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Friday,
May 30, 2003 "The reason for collecting, Forge WH et al. |
SPECIAL EDITION ► Pre-Conference Information Final details for next week's 8th Annual Statewide Epidemiology Seminar, exclusively on these pages. ► Poster Session and Reception This year for the first time, a panel of judges will be on hand to select the best posters in four different categories. Plus, you won't want to miss the chance to greet long-lost colleagues at the concurrent reception. ► Speakers A thoughtfully prepared roster of experts in their fields will be on hand to share their knowledge. ► Surveys In an effort to bring you a bigger, better seminar next year, we're asking everyone who attends this year's conference to fill out the survey included in their welcome bag. ► Activities Interested in checking out the local sites while you're in the Orlando area? Need we say there is a LOT to do in the evening after an exhilarating day of learning and networking? And, in every issue... ► Weekly Influenza Report Confirmed cases for Week 20, ending May 17, 2003. ► Arboviral Disease Report Statistics for the week ending May 26, 2003. ► Weekly Disease Table Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, Weekly Morbidity Report. Week 21, ending May 24, 2003. Selected diseases and conditions (confirmed cases). |
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A r t i c l e s: |
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Kathryn S. Teates, MPH, Communicable Disease Surveillance & Reporting Manager
Caroline Collins, Arbovirus
Surveillance Coordinator and Carina Blackmore, M.S. Vet. Med., Ph.D.,
Deputy State Public Health Veterinarian
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The telephone number for the Marriott Hotel Lake Mary is 407.995.1100. The Web site is located at www.marriott.com/MCOML. Lake Mary is situated 15 miles NE of Orlando. Be sure to check in at our conference registration desk in the first floor Grand Foyer upon arrival, to pick up your conference materials plus your name badge. This is essential if you're registering for CEUs. The friendly personnel there can direct you to our other conference sites within the hotel. Remember that breakfast and lunch are included in the cost of registration. Dinner, however, will be on your own both Monday and Tuesday evening. We've planned it this way to allow our guests more time to interact socially with friends and colleagues.
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to top The reception, which starts at 6:00 p.m., will take place in Salons E-H on the first floor of the hotel. Attire is business casual, and there will be a cash bar. Please be sure to arrive early if you're presenting a poster, so you'll have plenty of time to set up. You'll also need to disassemble your exhibit before you leave for dinner. Neither conference staff nor hotel staff will be responsible for this task.
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to top Tuesday's speakers speakers are - Jennifer Bencie, Seminole County
Health Department Wednesday's speakers are - Alan Rowan, Florida Department of Health Some of these may change, so check your agenda and our conference desk for last-minute revisions.
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to top It'll only take a few moments
of your time, but the input you provide will be invaluable to
us.
While in Orlando you you can watch a performance of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney, see a murder mystery at the Murderwatch Dinner Theatre, discover ancestors of the Incas at the Orlando Museum of Art, or take in the Tiffany lamp exhibit at the Morse Museum of Art. These events are all happening while our seminar is in town. To find out more, log on to the CVB website at http://www.orlandoinfo.com/cvb/ and click on the Vacation Information button located around the middle of the screen. Our host hotel concierge can offer suggestions, maps and driving directions. We can also personally recommend the following: Angel's Diner - Two locations in town, both staffed with friendly waiters and waitresses and a huge menu of American comfort foods served in a 50's style diner. Clean and bright and fun, with an old-fashioned Wurlitzer at every booth. Prices are affordable.
Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center - A wonderland of fauna and
flora, all situated beneath an enormous glass dome. If you want to experience the
feel of Key West you can head to the reef, a shipwreck with tall drinks, fresh
seafood and live music. For the most stylish buffet in town, there's a restaurant
right by the waterfall where you can people-watch to your heart's content. The
magnificent hotel lobby and arboretum alone are worth the drive to this spot,
and the stroll around the arboretum is a pleasant alternative to all that
sitting you did earlier in the day. National report: During week 20, four isolates (3 influenza A and 1 influenza B viruses) were made from 511 specimens tested by the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories this week. The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza as reported by the vital statistics offices of 122 U.S. cities was 6.3% during Week 20. This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 7.5% for this time. The proportion of patient visits to sentinel physicians for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 0.9% nationwide. The State and Territorial Epidemiologists in Massachusetts reported regional influenza activity. Twenty-one states, New York City and Washington D.C. reported sporadic activity, and 24 states reported no influenza activity. Since September 29, 11.6% (n=11,027) of the 94,966 specimens tested nationwide have been positive. Three thousand three hundred and eighty-one (53%) of the 6,324 influenza A viruses have been subtyped; 2,534 (75%) were influenza A (H1N1 and H1N2) viruses and 847 (25%) were influenza A (H3N2) viruses. Influenza A viruses were reported more frequently than influenza B viruses (range 58% - 86%) in the New England, East North Central, Pacific, Mountain, and Mid-Atlantic regions, and influenza B viruses were reported more frequently than influenza A viruses (range 53% - 78%) in the West North Central, West South Central, South Atlantic, and East South Central regions. CDC has characterized 173 influenza A (H1N1), 55 influenza A (H1N2), 105 influenza A (H3N2) and 254 influenza B isolates antigenically. The neuraminidase typing for one H1 viruses is pending. All influenza A strains were similar to corresponding vaccine strains. One influenza B strain was more similar to B/Shizuoka/15/01 than to the vaccine strain (B/Hong Kong/ 330/01). International report: The Netherlands: No further updates have been found for the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H7N7 HPAI) in chickens which began during February 2003 in The Netherlands. Between February and April of 2003, this outbreak had spread to Belgium and Germany, to swine herds in The Netherlands, and to humans. The 83 confirmed cases of human H7N7 in the Netherlands included one death, 79 with conjunctivitis and 13 with mild ILI. The WHO Influenza Collaborating Centers are to begin production of a reagent kit to identify H7N7 viruses. More information about this outbreak of H7N7 HPAI can be found at: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_04_24/en/ Asia: An avian flu virus strain, influenza A (H5N1), was recovered from two influenza cases in Hong Kong earlier this year. CDC has issued recommendations on increased influenza surveillance in the United States. Of particular importance is to consider influenza cultures on patients, with recent travel histories to Asia, who are hospitalized with unexplained pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome or severe respiratory illness. * Reporting is incomplete for this week. Numbers may change as more reports are received. For additional information on influenza and influenza surveillance results in Florida, please visit our website at http://www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/epi/htopics/flu/2002/index.htm Links to current diseases of concern: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): http://www.doh.state.fl.us/PHNursing/SARS/SARSindex.html
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Weekly Update: During the period May 20 through May 26, 2003, the following arboviral activity (St. Louis encephalitis [SLE] virus, eastern equine encephalomyelitis [EEE] virus, West Nile [WN] virus and dengue virus) was recorded for Florida: Human: No cases of arboviral meningo-encephalitis were reported this week. Gilchrist County is under Medical Alert for EEE virus. Sentinel Chickens: Two seroconversions to WN virus were confirmed in Indian River and Lee counties. Six seroconversions to EEE virus were confirmed in Alachua (2) and Orange (4) counties. This week, 853 samples were tested from 23 counties. Bird Mortality: One dead bird from Madison County was reported positive for EEE virus this week. Equine*: Five EEE virus infections in horses were reported from Marion (2), Osceola, Seminole and Suwannee counties. Wild and Captive Birds: See http://www.pherec.org/DECS Arbovirus Ecology to view database. Mosquito Pools: No mosquito pools were reported positive for WN or EEE virus this week. Current Bird Mortality Reporting Guidelines: 1. Report dead birds to www.wildflorida.org/bird/. From that site, you can link to online bird identification sites. There is value in the information submitted even if the bird is not tested, especially for those counties which don't have sentinel chickens or who have sites situated sparsely in the county. 2. The DOH Lab in Tampa will test anything that's shipped in good condition. Instructions for submission of dead birds are found at: http://www9.myflorida.com/Environment/hsee/arbo/index.htm Select "How Do I Report?" then choose "Protocol for Collecting and Shipping Bird Carcasses" under "Dead Birds" subtopic. 3. If local agency must cut back on bird submissions, consider only sending crows and jays. 4. If personnel are not able to offer pick-up service, have a drop off station and provide the caller with clear handling instructions. A county may modify their testing approach depending on the availability of other surveillance systems in the county. The Disease Outbreak Information Hotline offers updates on medical alert status and surveillance at 888-880-5782. Florida is currently at "Level 1" in the Arbovirus Response Plan (see http://www9.myflorida.com/Environment/hsee/arbo/index.htm). DOH Press releases can be seen at http://apps3.doh.state.fl.us/IRM/PressReleaseSearch/search.cfm. * Equine cases are determined by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For more information please see the DOH web site
at: Acknowledgements/data sources: county health
departments, Department of Health Laboratories, Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services, mosquito control agencies, Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission, medical providers and veterinarians. Information on confirmed cases cited by Bureau
of Epidemiology Morbidity Report for Week 21, ending May 24, 2003 can be
accessed at: |
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| Bureau of Epidemiology |
EpiUpdate Archives Florida Department of Health My Florida Contact Us |
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