[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34435-34437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14709]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-15-15AMG; Docket No. CDC-2015-0040]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the FoodNet 
Population Survey which is a telephone-based survey to gather 
information to estimate the total number of acute diarrheal illnesses 
in the U.S. and assess the frequency of exposures commonly associated 
with foodborne illness.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-
0040 by any of the following methods:

[[Page 34436]]

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, 
NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted 
without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

    Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the 
Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the 
address listed above.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they 
conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies 
to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each 
proposed collection of information, including each new proposed 
collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    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 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 clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services 
to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This 
includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, 
install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of 
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to 
train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of 
information, to search data sources, to complete and review the 
collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the 
information.

Proposed Project

    FoodNet Population Survey--Existing Collection In Use Without an 
OMB Control Number--National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic 
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Foodborne illnesses represent a significant public health burden in 
the United States. It is estimated that each year, 48 million Americans 
(1 in 6) become ill, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die as the 
result of a foodborne illness. Since 1996, the Foodborne Diseases 
Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) has conducted active population-
based surveillance for Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, 
Listeria, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 and 
non-O157, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia infections. Data from FoodNet 
serves as the nation's ``report card'' on food safety by monitoring 
progress toward CDC Healthy People 2020 objectives.
    Evaluation of efforts to control foodborne illnesses can only be 
done effectively if there is an accurate estimate of the total number 
of illness that occur and if these estimates are recalculated and 
monitored over time. Estimates of the total burden start with accurate 
and reliable estimates of the number of acute gastrointestinal illness 
episodes that occur in the general community. To more precisely 
estimate this and to describe the frequency of important exposures 
associated with illness, FoodNet created the Population Survey.
    The FoodNet Population Survey is a survey of persons residing in 
the surveillance area. Data are collected on the prevalence and 
severity of acute gastrointestinal illness in the general population, 
describe common symptoms associated with diarrhea, and determine the 
proportion of persons with diarrhea who seek medical care. The survey 
also collects data on exposures (e.g. food, water, animal contact) 
commonly associated with foodborne illness. Information about food 
exposures in the general public has proved invaluable during outbreak 
investigations. The ability to compare exposures reported by outbreak 
cases to the `background' exposure in the general population allows 
investigators to more quickly pinpoint a source and enact control 
measures.
    To date, five 12-month cycles of the survey have been completed: 
1996-1997, 1998-1999, 2000-2001, 2002-2003, and 2006-2007. Data has 
been shared with participating state health departments and multiple 
programs at CDC, is available to the public through a summary report 
posted to the FoodNet Web site, and also available via individual data 
requests. More than two dozen manuscripts highlighting population 
survey data have been published.
    CDC seeks approval for an OMB Control number to continue this 
important work. There is no cost to the respondents other than their 
time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)       (in hrs.)
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U.S. General Population.......  Population                18,000               1           20/60           6,000
                                 Survey.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,000
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[[Page 34437]]

Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-14709 Filed 6-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P