Breaking News
25th ANNUAL IDAC SPRING SYMPOSIUM
IDAC hosts its Emerging Clinical Issues in Infectious Diseases 2010 symposium, Saturday-Sunday, May 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County (Disneyland) Hotel in Garden Grove, CA. Program is accredited for 6.5 hours
Click for Symposium Program and Registration
IDSA INFLUENZA GUIDELINES
In 1997, the Infectious Disease Society of the America developed guidelines for Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza. Click Here to access recommendations. The latest information on H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza can be accessed at the IDSA Influenza Resource Page.
FALL SHEA-CDC EPIDEMIOLOGY COURSES
IDAC is co-sponsoring two SHEA-CDC Epidemiology Courses will held this Fall -- one in Northern California and one in Southern California -- each meeting the new California Infection Control requirement.
The Northern California course will be held Thursday, September 10 at the Doubletree Hotel & Meeting Center in Berkeley, CA. This course will be held preceding ICAAC in San Francisco.
The Southern California course will be held Friday, October 9 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County Hotel in Garden Grove, CA (near Disneyland). This course will be held preceding the IDAC Fall Symposium.
In 2008, California enacted statutory requirements mandating that all physicians with responsibility for infection control or designated as a hospital epidemiologist in their hospitals receive specialized training in infection surveillance, prevention, and control by January 1, 2010. To meet this need, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adapted its respected Training Course in Healthcare Epidemiology to a one-day curriculum.
SWINE FLU IN CALIFORNIA
The CDC reports that human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in California, initially in
San Diego and Imperial Counties. Tests have shown that this is the same strain that has killed and sickened hundreds in Mexico.
Clinicians should consider the possibility of swine influenza virus infections in patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness who:
- Have recently traveled to Mexico or who has been in contact with someone who has recently traveled to Mexico;
- Live in San Diego County or Imperial County, California;
- Have traveled to San Diego and/or Imperial County, California; or
- Have been in contact with ill persons from these areas in the 7 days prior to their illness onset.
If swine flu is suspected, clinicians should obtain a respiratory swab for swine influenza testing and place it in a refrigerator (not a freezer). Once collected, the clinician should contact their state or local health department to facilitate transport and timely diagnosis at a state public health laboratory.
WEST NILE VIRUS
A mosquito captured in Carson, CA has tested positive for West Nile Virus on April 27, 2009. This is the first mosquito found infected with West Nile virus this season in Los Angeles County. Vector Control District officials are gearing up for a busy West Nile season, as last year brought twice the number of cases than the year before and mosquito populations are booming.
In 2008, 445 human cases of West Nile were identified, and 15 people died as a result of complications from the virus in California. Six of those deaths were Los Angeles County residents, and they ranged in age from 66 to 83.
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