Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Bug Bytes
September 17, 2003
Vol. 4: No. 10
Topics in this Issue:
1. West Nile Virus Update
2. Conferences, Conferences, Conferences
1. West Nile Virus Update
We are nearing the end of West Nile Virus (WNV) activity in Minnesota.
However, cases whose onsets were in late August and early September are
being and will continue to be reported to us and we continue to provide
laboratory testing for suspect cases. To date, 56 confirmed or probable
human cases have been reported from 37 counties. Twenty-nine persons have
been hospitalized. The cases include 24 meningitis/encephalitis cases
with the remainder having West Nile fever only. They ranged in age from
2 to 96 years. Three case-patients have died including a 73 year-old male
from Clay County, an 82 year-old male from Chippewa County, and an 84
year-old male from Kandiyohi County. All three patients had encephalitis.
In addition to the human cases, there have been 39 equine cases from
23 counties. Also, 333 birds from 56 counties, and four mosquito pools
(of several hundred tested; i.e. pools of mosquitoes that have been trapped
for WNV surveillance purposes) from Hennepin County have tested positive
for WNV. In the U.S. as of September 15, 3,541 human cases including 66
deaths have been reported from 37 states. Sixty-four percent of the cases
have been from Colorado, Nebraska, or South Dakota. We maintain an updated
Minnesota map of human, equine, and bird cases at: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/
idepc/diseases/westnile/index.html
Physicians should call us at 651-201-5414 or 1-877-676-5414 to report suspect cases of WNV or arrange for laboratory testing.
2. Conferences, Conferences, Conferences
SARS - Tuesday, September 23 and Tuesday, September 30
The CDC will present two satellite or Web broadcast training programs
on SARS for healthcare workers and public health personnel. The programs
will provide updated information on identifying and managing patients
with SARS and preventing transmission in healthcare facilities and the
community. These programs are being offered in anticipation of possible
seasonal reemergence of SARS.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003, 1:00-3:00
·Infection Control for Hospitals and Other Healthcare Facilities
·Quarantine: Community Response / Community Containment
·Legal Challenges of Quarantine and Isolation
Tuesday, September 30, 2003, 1:00-3:00
·What Every Clinician Should Know: Basic Diagnosis and Patient
Management
·What's New in SARS Laboratory Diagnostics?
·Surveillance: How to Prepare the Clinician for Early Recognition
and Diagnosis
To register and for more information:
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/SARS-return
Public Health Laboratories - Friday, September 26, 1:00-2:00
"Disease, Disaster, and Detection: Partnering with Public Health
Laboratories"
This national satellite broadcast or Web broadcast is sponsored by the
School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
the CDC, and is targeted toward public health professionals, clinical
and public health laboratorians, physicians, and nurses. This broadcast
will focus on the Minnesota Laboratory System (MLS) laboratory network,
and how this system works to strengthen public health infrastructure to
protect and improve the health of the community. Interviews with clinical
laboratorians as well as individuals from the public health sector are
highlighted in this look at the Minnesota laboratory community and its
impact on public health infrastructure and the health of all Minnesotans.
To register and for more information:
http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/
labsafety/about.htm
Chemical Terrorism - Thursday, November 13, 9:30-4:30
MDH is co-sponsoring a satellite and video broadcast of a National Chemical
Terrorism Conference. The morning session will be a satellite broadcast
sponsored by the Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin Departments of Health
and the National Laboratory Training Network. It will include speakers
from the Department of Defense, FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and the CDC. The featured speaker will be Dr. Jimmy Valentine, Professor
of Pharmacology, University of Arkansas and a nationally recognized expert
in chemical terrorism. The afternoon session will include speakers from
the MDH, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management, the Poison Control Center, the 55th
Civil Support Team of the National Guard, and the FBI, who will provide
a statewide perspective.
In addition to being live in the Twin Cities, the program will be teleconferenced
to seven regional locations around the state. Watch the training website
http://www.health.state.mn.us/oep/
training/20031113chem/ for more details to come.
Emerging Infections - Friday, November 21, 8:00-4:40
We are proud to announce the upcoming 9th Annual Emerging Infections in
Clinical Practice and Emerging Health Threats Conference to be held Friday
November 21, 2003 at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome in Minneapolis. Featured
speakers will discuss SARS, foodborne disease, zoonotic disease, immigrant
health issues, AIDS, dermatological diseases, bioterrorism preparedness
and more. Brochures are being mailed out now, so be on the lookout (call
us at 651-201-5414 or 1-877-676-5414 if you would like us to send you
one). The conference brochure and registration form is also available
on-line at: http://www.med.umn.edu/cme/brochures2003/
emerginginf2003/emerginginfbro2003.html
Bug Bytes is a combined effort of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division and the Public Health Laboratory Division of MDH. We provide Bug Bytes as a way to say THANK YOU to the infection control professionals, laboratorians, local public health professionals, and health care providers who assist us.
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