[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 32358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13003]



[[Page 32358]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 04097]


Role of the Environment in the Transmission of SARS Co-v; Notice 
of Intent To Fund Single Eligibility Award

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
intent to fund fiscal year (FY) 2004 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program to address several outstanding questions regarding the role of 
the environment in SARS transmission and to provide important 
information about pathogen transmission in isolation facilities, 
appropriate cleaning procedures, and appropriate procedures for 
donning/removal of personal protective equipment. The Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 93.283.

B. Eligible Applicant

    Assistance will be provided only to the University of North 
Carolina.
     Experience of UNC Staff
    It is in the best interest of CDC to utilize the expertise of Drs. 
Sobsey, Weber and Rutala from the University of North Carolina, who 
have combined, over 80 years of experience in microbial inactivation 
studies using a wide range of microorganisms, including a wide range of 
viruses.
    The UNC BSL3 laboratory is shared with Dr. Ralph Baric, who has 
spent the last twenty years studying how coronaviruses are transmitted 
among species. Dr. Baric currently has research support form the 
National Institutes of Health for a variety of research projects 
involving SARS. Thus, UNC has the unique opportunity to collaborate 
with Dr. Baric, one of the world's experts in coronaviruses.
    Lastly, UNC has a cadre of researchers that are well trained in 
microbial inactivation studies and have published several hundred 
papers on this subject.
     Urgency of the Need to Address the SARS Co-v Research 
Questions
    The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) produced 
an international health emergency in the late winter and into early 
spring in 2003. By early July there were an estimated 8,439 probable 
cases and 812 deaths from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 
identified from 30 countries (URL: http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/). A 
newly described coronavirus SARS-CoV was implicated. SARS outbreaks 
were reported in China (Beijing, Guandong, and Hong Kong), Vietnam 
(Hanoi), Singapore, Taiwan, and Canada (Toronto). During the outbreak 
SARS-CoV was being transmitted both in the community and in the 
healthcare facilities.
     Immediate Availability of BSL3 Laboratory
    The University of North Carolina BSL3 laboratory is now available 
to conduct the research. This will enable a timely response to research 
questions regarding how long infectious virus can persist on common 
hospital environmental surfaces, wastewater, etc., or the role of 
personal protective equipment for protecting health-care workers. While 
other institutions may have BSL3 capability, the facilities are usually 
restricted to use with a limited number of infectious agents. For 
example, a facility conducting work on Mycobacterium tuberculosis would 
not use the same BSL3 facility for working with coronaviruses, since 
disinfection schemes would be different, and the necessity for cell 
culture materials and unique pieces of equipment would likely require 
remodeling. A facility such as that at UNC that is already equipped to 
work with coronoaviruses saves considerable expense in retooling a BSL3 
to work with this virus.

C. Funding

    Approximately $500,000 is available in FY 2004 to fund this award. 
It is expected that the award will begin on or before July, 2004, and 
will be made for a 18 month budget period within a project period of up 
to 18 months. Funding estimates may change.

D. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    For general comments or questions about this announcement, contact: 
Technical Information Management, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 
2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: 770-488-2700.
    For technical questions about this program, contact: Matthew 
Arduino, Dr.P.H., Extramural Project Officer, Division of Healthcare 
Quality Promotion, Epidemiology and Laboratory Branch, NCID, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE. Building 17, Room 4211 C-16, Telephone: (404) 639-
2318, E-mail: [email protected].

    Dated: June 3, 2004.
William P. Nichols,
Acting Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 04-13003 Filed 6-8-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P