Author: tessaegr

COVID, RSV, and Flu, Oh My!  Preparing for the Upcoming Respiratory Virus Season(October 10, 2023, 2pm CST/ 3PM EST)

It’s that time of the year again – respiratory virus season! In this webinar presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and the UAB Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Strike Team, Dr. Molly Fleece, Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UAB, will review current data and projections on COVID, RSV, and influenza circulation for this upcoming fall and winter, discuss recommendations to reduce transmission of respiratory viruses, including PPE and vaccinations, and describe management strategies for containing outbreaks of respiratory viruses within nursing homes, long-term care, and healthcare facilities. This webinar is also cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety and the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Dr. Molly Fleece, MD

Dr. Molly Fleece is an Assistant Professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and an Associate Healthcare Epidemiologist for the UAB HealthSystem.  Dr. Fleece completed her medical degree at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.  She then completed her Internal Medicine Residency & Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at the University of Virginia.  She is a clinician educator with interests in general infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, hospital-acquired infections and infection prevention.

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance and cosponsored by the Region IV Public Health Training Center and Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

*Alabama Nursing CEU Pending

Registration LINK

Norovirus Basics

Join the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control as we discuss the basics of norovirus with Dr. Marilyn Bulloch from Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy. We will cover symptoms, if it’s contagious, where people usually encounter this virus, and more.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Regional 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.

Dr. Marilyn Bulloch, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM, SPP
Associate Clinical Professor,

Department of Pharmacy Practice,

Director, Strategic Operations,

Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy

For Some, It’s Far From Over: The Long-Term Symptoms of COVID-19 (May 3, 2023, 12pm CST/ 1PM EST)

Dr. Stella Aslibekyan, PhD

Senior Scientist, Genetic Epidemiology, 23andMe and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham

On May 11, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to officially end the COVID-19 public health emergency. Yet by some estimates, at least 10% of the acute COVID-19 cases result in symptoms persisting over months or even years — a condition often referred to as ‘long COVID’ that limits daily lives of millions of people worldwide. According to the CDC (www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm), 16.7% of all adults in Alabama have experienced long COVID, with additional vulnerability conferred by pre-existing conditions. In this program, we will explore the history and epidemiology of ‘long COVID’ and begin to understand its etiology and manifestations.  In this webinar, Dr. Stella Aslibekyan, Senior Scientist, Genetic Epidemiology, 23andMe and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Kentucky, will summarize the current scientific debate about long COVID, discuss lived experiences of those with long COVID and more.

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional 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.

*CEU credits for this program will be provided by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety There is no fee to receive CEU credit. Additional information about applying for credit will be provided during the program.

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Registration Link

                                        

Mpox and the Monkey Pox Virus: Viral Naming and Genetic Influences

Dr. Elliot Lefkowitz joins us for a podcast to talk about Mpox, the Monkey Pox Virus, and how genetic mutations affects not only the effectiveness of viruses but how they are named and how scientists reach these conclusions.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Regional 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.

Elliot Lefkowitz, PhD
Professor, Microbiology, UAB, Executive Committee Member, International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses

Candida Auris: What is it? Can we stop it? (March 10, 2023, 12pm CST/ 1PM EST)

Rachael Lee, MD, MSPH

Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, UAB

The Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance presents Candida auris: What is it? Can we stop it? Candida auris is an emerging, serious, drug-resistant fungal infection that is spreading worldwide. In this webinar, Ms. Mary Duncan (pictured right), Senior Director of Infection Prevention at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System, and Dr. Rachael Lee (pictured left), Associate Professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and UAB Health Epidemiologist, will discuss how Candida auris was identified, how it is spread, and why we should be concerned. Dr. Lee and Ms. Duncan will also identify what healthcare facilities can do to identify patients who may be infected/colonized with this fungus and prevent it from spreading within their facility.

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional 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.

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 12/22/2025) and has awarded this program 1.0 CEUs.

Mary Duncan, MSN, RN, CIC

Senior Director of Infection Prevention, University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System

Evaluation Link

                                         

 

 

The Future of COVID-19 Vaccinations

The FDA’s expert panel on vaccines met last week (Thursday, January 26, 2023) to discuss the future use of the bivalent COVID shot, signaling the start of the FDA’s pivot to a longer-term immunization strategy. This is an important first step in a process that could result in millions of Americans receiving an annual Covid booster, similar to the flu vaccine. Any such changes will require more discussion and decisions, but the FDA appears to be shifting from responding to the pandemic’s acute phase to a longer-term norm. 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, joined the podcast to discuss these topics and the future of COVID-19 vaccinations.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Regional 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.

Suzanne Judd, PhD
Director, Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, Professor, UAB School of Public Health

Public Perceptions and Preferences for Antibiotics: Considerations for Health Communication (December 14, 2022 12pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. In this webinar, Dr. Alistair Thorpe will discuss health communication efforts to reduce antibiotic overuse and scope for improving their impact through research on public perceptions and preferences about antibiotics. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control, the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, 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 12/22/2025) and has awarded this program 1.0 CEUs.

Watch the Recording

Responding to the 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak (September 15 @ 12pm CT)

The Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance presents “Responding to the 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak.” In this webinar, Dr. Nicolas Van Wagoner, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, will provide a historical overview of monkeypox before 2022 and how the outbreak has reemerged globally, as well as in the United States. This webinar will outline the current state of monkeypox, and the public health response including testing, prevention, and vaccination, as well as provide guidance on communications to prevent misinformation and stigma.

This webinar is co-sponsored by Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance, Region IV Public Health Training Center, and Deep South Center for OH&S .

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 12/22/2025) and has awarded this program 1.0 contact hours.

Watch on Youtube

Evaluation link

Hepatitis Outbreak in Children

Figure 1: “States and Jurisdictions Reporting at Least One Person Under Investigation (38)* as of June 1, 2022.” CDC

The State of Alabama has had a lot of firsts; the first open-heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere was performed in Montgomery in 1902, in 1968 the first 911 call was placed from Haleyville, AL, and unfortunately in 2021 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic Alabama identified their first case of a new Hepatitis outbreak among children under the age of 10. Children in Alabama began to fall ill with symptoms of Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that can cause jaundice, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, and more symptoms. Despite the mysterious onset and widespread unconnected cases under investigation doctors and other researchers are still trying to pin down the direct cause. The onset of symptoms has not been shown to be related to COVID-19 or its vaccinations, as once thought could be the case. Now, research points to the outbreak possibly being related to a new adenovirus strain. As of June 1, 2022, the outbreak and cause are still under investigation, with 246 cases under investigation of children under the age of ten showing symptoms of hepatitis with an unknown cause across 38 different states with 6 deaths since October 2021. Unfortunately, as is frequently the case with outbreaks, cases have been seen beyond the borders of Alabama or the United States where it started, with cases of hepatitis with an unknown cause among children being reported across the globe with roughly 650 cases spread across 33 different countries. Doctors and researchers are working to determine the cause of the outbreak in order to curb the case count, but until then check out our podcast and the resources below to help you stay informed on the latest happenings in Infection Prevention and Control.

Listen to a podcast from Dr. Wes Stubblefield, District Medical Officer for the Northern and Northeastern Public Health Districts at the Alabama Department of Public Health on this recent outbreak of pediatric hepatitis.

Further Reading:

For Parents:

News Articles:

Having Conversations around Children and COVID-19 Vaccination

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends COVID-19 vaccination for most children and adolescents 5 years of age and older. However, as of April 13, 2022 only 28% of children 5-11 years old and 58% of adolescents ages 12-17 have received the 2-dose vaccination series. However, throughout the pandemic, having conversations around COVID-19 and the vaccine has been challenging, especially when it comes to our children. To share her thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine and children and how to have conversations around the vaccine, we have invited Dr. Candice Dye, an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Academic General Pediatrician at Children’s of Alabama, to join us to share her thoughts on this important topic.