Author: reblum

The Surge of Congenital Syphilis in Alabama: Exploring Reasons and Prevention Strategies (December 4, 2024 at 12:00pm CT)

Congenital Syphilis is preventable; However, Alabama continues to experience a record notable increase in congenital syphilis cases since 2018. Pregnant women with syphilis can transmit the infection to their unborn baby. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. Untreated syphilis during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, low birth weight, hydrops fetalis, or infant death shortly after birth. Effective prevention of congenital syphilis depends on early detection of syphilis in pregnant women and adequate treatment at least 30 days before delivery.  

Learning objectives:

  • Identify the various missed opportunities for congenital syphilis prevention in Alabama. 
  • Establish prenatal syphilis testing and adequate treatment for syphilis in pregnant women and their partners as standard of care.  
  • Collaborate with the Alabama Department of Public Health to enforce CS prevention efforts. 

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health part of the Region IV Public Health Training Center, the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 7/10/2025) and has awarded this program 1.2 ABN CEUs. All other professionals awarded .1 CEUs.

Dr. Agnes Oberkor, DrPH, MPH, MSN, CRNP-PC

Agnes Oberkor, DrPH, MPH, MSN, CRNP-PC, is the congenital syphilis coordinator, clinical consultant for sexually transmitted infections, and the lead trainer of the Alabama Department of Public Health Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and prevention. She is a board-certified registered nurse practitioner and a registered nurse. Dr. Oberkor’s primary interests are program improvement, training clinical staff in STD patient management, and writing clinic protocols. She is particularly interested in methods for understanding healthcare providers’ knowledge in STD prevention, especially syphilis in pregnant women and congenital syphilis. Dr. Oberkor holds a BSN from Auburn University, Montgomery, an MSN and MPH from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and a Dr.PH in Health Advocacy and Leadership from Capella University, Minneapolis, MN. Her research was on quality improvement in public health programs. She coordinated the Expedited Partner Therapy policy and got approval for ADPH clinicians in 2014 and for all healthcare providers in 2024. Dr. Oberkor received the NCSD Public Health Policy Academy training in 2016. 

Registration

Climate Change Impacts on Vector Borne Diseases (October 23, 2024 at 11:00am CT)

In this webinar Dr. Luis Chaves will present results from his research on Malaria, Leishmaniasis and other vector-borne diseases that have illustrated the importance of climate change to understand emerging ecological and epidemiological patterns on the transmission of vector-borne diseases.

Learning objectives:

  • Recognize the importance of Global Climatic Phenomena like the El Ni~no Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole and their teleconnections for the transmission of vector-borne diseases.
  • Recognize that impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease transmission are mediated by impacts of changing environments on the abundance of insect vectors, but also on the relationship between insects and pathogens.
  • Understand that impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases are conditioned by the dominant social conditions of locations where transmission occurs. 

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 7/10/2025) and has awarded this program 1.2 ABN CEUs. All other professionals awarded .1 CEUs.

Dr. Luis Chaves, Ph.D

Luis Fernando Chaves (Ph.D. Michigan 2008 in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) is an associate professor in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. He has been studying insect vectors and the diseases they transmit since he was an undergraduate in Venezuela, and he has published extensively on the ecology of insect vectors, their relationship to transmission of pathogens and the response of vector-borne diseases to climate change. Dr. Chaves has directed research projects in Costa Rica, Panamá, USA, Venezuela and Japan, and he has collaborated in projects based in Canada, Brazil, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Korea, Vanuatu and Kenya, among other places, while holding academic and/or government positions in the US, Japan, Panama and Costa Rica.

Evaluation

COVID Vaccine for the 2024 – 2025 Season (October 1, 2024 at 12:00pm CT)

In this webinar, Dr. Suzanne Judd, Director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, will cover the new COVID vaccine for 2024. We will discuss the mechanism of action for this vaccine, current recommendations for who should receive the vaccine, and the role of vaccination in protecting those who may be more susceptible to severe infection. This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control.

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the purpose of vaccines
  • Compare the current COVID vaccine to previous vaccines
  • Describe different vaccine schedules by age and comorbid conditions

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health part of the Region IV Public Health Training Center, and the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 7/10/2025) and has awarded this program 1.2 ABN CEUs. All other professionals awarded .1 CEUs.

Dr. Suzanne Judd, Ph.D

Dr. Suzanne Judd is an investigator with the ARC IPC. She is also the Director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and a Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. She received her PhD in Nutrition Sciences from Emory University where she led two vitamin D clinical trials. Dr. Judd is multiple principal investigator on both the REGARDS and RURAL cohort studies which are large NIH funded epidemiological cohort studies seeking to understand disparities in chronic disease in the United States. Her experience in the U.S. provided a platform to collaborate with European cohort studies in France through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Her unique combination of training in engineering, epidemiology and nutrition as well as industrial experience have provided a solid foundation to guide her research, mentorship, collaboration and public health communication.

Evaluation

The Role of Screening Test for Early Identification of Patients at Risk for Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms in Healthcare Settings (June 20, 2024 at 12pm CT)

Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health threat and early identification of patients at risk for multidrug resistant organism (MDRO) infection is crucial to prevent the spread of MDROs.  This webinar will describe the effectiveness and benefits of implementing a screening strategy to detect MDRO carriers in healthcare settings.

  • Define the types of screening available to detect different MDRO organisms
  • Describe the benefits of developing a screening strategy to identify MDRO carriers

The webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 6/20/2025) and has awarded this program 1.2 ABN CEUs. All other professionals awarded .1 CEUs, SW awarded 1.0 CEUs.

Evaluation

Speaker

Rachael Lee, M.D., MSPH, is an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, healthcare epidemiologist for the UAB Health System, Birmingham VA Medical Center Associate Healthcare Epidemiologist. Dr. Lee completed medical school at UAB School of Medicine, residency at UAB in Internal Medicine, and fellowship at UAB in Infectious Disease Quality and Patient Safety. Dr. Lee joined the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases at UAB in 2016 and is currently an Associate Professor. In her role as UAB Chief Healthcare Epidemiologist and in this role, she utilizes evidence based medicine to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections. Her research focuses on multi-drug resistant pathogens as they relate to infection control. Dr. Lee is an expert in all things infectious disease related, ranging from the spread of diseases like the flu, to infection prevention and control.

The Rise of Congenital Syphilis

Congenital syphilis is a disease that occurs when a pregnant person with syphilis passes it onto their baby during pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Syphilis can be transmitted to a baby in utero through placental blood flow or through direct contact with lesions during childbirth. Currently, Penicillin is the only treatment from perinatal syphilis because it can cross the placenta to treat the infection in the fetus. When a syphilis infection is identified in the early stages, treatment with Penicillin is 98% effective in preventing mortality and morbidities commonly associated with congenital infection. Cases of congenital syphilis have been on the rise and have increased seven-fold in live births in the United States from 2012 to 2020. In 2021, 2000 cases were reported, the highest number of reported cases since 1994. Increases in cases have highlighted issues including gaps in prevention, timely diagnosis, treatment, and management of perinatal syphilis. The increases in congenital syphilis other STI’s has led to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launching the Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan in January 2021 (Fang et al., 2022). This plan aims to create, enhance, and expand STI prevention among individuals. Through this plan the United States can be a place where STI’s are prevented, and every person has access high-quality prevention, screenings, care, and treatment free of stigma and discrimination (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

For More Information on Congenital Syphilis See the Resources Below: 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, April 11). STD facts – Congenital Syphilis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-congenital-syphilis.htm
  • STI National Strategic Plan 2021-2025 (STI plan) Toolkit. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, January 12). https://www.hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/sexually-transmitted-infections/plan-overview/toolkit/index.html#:~:text=This%20first%2Dever%20STI%20National,free%20from%20stigma%20and%20discrimination.

 Cited Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, April 11). STD facts – Congenital Syphilis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-congenital-syphilis.htm

Fang, J., Partridge, E., Bautista, G. M., & Sankaran, D. (2022, December 27). Congenital syphilis epidemiology, prevention, and management in the United States: A 2022 update. U.S. National Library of Medicine . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9879571/

Extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing infection outbreak.

Infections from a rare extensively drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been identified in 12 states (CA, CO, CT, FL, NJ, NY, NV, TX, UT, WA, WI). Most of the infections were from patients who reported using artificial tears. Patients reported more than 10 brands of artificial tears, but most patients reported using Ezricare Artificial Tears, an over-the-counter product. Patients who were infected have experienced permanent vision loss resulting from a cornea infection, hospitalization, and one death has been reported due to a systematic infection (CDC, 2023). The University of California at San Diego’s Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics have identified a bacteriophage with activity against the outbreak strain. A minimum inhibitory concentration for aztreonam-avibactam has been identified, however, clinical breakpoints have not been established for antimicrobial combination.

Resources

  • For recommendations from the CDC for Healthcare Providers, Clinical Laboratories, and the Public, visit the link here.
  • Clinicians interested in phage as a potential treatment option should contact IPATH at ipath@health.ucsd.edu.
  • Susceptibility testing for this combination to inform clinical decision making is available through
  • CDC – refer to CDC Test Directory.

Cited Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, February 1). Health Alert Network (HAN) – 00485. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00485.asp

New COVID Variants and Boosting Your Immunity (Fall 2022)

Although it’s pumpkin spice season, another pandemic winter is about to arrive. Though no completely new variants of the COVID virus have emerged yet, there are several new Omicron sub-variants. The Omicron variant first surfaced in the fall of 2021, and during the past year, various Omicron variants have primarily been responsible for COVID cases. Now there are some new variants, including BA.4.6, BQ.1, and BQ.1.1, as well as XBB. To answer some of our questions about these new variants we have invited Dr. Suzanne Judd, Director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to join our podcast.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Reginal Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Thank you to our co-sponsor for this podcast, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health a community-based training partner of the Region IV Public Health Training Center.