Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Email Updates for April 13, 2015

Have you considered your neighbors’ or community’s disaster preparedness in your emergency planning? Something as small as meeting your neighbors or joining an emergency response group in your community could greatly improve your own preparedness as well as the resilience of your community. Learn more about ways you can get involved in our latest blog post.

The city of Boston experienced one of the most severe winters to date this year—with 4 winter storms and over 108 inches of snow. Take a look into the city’s response and community resilience in our newest blog post, featuring Boston’s Public Health Commission.

When the first ever outbreak of listeria in caramel apples occurred in the U.S. last year, CDC’s Listeria Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) Project set out to crack the case. With the help of local and state health departments and the FDA, CDC’s public health investigators conducted laboratory, epidemiological, and trace back investigations to identify the source of the outbreak and prevent future cases. Take an inside look into this investigation in our latest blog.

In the U.S. a person is likely to get the norovirus about five times in their life. This virus, often called “food poisoning” or the “stomach flu,” causes stomach pains, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Chances are you have experienced it before, and hope you never experience it again. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a vaccine that could prevent you from getting norovirus in the first place? Learn how CDC is working to make this a reality in our latest blog post.

Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Email Updates for February 17, 2015

Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Email Updates for March 2, 2015

March is National Nutrition Month, and a great time to review the food in your emergency kit to make sure it is healthy and safe. Learn more about the foods you should choose for your emergency food supply and the best way to safely store your emergency kit food in our latest blog.

Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Email Updates for February 2, 2015

Great work starts with a great leader. CDC’s Office of Public Health and Response, OPHPR, is privileged to welcome a great leader to our team, Director Rear Admiral Stephen C. Redd, MD. Learn more about Dr. Redd’s background at CDC and plans for the future of OPHPR in our new blog post.

Natural disasters, industrial accidents, terrorism attacks, and pandemics all have the capacity to result in large numbers of critically ill or injured patients. A barrage of patients with various clinical needs can quickly exhaust the care delivery capacity of a healthcare system. It is important for clinicians to have a disaster response plan that addresses approaches to maintaining quality care during times of patient surge and resource scarcity. During this COCA Call, participants will learn about the series of suggestions that focus on the management of multiple critically ill patients during a disaster or pandemic, and the importance of collaboration among front-line clinicians, hospital administrators, professional societies, and public health or government officials.

Jenny Gottstein takes a new approach to emergency preparedness by using interactive games to offer people a more social, memorable and fun way to tackle disaster preparedness. Checkout what Jenny’s recent cross-country train trip taught her about how games can be used to help people prepare for disaster in our latest blog post.

From January 1 to February 6, 2015, 121 people from 17 states and Washington DC were reported to have measles. Most of these cases are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California; however, unlinked importations continue to occur. The majority of the people who got measles were unvaccinated or did not know their vaccination status. This highly contagious, acute viral illness spreads quickly in unvaccinated populations, highlighting the importance of protecting children and adults against measles in the U.S. through vaccination. During this COCA call, clinicians will learn about the current measles situation in the US. In addition, they will learn about clinical guidelines for patient assessment and management, and age-appropriate vaccination recommendations for US residents including those who travel abroad.

A recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found influenza A (H3N2) viruses are the predominant strain this year, and a little more than half of samples analyzed were found to be antigenically different (drifted) from the H3N2 vaccine strain. During this COCA Webinar, clinicians will learn about the current state of flu activity related to children, the importance of continued vaccination despite the mismatch and low vaccine effectiveness, and strategies for using antiviral therapy early to prevent and treat influenza.

For some of us, this winter has been anything but picturesque, let alone adorable. As winter stretches on, the latest Public Health Matters blog will remind you of the importance of winter safety… with a few cute puppies thrown in for good measure. Check out the blog for tips on everything from avoiding frostbite or heating your home safely.

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