COCA Email Updates: February 25 – March 11, 2013

COCA News and Announcements

Upcoming COCA Conference Exhibits and Presentations:

Public Health Preparedness Summit
Date: March 12 – 15 2013
Location: Atlanta, GA
Please join COCA at the 2013 Public Health Preparedness Summit where COCA will be presenting during the Interactive Session, “Physicians’ Views of Emergency Preparedness, Training, and Communication” on Friday, March 15 from 8:30 - 10:00 AM. During this session results from a national poll of physicians’ views on preparedness provides insights for enhancing partnerships between public health and healthcare. Study results, including key preparedness gaps, will be discussed along with federal efforts to address national healthcare preparedness and emergency communication needs.

Recent COCA Call/Webinar:

Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013
During this COCA call, a CDC subject matter expert discussed the importance of disaster risk reduction for reducing adverse health effects of disasters and how application of the basic tenets of preventive medicine and public health can result in a more humane and cost-effective approach to emergency management. This call was previously held on August 21, 2012.

Additional archived COCA Conference Calls
Free CE credit/contact hours (CME, CNE, ACPE, CEU, CECH, and AAVSB/RACE) are available for most COCA calls.

CDC News and Announcements

Upcoming Call: CDC Vital Signs Town Hall Teleconference: Stopping Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae Infections: Making Health Care Safer
Date: March 12, 2013
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 pm (Eastern Time)
Call-in number: 800-857-0764
Passcode: 7954413
Join CDC subject matter experts and other public health professionals for a town hall teleconference.

Upcoming Call: CDC Clinical Call: Outbreak of Fungal Meningitis and Other Infections
Date: March 13, 2013
Time: 5:00 pm (Eastern Time)
Call-in number: 888-942-8615
Participant passcode: 2368838
CDC subject matter expert Dr. Tom Chiller will be leading the call along with Dr. Anu Malani from St. Joseph’s Mercy Medical Center in Michigan for clinicians interested in obtaining additional information about the management and treatment of patients with fungal illness associated with the fungal meningitis outbreak.

CDC Science Clips: Volume 5, Issue: 9 – (CDC)
Each week select science clips are shared with the public health community to enhance awareness of emerging scientific knowledge. The focus is applied public health research and prevention science that has the capacity to improve health now.

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Public Health Preparedness

NEW: Public Health Matters Blog: Do 1 Thing March: Sheltering – March 6 (CDC)
This month, as we embark on “sheltering” for Do 1 Thing, it’s important to first know your risks.

Emergency Preparedness and Response – (CDC)
Find resources for All Hazards and Specific Hazards preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Training Resources for Clinicians – (CDC)
A resource for scheduled and on-demand emergency preparedness and response trainings offered by federal agencies and COCA partners.

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Natural Disasters and Severe Weather

Health and Safety Concerns for All Disasters – (CDC)

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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

MMWR publications are prepared by the CDC. To electronically subscribe, go to http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwrsubscribe.html

March 8, 2013 / Vol. 62 / No. 9 Download .pdf document of this issue

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Infectious, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

NEW: CDC Health Advisory: Notice to Health Care Providers: Updated Guidelines for Evaluation of Severe Respiratory Illness Associated with a Novel Coronavirus – March 8 (CDC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to better understand the public health risk posed by a novel coronavirus that was first reported to cause human infection in September 2012. The purpose of this HAN Advisory is to provide guidance to state health departments and health care providers in the evaluation of patients for novel coronavirus infection.

NEW: CDC Health Update: Notice to Clinicians: Continued Vigilance Urged for Fungal Infections among Patients Who Received Contaminated Steroid Injections – March 4 (CDC)
CDC continues to receive new reports of fungal infection among patients who were given injections of contaminated methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Mass.

Weekly Flu View – March 2 (CDC)
This is a weekly influenza surveillance report prepared by CDC Influenza Division. All data are preliminary and may change as CDC receives more reports.

Planning and Preparedness: Health Professionals and Seasonal Flu – (HHS)
Health care providers play an important role during flu season. The following guidance and information will assist health care providers and service organizations to plan and respond to seasonal flu.

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Travel Safety

Current Travel Warnings – March 11 (US Department of State)
Travel Warnings are issued when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country. A Travel Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff.

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Food, Drug and Device Safety

CDC Press Release: Action needed now to halt spread of deadly bacteria – March 5 (CDC)
A family of bacteria has become increasingly resistant to last-resort antibiotics during the past decade, and more hospitalized patients are getting lethal infections that, in some cases, are impossible to cure.

MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program – (HHS/USFDA)
Your FDA gateway for clinically important safety information and reporting serious problems with human medical products.

FoodSafety.gov Reports FDA and USDA Food Recalls, Alerts, Reporting & Resources – (HHS/UDSA/FDA/CDC/NIH)
For recalls and alerts by both FDA and USDA, or to report a problem or make inquiries.

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The CDC and HHS logos are the exclusive property of the Department of Health and Human Services and may not be used for any purpose without prior express written permission. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organizations.