T(ChDe CT)enanedss1e0e oDtheprarstmatenst inofthHeeCalDthC'ws ilElmpaertgicinipgateInfwecitihonthsePCroegnrtaemrs. fTorheDilsoenags-eteCrmontorbojlecatnivdesPreovfetnhtison project are to provide a national resource for surveillance, prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. This will include projects that utilize the population-based surveillance and structure of the EIP and allow it to address new, emerging and urgent infectious disease threats in the United States. Other long-term objectives include training residents, fellows, public health staff and laboratorians and developing new prevention strategies.
Specific aims for this 5-year funding cycle include monitoring important emerging infectious diseases such as invasive meningococcal, pneumococcal, 1t. influenzae and groups A and B streptococcal infections as well as foodbome illnesses such as E. cell O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter and Listeria over time in a population-based active surveillance program. Also specific applied public health research will be undertaken including evaluating the impact of new prevention recommendations on the rates of early-onset group B streptococcal infections using a retrospective cohort study design, conducting a case-control study of vaccine effectiveness of the new meningococcal vaccine, completing data analysis of case-control studies of Campylobacter and Salmonella infections in infants and describing the epidemiology and etiology of severe community-acquired pneumonia in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Other projects will include the development of methods to extract hospital discharge data for lower respiratory tract infections, surveillance for children admitted with influenza as well as an evaluation of the usefulness of hospital discharge data in identifying Guillain-Barr6 Syndrome. A study of the etiology of unexplained encephalitis in Tennessee utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic testing and a three-state collaboration will also be continued. The projects planned for the Tennessee Emerging Infections Program will provide important surveillance and research results that will improve the health of Tennesseans and serve as an important national resource for monitoring and control of emerging infectious diseases.
