for Award Nomination***
• Rosanowski S.M., Rogers C.W., Bolwell C.F., Cogger N. The movement pattern of horses around race meetings in New Zealand

Jiang L., Lee V.J., Lim W.Y., Chen M.I., Chen Y., Tan L., Lin R.T., Leo Y.S., Barr I., Cook A.R. Performance of case definitions for influenza surveillance

Hlavinkova L., Kristufkova Z., Mikas J. Risk factors for severe outcome of cases with pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09

Barde P.V., Shukla M.K., Kori B.K., Chand G., Jain L., Varun B.M., Dutta D., Baruah K., Singh N. Emergence of dengue in tribal villages of Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh, India

Davila-Torres J., Chowell G., Borja-Aburto V.H., Viboud C., Grajalez-Muniz C., Miller M.A. Intense seasonal A/H1N1 influenza in Mexico, winter 2013-2014 ★

Boggild A.K., Esposito D.H., Kozarsky P.E., Ansdell V., Beeching N.J., Campion D., Castelli F., Caum Differential diagnosis of illness in travelers arriving from sierra Leone, Liberia, or guinea: A cross-sectional study from the Geosentinel surveillance network

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The movement pattern of horses around race meetings in New Zealand

In order to describe the implications of racehorse movement on the potential spread and control of infectious disease in New Zealand, the movement of horses due to regular racing activities needed to be quantified. Race meeting, trainer and starter data we re collected in 2009 from the governing bodies for the two racing codes in New Zealand; Harness Racing New Zealand and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. During 2009, 507 Thoroughbred and 506 Standardbred race meetings were held. A random selection of 42 Sta ndardbred and 39 Thoroughbred race meetings were taken from all race meetings held in 2009 and the distances travelled by trainers to these race meetings were determined. The trainers attending selected race meetings represented 50% (1135/2287) of all regi stered trainers in 2009. There was no seasonal pattern of when race meetings were held between racing codes (P ? 0.18) or by race type (P ? 0.83). There were significant differences in the distance travelled by trainers to race meetings, by racing code (P < 0.001). Thoroughbred trainers travelled a median of 91 km (IQR 40-203 km), while Standardbred trainers travelled a median of 45 km (IQR 24-113 km) (P < 0.001). Within each racing code, trainers travelled further to attend premier races than other types o f race meetings (P < 0.001). These data demonstrate there is higher potential for more widespread disease dissemination from premier race meetings compared with other types of race meetings. Additionally, lack of a seasonal pattern indicates that a widespr ead outbreak could occur at any time of the year. Widespread disease dissemination would increase the logistic effort required for effective infectious disease control and has the potential to increase the time required to achieve control. © CSIRO 2015.

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Performance of case definitions for influenza surveillance

Influenza-like illness (ILI) case definitions, such as those from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are commonly used for influenza surveill ance. We assessed how various case definitions performed during the initial wave of influenza A(H1N1 pdm09 infections in Singapore on a cohort of 727 patients with two to three blood samples and whose symptoms were reviewed fortnightly from June to October 2009. Using seroconversion (? 4-fold rise) to A/California/7/2009 (H1N1), we identified 36 presumptive influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 episodes and 664 episodes unrelated to influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. Cough, fever and headache occurred more commonly in presumptive in fluenza A(H1N1)pdm09. Although the sensitivity was low (36%), the recently revised WHO ILI case definition gave a higher positive predictive value (42%) and positive likelihood ratio (13.3) than the other case definitions. Results including only episodes w ith primary care consultations were similar. Individuals who worked or had episodes with fever, cough or sore throat were more likely to consult a physician, while episodes with Saturday onset were less likely, with some consultations skipped or postponed. Our analysis supports the use of the revised WHO ILI case definition,which includes only cough in the presence of fever defined as body temperature ?38 °C for influenza surveillance. © 2015 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All ri ghts reserved.

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Risk factors for severe outcome of cases with pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to describe demographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of cases with laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09 reported in Slovakia from May 28, 2009 to December 30, 2009 and analyse the association between risk factors and severe outcome of these cases. BACKGROUND: In the spring of 2009, an outbreak of a pandemic influenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09, emerged in Mexico and spread globally. Until December 2009, 1,014 cases were notified in Slovakia . METHODS: The data were collected within national influenza surveillance system. Odds ratios (95% CI) were calculated. Associations were found to be significantly associated with the worse outcome (p < 0.05) in the univariate analysis and were adjusted fo r possible effects of age and sex by using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Out of the total number of 1,014 cases, 131 (12.9 %) cases were hospitalized, and 43 (4.2 %) of those were admitted to intensive care units. During the reporting period, 38 de aths were reported, representing a case fatality rate of 3.75 %. The median age of severe cases (35 years, IQR = 29 y) was significantly higher than the median age of mild cases (24 years, IQR = 19 y; p < 0.001). By using a logistic regression, we found ou t that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (aOR = 9.2; 95%CI: 1.42-59.98), cardiovascular diseases (aOR = 14.97; 95%CI: 5.49-40.79), malignity (aOR = 7.6; 95%CI: 1.95-29.37) and gravidity (aOR = 55.21; 95% CI: 14.40-211.58) were significantly asso ciated with severe outcomes of the cases. CONCLUSION: The fact, that 35% of severely ill patients did not report any risk factor suggests the importance of vaccination as a prevention of influenza.

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Emergence of dengue in tribal villages of Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh, India

Background & objectives: Dengue (DEN) is a rapidly spreading arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Although it is endemic in India, dengue virus (DENV) infection has not been reported from tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh. Investigations were co nducted to establish the aetiology of sudden upsurge of cases with febrile illness in June 2013 from tribal villages of Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Methods: The rapid response team of the National Institute for Research in Tribal Health, Jaba lpur, conducted clinical investigations and field surveys to collect the samples from suspected cases. Samples were tested using molecular and serological tools. Collected mosquitoes were identified and tested for the presence of virus using semi nested re verse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR). The sequences were analysed to identify serotype and genotype of the virus. Results: of the 648 samples collected from 18 villages of Mandla, 321 (49.53%) were found to be positive for dengue. The nR T-PCR and sequencing confirmed the aetiology as dengue virus type 2. Eighteen per cent of patients needed hospitalization and five deaths were attributed to dengue. The virus was also detected from Aedes aegypti mosquito, which was incriminated as a vector . Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the dengue virus 2 detected belonged to cosmopolitan genotype of the virus. Interpretation & conclusions: Dengue virus serotype 2 was detected as the aetiological agent in the outbreak in tribal villages of Mandla dist rict of Madhya Pradesh. Conducive man-made environment favouring mosquitogenic conditions and seeding of virus could be the probable reasons for this outbreak. Urgent attention is needed to control this new threat to tribal population, which is already ove rburdened with other vector borne diseases. © 2015, Indian Council of Medical Research. All rights reserved.

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Intense seasonal A/H1N1 influenza in Mexico, winter 2013-2014

Background and Aims: A recrudescent wave of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 affected Mexico during the winter of 2013-2014 following a mild 2012-2013 A/H3N2 influenza season. Methods: We compared the demographic and geographic characteristics of hospitalizations and inpatient deaths for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2013-2014 influenza season compared to previous influenza seasons, based on a large prospective surveillance system maintained by the Mexican Social Security health care system. Results: A total of 14,236 SARI hospitalizations and 1,163 inpatient deaths (8.2%) were reported between October 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014. Rates of laboratory-confirmed A/H1N1 hospitalizations and deaths were significa ntly higher among individuals aged 30-59years and lower among younger age groups for the 2013-2014 A/H1N1 season compared to the previous A/H1N1 season in 2011-2012 (?2 test, p<0 data-blogger-escaped-.001="" data-blogger-escaped-1.3-1.4="" data-blogger-escaped-2011-2012="" data-blogger-escaped-2013-2014="" data-blogger-escaped-2013-march="" data-blogger-escaped-2014="" data-blogger-escaped-2015="" data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-absence="" data-blogger-escaped-activity="" data-blogger-escaped-adults="" data-blogger-escaped-age="" data-blogger-escaped-among="" data-blogger-escaped-and="" data-blogger-escaped-antigenic="" data-blogger-escaped-at="" data-blogger-escaped-build-up="" data-blogger-escaped-but="" data-blogger-escaped-c="" data-blogger-escaped-ce="" data-blogger-escaped-change="" data-blogger-escaped-clear="" data-blogger-escaped-conclusions:="" data-blogger-escaped-deaths="" data-blogger-escaped-disease="" data-blogger-escaped-distribution="" data-blogger-escaped-documented="" data-blogger-escaped-drift="" data-blogger-escaped-during="" data-blogger-escaped-estimated="" data-blogger-escaped-for="" data-blogger-escaped-from="" data-blogger-escaped-globally="" data-blogger-escaped-gradual="" data-blogger-escaped-hospitalizations="" data-blogger-escaped-immunity="" data-blogger-escaped-imss.="" data-blogger-escaped-in2009.="" data-blogger-escaped-in="" data-blogger-escaped-increase="" data-blogger-escaped-infections="" data-blogger-escaped-influenza="" data-blogger-escaped-initial="" data-blogger-escaped-irculating="" data-blogger-escaped-line="" data-blogger-escaped-lower="" data-blogger-escaped-mexico="" data-blogger-escaped-middle-aged="" data-blogger-escaped-ntral="" data-blogger-escaped-number="" data-blogger-escaped-observed="" data-blogger-escaped-october="" data-blogger-escaped-of="" data-blogger-escaped-pandemic="" data-blogger-escaped-pandemics.="" data-blogger-escaped-past="" data-blogger-escaped-period="" data-blogger-escaped-populations="" data-blogger-escaped-post-2009="" data-blogger-escaped-preceding="" data-blogger-escaped-profile="" data-blogger-escaped-proportionate="" data-blogger-escaped-related="" data-blogger-escaped-relative="" data-blogger-escaped-reminiscent="" data-blogger-escaped-reported="" data-blogger-escaped-reproduction="" data-blogger-escaped-season.="" data-blogger-escaped-season="" data-blogger-escaped-severe="" data-blogger-escaped-shift="" data-blogger-escaped-slow="" data-blogger-escaped-substantial="" data-blogger-escaped-suggests="" data-blogger-escaped-than="" data-blogger-escaped-that="" data-blogger-escaped-the="" data-blogger-escaped-to="" data-blogger-escaped-viruses="" data-blogger-escaped-was="" data-blogger-escaped-waves="" data-blogger-escaped-we="" data-blogger-escaped-winter="" data-blogger-escaped-with="" data-blogger-escaped-younger="">

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Differential diagnosis of illness in travelers arriving from sierra Leone, Liberia, or guinea: A cross-sectional study from the Geosentinel surveillance network

Background: The largest-ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), ongoing in West Africa since late 2013, has led to export of cases to Europe and North America. Clinicians encountering ill travelers arriving from countries with widespread Ebola virus tr ansmission must be aware of alternate diagnoses associated with fever and other nonspecific symptoms. Objective: To define the spectrum of illness observed in persons returning from areas of West Africa where EVD transmission has been widespread. Design: D escriptive, using GeoSentinel records. Setting: 57 travel or tropical medicine clinics in 25 countries. Patients: 805 ill returned travelers and new immigrants from Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Guinea seen between September 2009 and August 2014. Measurements: Frequencies of demographic and travelrelated characteristics and illnesses reported. Results: The most common specific diagnosis among 770 nonimmigrant travelers was malaria (n = 310 [40.3%]), with Plasmodium falciparum or severe malaria in 267 (86%) and non-P. falciparum malaria in 43 (14%). Acute diarrhea was the second most common diagnosis among nonimmigrant travelers (n= 95 [12.3%]). Such common diagnoses as upper respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infection, and influenza-like illness occurre d in only 26, 9, and 7 returning travelers, respectively. Few instances of typhoid fever (n = 8), acute HIV infection (n = 5), and dengue (n = 2) were encountered.

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