[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20293-20294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7969]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-08AW]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
Alternatively, to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
instrument, call 404-639-5960 and send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, 
CDC Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30333; comments may also be sent by e-mail to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have a practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarify of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Written comments 
should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Quarantine Station Illness Response Forms--Airline, Maritime, Land/
Border Crossing--New--National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and 
Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID), Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
    CDC proposes to collect patient-level clinical, epidemiologic, and 
demographic data from ill travelers and their possible contacts in 
order to fulfill its regulatory responsibility to prevent the 
importation of communicable diseases from foreign countries (42 CFR 
Part 71) and interstate control of communicable diseases in humans (42 
CFR Part 70).

Background and Brief Description

    Section 361 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 264) 
authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make and 
enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission 
or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the 
United States. The regulations that implement this law, 42 CFR Parts 70 
and 71, authorize quarantine officers and other personnel to inspect 
and undertake necessary control measures with respect to conveyances 
(e.g., airplanes, cruise ships, trucks, etc.), persons, and shipments 
of animals and etiologic agents in order to protect the public health. 
The regulations also require conveyances to immediately report an ``ill 
person'' or any death on board to the Quarantine Station prior to 
arrival in the United States. An ``ill person'' is defined in statute 
by:

--Fever (>=100 [deg]F or 38 [deg]C) persisting >=48 hours
--Fever (>=100 [deg]F or 38 [deg]C) AND rash, glandular swelling, or 
jaundice
--Diarrhea (>=3 stools in 24 hours or greater than normal amount)

    The SARS situation and concern about pandemic influenza and other 
communicable diseases have prompted CDC Quarantine Stations to 
recommend that all illnesses be reported prior to arrival.
    CDC Quarantine Stations are currently located at 20 international 
U.S. Ports of Entry. When a suspected illness is reported to the 
Quarantine Station, officers promptly respond to this report by meeting 
the incoming conveyance (when possible), collecting information and 
evaluating the patient(s), and determining whether an ill person can 
safely be admitted into the U.S. If Quarantine Station staff are unable 
to meet the conveyance, the crew or medical staff of the conveyance are 
trained to complete the required documentation and forward it (using a 
secure system) to the Quarantine Station for review and follow-up.
    To perform these tasks in a streamlined manner and ensure that all 
relevant information is collected in the most efficient and timely 
manner possible, Quarantine Stations use a number of forms--the Airline 
Screening and Illness Response Form, the Ship Illness/Death Reporting 
Form, and the Land/Border Crossing Form--to collect data on passengers 
with suspected illness and other travelers/crew who may have been 
exposed to an illness. These forms are also used to respond to a report 
of a death aboard a conveyance.
    The purpose of all three forms is the same: to collect information 
that helps quarantine officials detect and respond to potential public 
health communicable disease threats. All three forms collect the 
following categories of information: Demographics and mode of 
transportation, clinical and medical history, and any other relevant 
facts (e.g., travel history, traveling companions, etc.). As part of 
this documentation, quarantine public health officers look for specific 
signs and symptoms common to the nine quarantinable diseases (Pandemic 
influenza; SARS; Cholera; Plague; Diphtheria; Infectious Tuberculosis; 
Smallpox; Yellow fever; and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers), as well as most 
communicable diseases in general. These signs and symptoms include 
fever, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, cough, diarrhea, 
jaundice, or

[[Page 20294]]

signs of a neurological infection. The forms also collect data specific 
to the traveler's conveyance.
    These data are used by Quarantine Stations to make decisions about 
a passenger's suspected illness as well as its communicability. This in 
turn enables Quarantine Station staff to assist conveyances in the 
public health management of passengers and crew.
    The estimated total burden on the public, included in the chart 
below, can vary a great deal depending on the severity of the illness 
being reported, the number of contacts, the number of follow-up 
inquiries required, and who is recording the information (e.g., 
Quarantine Station staff versus the conveyance medical authority). In 
all cases, Quarantine Stations have implemented practices and 
procedures that balance the health and safety of the American public 
against the public's desire for minimal interference with their travel 
and trade. Whenever possible, Quarantine Station staff obtain 
information from other documentation (e.g., manifest order, other 
airline documents) to reduce the amount of the public burden.
    There is no cost to respondents other than their time to complete 
the survey. The annualized burden for this data collection is 172 
hours.

                                          Estimate of Annualized Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
                   Respondents                       Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Airline Illness or Death Investigation Form.....            1320               1            6/60             132
International Maritime Illness or Death Report..             200               1            3/60              10
International Maritime Illness or Death                      200               1            7/60              24
 Investigation Form.............................
Land Border Illness or Death Investigation Form.              60               1            6/60               6
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             172
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    Dated: April 8, 2008.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports and Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
 [FR Doc. E8-7969 Filed 4-14-08; 8:45 am]
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