COCA Email Updates: August 4, 2015 – August 17, 2015

Available for download: August 17, 2015, COCA Email Update

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COCA News and Announcements

Recent COCA Calls/Webinars:

Title: CRE and C. difficile : Is Your Healthcare Facility Implementing the Necessary Approach to Stop the Spread?

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2015

Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Dial In Number: 888-469-1370 (U.S. Callers); 517-308-9046 (International Callers)

Passcode: 3791890

Webinar: https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings&netId=PW5080898&netPass=3791890&netType=conference&acceptTerms=on

We're at a tipping point: an increasing number of germs no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them. Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics and lack of infection control actions can contribute to drug resistant infections such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and put patients at risk for deadly diarrhea (caused by Clostridium difficile). Even if one facility is following recommended infection controls, germs can be spread inside of and between healthcare facilities when patients are transferred from one healthcare facility to another without appropriate actions to stop spread. During this call, clinicians will hear from some of the nation’s top clinical experts on preventing antibiotic resistant infections and improving antibiotic stewardship. Join the discussion to learn about best practices that can be implemented today to protect patients from these potentially deadly infections.

Additional COCA Conference Calls

Free continuing education credits (CME, CNE, ACPE, CEU, CECH, and AAVSB/RACE) are available for most calls. More information about free CE.

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CDC Emergency Response – CDC Response to 2014 Ebola in the United States and West Africa

NEW:Ebola Survivors: How to Use a Male Condom

CDC Responder Stories

CDC Ebola Response Update

Review of Human-to-Human Transmission of Ebola Virus

Updated:Case Counts

CDC News and Announcements

NEW: National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month, and more than 3,000 organizations across the nation will join CDC in encouraging Americans to take action to be prepared. This year, CDC will focus on communities of preparedness and will target messaging and products to the following groups:

• Week one: Family
• Week two: Neighborhood
• Week three: Workplace and School
• Week four: Global
• Final four days: Online Social Media Community

For each topic in September, CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) plans to release Public Health Matters blog posts, social media messages (including a Twitter chat and a Thunderclap), and graphics. Visit CDC’s National Preparedness Month web page for links to all of its National Preparedness Month content.

NEW:CDC modeling projects growth of drug-resistant infections and C. difficile
The promising news is that CDC modeling projects that a coordinated approach—that is, health care facilities and health departments in an area working together—could prevent up to 70 percent of life-threatening carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections over five years. Additional estimates show that national infection control and antibiotic stewardship efforts led by federal agencies, health care facilities, and public health departments could prevent 619,000 antibiotic-resistant and C. difficile infections and save 37,000 lives over five years.

CDC Science Clips: Volume 7, Issue: 32 – (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.

Public Health Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness and Response - (CDC)

Find preparedness resources for all hazards.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Training Resources for Clinicians – (CDC)

Find online and in-person training resources.

Natural Disasters and Severe Weather

Food and Water Needs: Preparing for a Disaster or Emergency – (CDC)

Health and Safety Concerns for All Disasters – (CDC)

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

MMWR publications are prepared by CDC. Electronically Subscribe.

August 7, 2015 / Vol. 64 / No. 30 Download .pdf document of this issue

• School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students — United States, 2011–12 School Year
• Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults — United States, 2012
• Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2015–16 Influenza Season
• Vital Signs: Estimated Effects of a Coordinated Approach for Action to Reduce Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Health Care Facilities — United States
• Lack of Measles Transmission to Susceptible Contacts from a Health Care Worker with Probable Secondary Vaccine Failure — Maricopa County, Arizona, 2015
  

Infectious, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

Seasonal Influenza

What You Should Know for the 2014-2015 Influenza Season

Information for Health Professionals

Weekly Flu View – August 1 (CDC)

Flu View 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.

Travel Safety

Current Travel Warnings - August 7 (US Department of State)

The U.S. Department of State issues Travel Warnings when long-term, protracted conditions make a country dangerous or unstable. Travel Warnings recommend that Americans avoid or carefully consider the risk of travel to that country. The State Department also issues Travel Warnings 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 State Department staff.

Food, Drug and Device Safety

Update: FDA Investigates 2015 Outbreaks of Cyclosporiasis - (FDA)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) infections.

MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program – (FDA)

MedWatch is your Food and Drug Administration (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/USDA/FDA/CDC/NIH)

Foodsafety.gov lists notices of recalls and alerts from both FDA and USDA. Visitors to the site can report a problem or make inquiries.