MMWR News Synopsis for October 23, 2014

Polio-Free Certification and Lessons Learned — South-East Asia Region, March 2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Stopping indigenous wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission in India was a tremendous effort that required commitment at every level of government, provision of adequate fiscal and human resources, development of innovations, and engagement with the private sector. Specific lessons learned have been successfully applied to improve childhood immunization services in India and to help overcome the challenges to polio eradication in other countries. In March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region was declared to be free from circulating indigenous WPV. Until 2011, only four countries remained that had never interrupted WPV transmission: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. WPV exportations from these reservoirs have occurred into many countries that had no previous WPV transmission and caused outbreaks. India, a member of the WHO South-East Asia Region, had its last WPV case in January 2011, which was also the last case in the region. Presently, 80 percent of the world’s population lives in areas certified as polio free.

Influenza Outbreak in a Vaccinated Population — USS Ardent, February 2014

Theodore L. Aquino DO MBA
United States Navy Reserve Medical Officer
(850) 284-1046
taquino@health.usf.edu

This influenza outbreak highlights the risk for an H3N2 influenza outbreak in a cohort of vaccinated and otherwise healthy young persons. In February 2014, 25 of the 102 crew members of a US Navy minesweeper sought medical care because of influenza-like illness attributed to an influenza A(H3N2) virus antigenically similar to the H3N2 component of the 2013-14 vaccine. Among the crew members, 99 percent had received influenza vaccination, including 24 of the 25 ill persons. Outbreak management included use of an antiviral medication, exclusion of the ill from the ship for 48 hours, disinfection, hand washing, and cough etiquette. No crew member had onset of symptoms more than 6 days after the first crew member had symptoms and ultimately 43 working days were lost.

Nonfatal Injuries 1 Week After Hurricane Sandy — New York City Metropolitan Area, October, 2012

Jacquelynn Osoro
WTC Health Registry
347-396-2919
josoro@health.nyc.gov

Although many injuries occur when people have to evacuate through water and debris, most injuries are associated with clean-up or repairs of damaged residences. Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy on October 29, 2012, caused extensive flooding and damage to homes and businesses in the New York City metro area. Many enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Registry lived in flooded areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This first Registry publication based on the Registry’s Hurricane Sandy Survey focused on storm-related injuries that occurred within 1 week after the storm. Ten percent of those who lived in flooded areas reported an injury.The most common injuries reported were arm/hand cuts, back strain/sprain, and leg cuts. The greatest number of injuries occurred among persons who attempted to clean or repair damaged or destroyed homes.

History and Evolution of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 1964–2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The ACIP has been in existence for 50 years. It provides expert, external advice to the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services on the safe and effective use of vaccines in the civilian population of the U.S., using an explicit evidence-based system to develop vaccine recommendations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The ACIP is chartered as a federal advisory committee that provides expert external advice to CDC and the Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services on use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States. In the 50 years since its appointment in 1964 by the Surgeon General of the US Public Health Service, ACIP’s role has remained essentially unchanged. ACIP was designated a federal advisory committee in 1972, whose members would be external to US Government. Passage of the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) in 1993 gave ACIP a unique statutory authority to designate vaccines to be included in VFC.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES