Issue
Number 361
January 21, 2003
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- IAC reorganizes and expands its Vaccine Safety resources
- New translation! MMR Vaccine Information Statement now in
Spanish
- JCAHO's article on protecting newborns from hepatitis B now on
IAC's website
- New! "Hepatitis B and Refugees: A Clinical Perspective"
PowerPoint presentation now available on CDC website
- Kids with hepatitis can go to camp!
- CDC publishes update on influenza activity for the current
season
- Free! IAC's "Roll Up Your Sleeves" pre-teen hepatitis B poster
available for the asking
- CDC requests information about encephalopathy cases in
children with influenza
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January 21, 2003
IAC REORGANIZES AND EXPANDS ITS VACCINE SAFETY RESOURCES
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has added a variety of vaccine
safety journal articles and other resources to its website and organized
them to make them more accessible and user-friendly for providers and
parents.
Grouped into seven topic areas, IAC's Vaccine Safety resources provide
sound, scientific information acquired from well-regarded sources. Six topic
areas cover issues about which some parents have been misinformed by
inaccurate information found on the Internet and picked up by the mainstream
media. They are autism, thimerosal, diabetes, asthma, hepatitis B vaccine,
and inflammatory bowel disease. The seventh area covers general information
on vaccine safety.
To access all of IAC's Vaccine Safety resources, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety
To access autism information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/autism.htm
To access thimerosal information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/thimerosal.htm
To access diabetes information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/diabetes.htm
To access asthma information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/asthma.htm
To access hepatitis B information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/hepb.htm
To access inflammatory bowel disease information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/ibd.htm
To access general vaccine safety information, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/safety/general.htm
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January 21, 2003
NEW TRANSLATION! MMR VACCINE INFORMATION STATEMENT NOW IN
SPANISH
The Spanish-language MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) Vaccine
Information Statement (VIS) is now available on the Immunization
Action Coalition (IAC) website. IAC gratefully acknowledges the
California Department of Health for providing the Spanish
translation.
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF) copy of the MMR VIS in Spanish,
go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/spmmr.pdf
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF) copy of the MMR VIS in English,
go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/mmr02int.pdf
For more information about the use of VISs, and for VISs in a
total of 28 languages, visit IAC's VIS page at
http://www.immunize.org/vis
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January 21, 2003
JCAHO'S ARTICLE ON PROTECTING NEWBORNS FROM HEPATITIS B NOW ON
IAC'S WEBSITE
"Weaving a Safety Net to Protect Newborns from HBV," was
published in the June 2002 issue of "Joint Commission
Benchmark," a publication of the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
The two-page article succinctly makes the case for giving the
first dose of hepatitis B vaccine to newborns before they leave
the hospital. Better yet, it presents practical ways to ensure
that no babies get left out. Ideas are offered for increasing
participation of all members of the hospital team and increasing
communication among mother, doctor, clinic, and hospital staff.
To access a camera-ready (PDF) version of the article on the IAC
website, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/birthdose/benchmark1.pdf
The publication "Joint Commission Benchmark" is intended to help
accredited health care settings achieve performance measurement
and improvement goals. To access and subscribe to it on the
JCAHO website, go to:
http://www.jcrinc.com/subscribers/benchmark.asp?durki=207
For additional subscription information, call (800) 346-0085,
extension 558.
For information about the birth dose from a variety of sources,
visit the IAC web page "Give Hepatitis B Vaccine at Birth to All
Babies" at http://www.immunize.org/birthdose
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January 21, 2003
NEW! "HEPATITIS B AND REFUGEES: A CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE"
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION NOW AVAILABLE ON CDC WEBSITE
Intended for use by health professionals who work with refugees,
"Hepatitis B and Refugees: A Clinical Perspective," PowerPoint
presentation is now available on the website of the Division of
Viral Hepatitis (DVH), a division of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Developed by Deborah L. Wexler, MD, Executive Director of the
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC), the presentation has
52 slides. It covers many aspects of the disease including its
geographic distribution, demographics, symptoms, diagnosis,
treatment, sequelae, and prevention. You can download the
presentation and modify it to suit your needs.
DVH's website has a wealth of information for health
professionals and their patients, including additional
PowerPoint presentations.
To access the refugee PowerPoint presentation, as well as HTML
and camera-ready (PDF) versions, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/slideset/refugee
To access additional educational materials on hepatitis B,
including other PowerPoint presentations, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/index.htm#materials
To access an array of information on hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E
from the DVH website, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis
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January 21, 2003
KIDS WITH HEPATITIS CAN GO TO CAMP!
Starting this summer, children with hepatitis B or C will have a
chance to attend summer camp at two of the top medical camps in
the country, thanks to the national nonprofit organization PKIDs
(Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) and Paul Newman's
Association of Hole In The Wall Gang Camps.
PKIDs, which supports families touched by viral hepatitis and
HIV/AIDS, has acquired a number of slots for children with
chronic hepatitis B or C at camps in upstate New York (Double
"H" Hole in the Woods Ranch in Lake Luzerne) and Florida (Boggy
Creek Gang Camp in Eustis). The camps specialize in providing a
fun, traditional summer camp experience for children and teens
with medical needs.
Children must be between the ages of 6 and 16 and must be
receiving medical treatment of any kind. PKIDs and the camps
will pay travel and camp costs for qualified children--the
families pay nothing.
"Children with hepatitis B and C don't get a lot of press, and
there are not many programs available to help them," said Trish
Parnell, director of PKIDs. "We are overjoyed that the Double
"H" Hole in the Woods Ranch in New York and the Boggy Creek Gang
Camp in Florida have opened their doors to these kids who
struggle daily with infections that can severely damage their
livers."
Any physician or healthcare worker who has pediatric patients
who might be interested in attending one of the camps should
contact PKIDs at (877) 557-5437 or email
pkids@pkids.org for an
application.
PKIDs is also seeking donations to help pay the costs of sending
children to the two camps.
To visit the PKIDs website, go to: http://www.pkids.org
For more information, contact PKIDs' communications director,
Christine Kukka, at (360) 695-0293 or ckukka@pkids.org
To visit the website of the Double "H" Hole in the Woods Ranch,
go to: http://www.doublehranch.org
To visit the website of the Boggy Creek Gang Camp, go to:
http://www.boggycreek.org
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January 21, 2003
CDC PUBLISHES UPDATE ON INFLUENZA ACTIVITY FOR THE CURRENT
SEASON
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published
"Update: Influenza Activity--United States, 2002-03 Season" in
the January 17 issue of the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report" (MMWR). The opening paragraph of the Editorial Note is
reprinted below, with the exception of one reference.
***************************
Influenza activity was low from late September to early January,
except in a few states. However, testing and reporting might be
limited during holiday periods, and estimates of recent activity
could change as more data become available. Influenza activity
is expected to increase during coming weeks. Although more
influenza B viruses have been reported than influenza A viruses
during the early part of the season (58% of them from Texas),
more states have reported influenza A viruses than influenza B
viruses. The virus types that will predominate during the
remainder of the season are unpredictable. The influenza viruses
that have been characterized antigenically to date have been
well matched by the vaccine strains. Because vaccination is the
best prevention against influenza, CDC encourages continuing
vaccination efforts throughout the season, especially among
persons at high risk for serious complications from influenza,
health-care workers, and contacts of persons at high risk.
****************************
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5202a3.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue of
MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5202.pdf
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR), visit CDC's MMWR website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ Select "Free Subscription" from the menu
at the left of the screen. Once you have submitted the required
information, weekly issues of the MMWR and all new ACIP
statements (published as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports")
will arrive automatically by email.
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January 21, 2003
FREE! IAC'S "ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES" PRE-TEEN HEPATITIS B POSTER
AVAILABLE FOR THE ASKING
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is giving away the pre-teen hepatitis B poster "Roll Up Your Sleeves." IAC gratefully
acknowledges the State of North Carolina Division of Maternal
and Child Health for giving us the artwork to reprint the poster
a few years ago.
If you are involved in pre-teen health and immunization, you can
use the poster to promote your vaccination clinic or raise
awareness about the importance of hepatitis B vaccination. The
11" x 17" glossy color poster is mailed folded in half
(8-1/2" x 11").
Supplies are limited (2,800 left), so please make your request
as soon as possible in quantities from 1 to 500. Orders for free
posters come in quickly and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To view an image of the poster online, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/images/q2010.jpg
Donations to IAC to cover costs are enthusiastically accepted
but not required.
Request the poster online at http://www.immunize.org/poster/
When you order, you will be asked to specify the following:
- The number of posters you want (limit is 500); shipped
only to U.S. addresses
- How you plan to use the posters
- Your name and complete contact information
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January 21, 2003
CDC REQUESTS INFORMATION ABOUT ENCEPHALOPATHY CASES IN CHILDREN
WITH INFLUENZA
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published
Notice to Readers, "Request for Information About Acute
Encephalopathy Cases in Children with Influenza," in the
January 17 issue of the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report"
(MMWR). It is printed below in its entirety, with the exception
of one reference.
**********************
Since the mid-1990s, approximately 150 cases of acute
encephalopathy have been reported in Japanese children with
influenza virus infection. These cases have been characterized
by fever and rapid onset of encephalopathy and resulted in a
high frequency of neurologic sequelae and death. Most of the
children have had laboratory-confirmed evidence of influenza.
To determine if a similar pattern of influenza-associated
encephalopathy cases is occurring in the United States, CDC is
requesting information on any case meeting certain criteria. The
criteria include a person aged 18 years and under with altered
mental status or personality change lasting more than 24 hours
and occurring within 5 days of the onset of an acute febrile
respiratory illness, laboratory or rapid diagnostic test
evidence of acute influenza virus infection associated with the
respiratory illness, and diagnosis of the condition in the
United States.
Cases that have occurred after December 31, 1997, can be
reported to Tim Uyeki (telephone (404) 639-0277 or email
tuyeki@cdc.gov) or Jim Sejvar (telephone (404) 639-4657 or
email zea3@cdc.gov) at CDC. The information will be used to
determine if additional investigation is warranted.
**********************
To obtain the complete text of the notice online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5202a4.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue of
MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5202.pdf
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