Director's Update

January - February 2012

Dr. Kevin Fenton
Director, NCHHSTP

Happy New Year! First, a huge thank you to all of our partners for a successful 2011! This past year, key highlights included the release of new treatment recommendations for latent TB infection; a new hepatitis B vaccination recommendation for people with diabetes; a new HIV testing campaign—Testing Makes Us Stronger; and STD's Get Yourself Tested campaign. We have expanded the range of effective tools to address these devastating diseases. We have improved the way we select, combine, implement, and scale interventions for greatest impact. We are using our resources wisely—ensuring dollars follow the epidemics, while ensuring critical support for all jurisdictions. Our focus on health equity ensures that we continue to address the multi-layered drivers of disease incidence across the country. In 2012, NCHHSTP will continue to focus on high-impact prevention across programs; promotion of more integrated and holistic approaches to health protection and disease prevention; and leveraging opportunities accompanying health system transformation. There is much we can do together to achieve our goals; I look forward to our continued progress!

Latent Tuberculosis Infection Recommendations Released

CDC's Division of Tuberculosis Elimination is pleased to announce the release of CDC guidelines on the use of a shorter regimen to treat latent tuberculosis (TB) infection. This new regimen, referred to as the 12-dose regimen, represents one of the biggest breakthroughs in treatment for latent TB infection since the 1960s. This regimen results from a large, randomized control trial carried out by CDC's TB Trials Consortium. The trial found a combination of isoniazid (INH) and rifapentine (RPT) given in 12 once-weekly doses under directly observed therapy to be as effective in preventing TB as the 270-dose INH regimen self-administered daily over 9 months. Two additional studies also found the 12-dose INH and RPT regimen to be as effective. The 12-dose regimen does not replace completely existing treatment options for latent TB infection, but can be considered as another option for treating latent TB infection in certain groups.

Data Security and Confidentiality Guidelines

With great enthusiasm, NCHHSTP announces the release of the Data Security and Confidentiality Guidelines for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Tuberculosis Programs: Standards to Facilitate Sharing and Use of Surveillance Data for Public Health Action. These guidelines were developed by staff at CDC in consultation with state and local public health leaders and public health organizations. They represent a milestone in disease-specific security and confidentiality guidance, as they are more comprehensive and inclusive than anything published previously.

One of NCHHSTP's goals is to organize and blend interrelated health issues, activities, and prevention strategies to facilitate comprehensive delivery of services. A major barrier to achieving this goal has been the lack of standardized data security and confidentiality procedures for all of our focus diseases; the implementation of these new guidelines will facilitate data-sharing possibilities and, hopefully, enhance successful prevention collaborations.

Documents to assist in your understanding of the new data security and confidentiality standards will be added to the Program Collaboration and Service Integration Web site as they are developed, so please check back.

New from CDC

TB 101 for Health Care Workers

HIV in the United States Factsheet

HIV Risk, Prevention, and Testing Behaviors Among MSM

Upcoming Events

On the Web

STD Surveillance Report