Press Release
☷CDC s Annual Gathering of Disease Detectives Showcases Findings from the Front Lines of Public Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( By Press Release office)
Apr 28,2022
| 24| 1
Press ReleaseFor Immediate Release: Thursday , April 28 , 2022Contact: Media Relations ( 404 ) 639 - 3286CDC will hold its annual Epidemic Intelligence Service ( EIS ) Conference May 2 - 5 , 2022 , via a virtual platform that is free and open to the public . This conference highlights CDC’s disease detectives’ outbreak investigations , innovative analyses , and unity in service . “The Epidemic Intelligence Service is one of our most import pathways to develop the public health leaders of tomorrow , ” said CDC Director Rochelle P . Walensky , MD , MPH . “These dedicated , tireless and impeccably trained professionals stand ready to deploy at a moment’s notice to investigate whenever and wherever a public health threat arises . ”Dr . Walensky will open the conference with remarks on Monday morning , May 2 . On Wednesday , May 4 , Mary Bassett , MD , MPH , the 17th Health Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health will deliver this year’s Alexander D . Langmuir lecture , Undoing the Racial Patterning of Health . CDC’s EIS disease detectives and their laboratory counterparts from the Laboratory Leadership Service ( LLS ) have been essential to CDC’s COVID - 19 response while continuing critical work to address other important public health threats . Examples of some of their work that will be presented at this year’s conference include:Childhood blood lead testing in Chicago before the COVID - 19 pandemic , during a peak surge , and in recent months—Blood lead level ( BLL ) screening is an essential activity of pediatric primary care , as early childhood lead exposure can cause serious harm , but disruption in primary care was reported during the COVID - 19 pandemic onset . Across Chicago’s 77 community areas , BLL testing dropped an average of 33% at the onset of the pandemic ( March - September 2020 ) compared with the same months in 2017 - 2019 . Although testing volume has increased in recent months , it remains an average of 21% lower than pre - pandemic , which means children in Chicago are at increased risk for undetected elevated BLLs . Homicides of Black males across the lifespan—In 2019 , homicide was the 15th leading cause of death among all males , but 5th among Non - Hispanic Black males . During 2003–2019 , CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System captured 50 , 803 homicides among Black males . Homicides of Black males most often occurred among victims aged 18–34 years , in community settings , and resulted from firearm injuries . Child homicides were most often the result of child abuse and neglect . Homicide circumstances across the lifespan can inform strategies that address proximal risks and the underlying structural ( e . g . , income , education , and employment ) inequities and racism experienced by Black males . Strong father - child relationships moderate the association between adverse childhood experiences and HIV acquisition risk among young women in Namibia—Exposure to violence and other adverse childhood experiences ( ACEs ) are associated with increased HIV acquisition risk among young women in high HIV - incidence sub - Saharan African countries . Among young women in Namibia , 26% have experienced three or more ACEs . Among women without strong father - child relationships , experiencing three or more ACEs was positively associated with not knowing a partner’s HIV status in the past year , infrequently using condoms in the past year , and ever having an STI . Conversely , among women with strong father - child relationships , experiencing three or more ACEs was either not significantly , or inversely , associated with these three HIV risk factors . These findings indicate that strong father - child relationships may mitigate the effect of childhood adversity on HIV risk among young women in Namibia . Health outcomes after hospital discharge and response to COVID - 19 vaccination in children with a history of multisystem inflammatory syndrome—Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ( MIS - C ) is a rare but serious condition following SARS - CoV - 2 infection . As of March 28 , 2022 , 7 , 880 MIS - C cases were reported to CDC national surveillance . A follow - up study was conducted on children under 21 years old who were hospitalized with MIS - C at three children’s hospitals from March 2020–February 2021 . Preliminary results indicate that about two - thirds of children with MIS - C had recovered physical and mental health by the follow - up interview ( an average of 12 months post - discharge ) . None of the 12 children in the study who were vaccinated after MIS - C reported an adverse event requiring medical attention . Elevated respirable crystalline silica exposure among engineered stone fabrication workers in California—Silicosis is an irreversible occupational lung disease that is preventable by controlling exposure to respirable crystalline silica ( RCS ) . Recent studies have reported high prevalence of silicosis among workers fabricating engineered stone , a material with high silica content . Personal air sampling results for 152 employees at 47 engineered stone fabrication worksites throughout California in 2019 and 2020 found that 38 employees ( 25% ) had RCS exposures above the permissible exposure limit ( PEL ) . Thirty - four ( 72% ) of the worksites were cited for one or more Cal/OSHA RCS regulation violations , most commonly for failure to perform exposure assessment , communicate RCS hazards to employees , or perform employee medical surveillance . Media resources are available at: https://www . cdc . gov/eis/conference/at - a - glance/media - resources . html . These resources include searchable outlines of all of the work that will be presented at the conference , as well as photos of the disease detectives working in the field . Members of the media who are interested in attending the conference must register at https://www . cdc . gov/eis/conference/index . html . Registration will remain open throughout the conference .
PLAY the NEWS
* May be useful for visually impaired persons .
Press release information:
Direct link to press release:
Click here .
