Re: CDC seeks data on nondrug prevention of pandemic flu

[Guest guest]

Now let me get this right, they are paying $5.2 million to

study " common sense?! " That's a good as when they spent several

million to study why people were dying in rip tides. Boy can I

think of a better way to spend this money where it would help people

already ill from a known illness, unfortunately one that is still

not openly recognized...........

>

> The following article seems bizarre to me. The CDC is spending

$5.2 million

> to determine if " hand washing, cough etiquette and face masks "

could help

> limit the spread of a pandemic flu. Ummmm? Yes?

>

> But what is really bizarre to me, is the concept that the CDC is

> anticipating a possible future need for the masses to be wearing

masks to protect

> against airborne microbes, bacteria and viruses. Doesn't that

sound like something

> out of a futuristic sci-fi movie?

>

> Sharon

>

>

>

> CDC seeks data on nondrug prevention of pandemic flu

>

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/oct130

6grants.h

> tml

>

> Roos * News Editor

> Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy

>

> Oct 13, 2006 (CIDRAP News) †" The Centers for Disease Control and

> Prevention (CDC) plans to fund eight studies on whether simple

> measures such as handwashing, " cough etiquette, " and face masks

could

> help limit the extent of the next influenza pandemic.

>

> The CDC announced this week it would provide a total of $5.2

million

> to research institutions, some outside the United States, to

assess

> nonpharmaceutical measures for battling pandemic flu.

>

> The announcement comes amid a wide-ranging CDC effort to come up

with

> specific guidelines on the use of such prevention steps by the

end of

> this year, according to Dr. Cetron, director of the

agency's

> Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.

>

> Nonpharmaceutical measures may serve as a first line of defense

in a

> pandemic, since it could take several months to develop an

effective

> vaccine, the CDC said in a news release. But officials said there

is

> little scientific evidence about the effectiveness and potential

> impact of such steps.

>

> " Our challenge now is to determine which community-level measures

will

> work best to limit the spread of infection, " CDC Director Dr.

> Gerberding commented in the announcement.

>

> Besides handwashing, cough etiquette, and masks, community

prevention

> measures include " social distancing " steps such as closing

schools and

> workplaces and canceling large gatherings. Other steps include

> voluntary isolation of patients and voluntary quarantine of their

> household contacts, according to the CDC.

>

> Initial results from some of the studies should be available

within

> about a year, Cetron told CIDRAP News yesterday. Several of the

> studies will involve following groups of people through the

upcoming

> flu season, he said.

>

> The studies and their principal investigators are as follows:

>

> * Effectiveness of Selective Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in

> Reducing Influenza-Like Illness Among University Students, Tomas

> Aragon, MD, University of California, Berkeley

> * Pittsburgh Influenza Prevention Project, Burke, MD, and

> Sam Stebbins, MD, University of Pittsburgh

> * Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic Influenza,

> Holmberg, MD, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North

> Carolina

> * A Controlled Trial of Masks and Hand Hygiene for Reducing

> Influenza Transmission, Leung, MD, University of Hong Kong

> * Reducing Transmission of Influenza by Face Masks, Arnold Monto,

> MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

> * Stopping Upper Respiratory Infections and Influenza in the

> Family: the Stuffy Trial, Elaine Larson, PhD, Columbia

University, New

> York

> * Pandemic Influenza Control at the Border of Island Countries and

> in Households, Baker, MD, University of Otago, New Zealand

> * Evaluation of Masks as a Source Control Non-Pharmaceutical

> Intervention, Milton, MD, PhD, University of Massachusetts,

> Lowell

>

> Cetron said the CDC has had requests from state and local public

> health agencies and other groups for specific guidelines on

community

> prevention measures. The current federal pandemic flu plan

contains

> some general information on the topic, but groups have asked for

more

> details, he said.

>

> " We've been engaging for the last several months in responding to

that

> need for greater specificity, " Cetron said. " We've been working

with

> many external partners and stakeholders to come up with more

refined

> guidance for community preparedness. We hope to have an interim

> document by the end of the year. "

>

> When available, the findings of the studies announced yesterday

will

> be used to help refine the guidelines, he said. Other plans

include " a

> series of public engagement projects around the country over the

next

> months. " In addition, the CDC has asked the Institute of Medicine

to

> assess community prevention measures by examining mathematical

> modeling studies and historical evidence.

>

> " The science base used to formulate some of these policies [on

> nonpharmaceutical control measures] is thin, " Cetron said. " We're

> trying to develop a new evidence and science base. . . . This is

an

> ongoing process that will continue to be informed by new studies. "

>

> The CDC has also engaged the Harvard University School of Public

> Health to gauge public opinion and knowledge on the topic. A

group led

> by Dr. Blendon is polling people about their ability or

> willingness to cooperate in prevention measures, such as by

staying

> home from work when sick and finding child care if schools close.

>

> " His group is actively working on this project now; we expect to

have

> some results in a couple of weeks, " Cetron said.

>

>

>

>