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Vol 16 no 51 |
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Final Issue: Volume 16 Number 51 |
Published on: 21 December 2006 |
Final Issue in PDF |
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News Archives
Last updated: Volume 14, No.51 (PDF file, 374 KB)
Archives | News Archives 2004: Page 1| News Archives 2005 Page 2 | News 16 December 2004
News Archives: | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Director for the new European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control named
The management board of the new European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has named Mrs Zsusanna Jakab as the Centre’s new director (1). Mrs. Jakab is currently Secretary of State (the most senior civil servant at the ministry) in Hungary’s Ministry of Health. She has been responsible for overseeing Hungary’s implementation of the European Union (EU) policies and laws in her area, administering the spending of EU financial assistance, and managing Hungary’s national public health programme. Mrs Jakab worked as a Director in WHO Europe for 11 years before being invited by to join the ministry by the Hungarian government in 2002.
Further details about the new director and the set-up work in 2005 are available on the EUROPA website (2).
The post of director of the ECDC was advertised in the EU’s Official Journal and in the press in August and early September. Thirty-five applications were received, with candidates coming from a wide range of EU countries. The European Commission was responsible for assessing the applications and, after a rigorous process of interviews and screening, it presented the ECDC Management Board with a shortlist of three candidates.
With the director now in place it is expected that recruitment of other staff will begin early in 2005, so that the Centre can become operational in May 2005. The Centre has a budget of €4.8 million for 2005, so its initial staff will be quite small. The Centre’s budget is expected to rise to about € 29 million by 2007.
References
1.
2.
Rabies infected area in France and new rabies guidance published
Three cases of rabies have occurred in dogs illegally imported into France in 2004, with implications for British travellers to France. In the most recent incident, in August 2004, the rabid dog is known to have come into contact with other dogs during its infectious period, and it is possible that other dogs may have been infected as a result (1). As a precautionary measure, France has declared the area in which this latest dog travelled during its illness as "rabies infected" from September 2004 up to the end of February 2005. This is an extension of the original period, of three months, as infected dogs may incubate the virus for up to six months. This area of south west France comprises the three Départments of Gironde, Dordogne, and Lot et Garonne.
British individuals who are bitten or have had other types of close exposure to animals while travelling in this part of France, during this period, should be managed as if they had been in a rabies endemic area. They may be offered rabies vaccine or rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin, if indicated, following a risk assessment.
These incidents highlight the fact that people who have had potential rabies exposures should receive an individual assessment to decide on further management. For expert advice in the United Kingdom contact:
England
- The Health Protection Agency’s Centre for Infections Virus Reference Department, tel: 020 8200 4400
- Centre for Infections duty doctor service, tel: 020 8200 6868
Wales
- National Public Health Service for Wales, tel: 029 20742178, out of hours tel: 029 207 47747 and ask for the medical virologist on call.
Scotland
- Health Protection Scotland, tel: 0141 300 1100
Northern Ireland
- Consultant in Communicable Disease Control in the relevant Health Board, or Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Northern Ireland) tel: 02890 263765.
References
1.
New UK rabies guidance
New publications on rabies have recently been updated and made available. These include:
1. Department of Health, Welsh Office, Scottish Office Department of Health, DHSS (Northern Ireland). Immunisation Against Infectious Disease (chapter 27). London: Department of Health, 1996. Available at <http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/79/03/04097903.pdf>.
2. HPA. The public health management of a suspected case of human rabies - A standard operating procedure for communication and action. London: Health Protecion Agency, 30 November 2004. Availabale at
<http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/rabies/final_rabies_SOP_301004.pdf>.
Note: This is the new communications SOP for how the agencies will work together on managing a human case of rabies. available
3.HPA. Duty doctor joint protocol for rabies queries. London: Health Protection Agency, 2004. Available at:
<http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/rabies/rabies_duty_doc_protocol_dec_04.pdf>.
Note: this duty doctor protocol for rabies queries (mainly post-exposure prophylaxis). This is for use by duty doctors at the HPA’s Centre for Infections, but may be helpful for other colleagues in the HPA if they wish to refer to it or adapt it for local use.
4. DEFRA. Defra rabies vontingency plan (Draft).. London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 7 December 2004. Available at
<http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/rabies/rabies_contingency/>.
5. Department of Health. Memorandum on Rabies – prevention and control. London: Department of Health, February 2000. Available at
<http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/06/57/04080657.pdf>
Influenza pandemic preparedness
On the 8 December 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a further warning statement on the risk of a future influenza pandemic, and urged countries to develop or update their influenza pandemic preparedness plans.
<http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/preparedness2004_12_08/en/>.
The continuing widespread outbreaks of avian influenza A (H5N1) among poultry in south east Asia remain of particular concern in light of the possibility that they might give rise to an influenza strain with pandemic potential. Although the global spread of the next pandemic cannot be stopped once it has started, preparedness will help to reduce the impact in terms of morbidity and mortality in the population, and may also help to reduce the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.
An expert meeting on pandemic preparedness planning, convened by WHO, took place on 13-15 December 2004. In coming weeks, WHO will be publishing a national assessment tool to evaluate and focus national preparedness preparations and will be providing guidance on stockpiling antiviral drugs and vaccines. WHO is continuing to expedite work on the development of pandemic virus vaccines and research into the mechanisms of the emergence and spread of influenza pandemics.
Agency website makes top one hundred
The Health Protection Agency website has been rated one of the 100 most useful websites by readers, contributors, and journalists of The Guardian Online <http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,,1374155,00.html>. The list is broken down into twenty categories, and the Agency site is listed as one of the five most useful sites for health information. The article says of the site “The Health Protection Agency (formerly Public Health Laboratory Service) has masses of information, including all the symptoms, facts and figures you could ever want on infectious diseases…”. The information on the other aspects of the Agency’s work is currently being expanded, and will include information on radiation from April, following the merger with the National Radiological Protection Board.
The four other sites listed under health are the National Electronic Library for Health <www.nelh.nhs.uk>, the Food Standards Agency <www.food.gov.uk>, the British Medical Journal <www.bmj.com>, and Avert, the website of an international AIDS charity <www.avert.org>.
Erratum: Change in thresholds used to describe levels of influenza activity
In CDR Weekly volume 14, number 40, 30 September 2004, the published item ‘Health Protection Agency (HPA) weekly influenza report – winter 2004/05’ contained a graph illustrating the revised thresholds used to describe levels of influenza activity <http://wwww.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2004/cdr4004.pdf>.
The revised upper threshold was incorrectly labelled as ‘epidemic activity >400’. This should have read ‘epidemic activity >200’ and has been amended accordingly (figure).
Figure RCGP weekly consultation rate for influenza-like illness (ILI), England, showing revised thresholds for describing levels of influenza activity*
References
1. Goddard NL, Kyncl J, Watson JM. 2003. Appropriateness of thresholds currently used to describe influenza activity in England. Commun Dis Public Health; 6(3): 238-45.
