Issue Number 466            June 21, 2004

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

  1. CDC made great strides in viral hepatitis prevention under the leadership of Dr. Harold Margolis
  2. Seize the day: Now's the time to register for the July 8 Net Conference "Current Issues in Immunization"
  3. Update: IAC posts revised Spanish-language immunization screening questionnaires on its website
  4. New: You can modify the web-text versions of IAC's standing orders protocols to meet your practice or clinic needs
  5. Continuing education: For a global immunization perspective, subscribe to these high-quality international listservs

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ABBREVIATIONS: AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IAC, Immunization Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; NIP, National Immunization Program; VIS, Vaccine Information Statement; VPD, vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health Organization.
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June 21, 2004
CDC MADE GREAT STRIDES IN VIRAL HEPATITIS PREVENTION UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. HAROLD MARGOLIS

In April, CDC announced that Harold S. Margolis, MD, will be retiring on June 30 from his position as director, Division of Viral Hepatitis. Dr. Margolis will become the director of the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative in Seoul, Korea. Before moving to Seoul, he will work at the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta.

Dr. Margolis began his career with CDC in 1975 as an EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service) officer, Alaska Investigation Division, Anchorage. In 1981, he transferred to the Division of Hepatitis and Viral Enteritis, Phoenix. In 1987, he became the chief, Hepatitis Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases. Under his outstanding leadership, and with his vision and tireless effort, the Division of Viral Hepatitis was created in 2001, and he was appointed director. He is also the director of WHO's Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Viral Hepatitis.

In his 29-year career with CDC, Dr. Margolis has made significant contributions to viral hepatitis prevention. Following is information provided by CDC:

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The impact of Dr. Margolis's scientific achievements is especially evident in the area of hepatitis B virus prevention. He was the architect of the national Hepatitis B Elimination Strategy, and under his direction, both perinatal and universal childhood immunization have been successfully implemented. These activities have successfully reduced transmission among infants and young children by 70%-80%. This elimination strategy is a model for vaccination programs worldwide. In addition to supporting global hepatitis B immunization activities, Dr. Margolis was instrumental in setting up the Safe Injection Global Network at WHO in recognition of the need to direct efforts to prevent health care related transmission of bloodborne pathogens through unsafe injections. Dramatic achievements in the reduction of hepatitis A through immunization also have been realized during Dr. Margolis's tenure, and he is responsible for overseeing the National Hepatitis C Prevention Strategy, and for bringing attention and resources to the prevention of an important chronic disease of infectious etiology.

Dr. Margolis's scientific accomplishments and leadership skills have brought him respect throughout the scientific community, both nationally and internationally. He has been invited to testify before the U.S. Congress and state legislatures; to serve as a consultant to the World Health Organization; to sit on numerous review panels; to serve as an advisor to the National Institutes of Health Committee on Digestive Diseases; and to chair workshops and symposia at national and international programs. In 2000, he hosted the 10th International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease. During Dr. Margolis's tenure at CDC he has served in a number of additional capacities including senior advisor, Smallpox Preparedness and Response, Office of the Director, CDC (2001-2002).

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In commenting on Dr. Margolis's retirement, IAC executive director Dr. Deborah Wexler reflected on him as a colleague and leader. "Hal is a dear friend," she said. "He's engaging, stimulating, and challenging. He's also been a mentor: With his encyclopedic knowledge of viral hepatitis, he's definitely THE source to seek for information. Hal is also a visionary who has developed innovative strategies about how public health agencies, such as hepatitis, STD, HIV, and immunization, can work together to achieve viral hepatitis elimination. Replacing him as director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis will be a daunting task."
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June 21, 2004
SEIZE THE DAY: NOW'S THE TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE JULY 8 NET CONFERENCE "CURRENT ISSUES IN IMMUNIZATION"

Scheduled for July 8, from noon to 1 pm ET, the Net Conference "Current Issues in Immunization" is designed to provide clinicians with up-to-date information on immunization. Two broad sessions topics will be covered:

  1. Influenza recommendations for 2004-05 (children 6-23 months, household contacts of children 0-23 months, health care workers, and live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV])
  2. Education and training resources (Internet, electronic, and print)

The conference requires pre-registration, as space is limited. Registration will close when the course is full or on July 4 (midnight ET).

To register for the conference, go to:
http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/isd/ciinc

For additional information, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/ed/ciinc or call (404) 639-8465.
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June 21, 2004
UPDATE: IAC POSTS REVISED SPANISH-LANGUAGE IMMUNIZATION SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRES ON ITS WEBSITE

In April, IAC revised two popular patient education sheets, "Screening Questionnaire for Child and Teen Immunization" and "Screening Questionnaire for Adult Immunization." Spanish-language versions of both are now available for downloading from IAC's website.

Your clinic or practice staff can save time by having patients fill out the questionnaires while waiting to be seen by a health professional. Each questionnaire comes with an English-language professional-education sheet to help staff interpret the answers.

CHILD AND TEEN QUESTIONNAIRE
To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of "Cuestionario de la vacunacion de ninos y adolescentes," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4060-01.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4060-01.htm

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of the English-language "Screening Questionnaire for Child and Teen Immunization," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4060scr.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4060scr.htm

ADULT QUESTIONNAIRE
To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of "Cuestionario para la vacunacion de adultos," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/4065-01.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/4065-01.htm

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of the English-language "Screening Questionnaire for Adult Immunization," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4065scr.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4065scr.htm
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June 21, 2004
NEW: YOU CAN MODIFY THE WEB-TEXT VERSIONS OF IAC'S STANDING ORDERS PROTOCOLS TO MEET YOUR PRACTICE OR CLINIC NEEDS

Intended to help increase adult immunization rates, standing orders protocols are guidelines health professionals can use to allow appropriately licensed individuals to administer vaccines without a physician's direct order.

In the past year, IAC has developed seven standing orders protocols for administering vaccine to adults. We've already announced their availability as ready-to-copy (PDF) documents (see article #3 in IAC EXPRESS #455, dated 4/12/04: http://www.immunize.org/genr.d/issue455.htm#n3). These are now available in web-text (HTML) format on IAC's website. The advantage of providing these documents in HTML format is that it allows providers to cut, paste, and modify these protocols to create ones that meet the needs of their practice or clinic.

SEVEN STANDING ORDERS PROTOCOLS IN HTML FORMAT
To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Hepatitis A Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3077.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Hepatitis B Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3076.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3079.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Meningococcal Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3081.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Pneumococcal Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3075.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Tetanus-Diphtheria Toxoid to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3078.htm

To access the web-text (HTML) version of "Standing Orders for Administering Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine to Adults," go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3080.htm

PROTOCOL FOR MANAGING ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION TO VACCINES
In addition to the standing orders protocols, IAC has developed a professional education sheet "Medical Management of Vaccine Reactions in Adult Patients." It includes "Emergency Medical Protocol for Management of Anaphylactic Reactions in Adults."

To access the web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3082.htm
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June 21, 2004
CONTINUING EDUCATION: FOR A GLOBAL IMMUNIZATION PERSPECTIVE, SUBSCRIBE TO THESE HIGH-QUALITY INTERNATIONAL LISTSERVS

For an understanding of global public health issues, including immunization and viral hepatitis, you might want to subscribe to one or more international listservs. IAC regards the ones below as among the best.

SIGNpost (a publication of the Safe Injection Global Network [SIGN]). Created by WHO, SIGN is a comprehensive resource on international injection safety issues. To subscribe to SIGNpost, a weekly moderated email forum, go to: http://www.who.int/injection_safety/newsletter/SIGNPost Fill in the subscription information requested at the bottom of the screen. You can visit SIGN's home page at http://www.who.int/injection_safety

Weekly Epidemiological Record (a WHO publication). Communicates epidemiological information on cases and outbreaks of diseases under the International Health Regulations and on other communicable diseases of public health importance. To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@who.ch Leave the subject line blank, and type "subscribe wer-reh" in the body of the message.

VHPB email service (a publication of the Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board [VHPB]). The objective of VHPB is to contribute to the control and prevention of viral hepatitis by drawing attention to viral hepatitis, issuing prevention guidelines, and encouraging actions to improve control and prevention. The email service contains current information from the VHPB website and the organization's newsletter, "Viral Hepatitis." To subscribe, go to: http://www.vhpb.org Click on "VHPB e-mail service" in the left column.

ProMED-digest (a publication of the International Society of Infectious Diseases). Publishes updates on disease outbreaks around the world several times a week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.isid.org/promedmail/subscribe.lasso

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