[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22214-22215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08167]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Request for Information (RFI): Developing the National Public
Health Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases
in Humans
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office of
the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The development of a national strategy on vector-borne
diseases including tickborne diseases was mandated by Congress. To
inform development of the national strategy to address vector-borne
diseases, HHS is issuing this Request for Information (RFI). The RFI
solicits specific input regarding strategic goals, benchmarks, gaps,
duplicative federally funded programs, and opportunities to enhance
coordination data collection, research, and the development of
diagnostics, treatments, vaccines and other related activities across
HHS and other federal departments. The set of questions is available in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
DATES: To be considered, public comments must be received
electronically no later than midnight eastern standard time (EST) on
June 11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov. All submissions must be submitted to the Docket
named HHS-OASH-2021-0001 to ``Request for Information (RFI) from Non-
Federal Stakeholders: Developing the National Public Health Strategy
for the Prevention and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans.''
Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, will be
posted to the docket unchanged and available to view by the public.
Evidence and information supporting your comment can be submitted as
attachments. Please provide your contact information or organization
name on the web-based form for possible follow up from HHS. There is a
5,000 character limit on comments and maximum number (10) of attached
files and maximum size (10 MB) of each attached file.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kristen Honey, Chief Data
Scientist, Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Health, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201, [email protected], (202) 853-
7680.
[[Page 22215]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The development of a national strategy on
vector-borne diseases including tickborne diseases was mandated by
Congress through Section 404 of H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated
Appropriations Act. Section 404 is Section 317u of the Public Service
Act and is named the Kay Hagan Tick Act (Act), in honor of Senator Kay
Hagan, who died from complications of having tickborne Powassan virus
disease. The Act requires HHS to develop a national strategy to address
vector-borne diseases including tickborne diseases (National Strategy).
Preparation of the National Strategy builds upon an inter-departmental
effort to develop A National Public Health Framework for the Prevention
and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans, released in September
2020.\1\
Vector-borne diseases, including diseases caused by mosquitoes,
ticks, and fleas, pose an increasing threat to our nation's health.
From 2004 to 2018, U.S. cases doubled and nine new pathogens--including
chikungunya and Zika viruses--were introduced or
discovered.2 3 Tickborne diseases account for nearly 80% of
all U.S. vector-borne disease cases, with approximately 476,000
Americans diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease
annually.2 4 When not diagnosed and treated early,
consequences of Lyme disease can include death due to acute carditis as
well as late manifestations that can be difficult to treat and
costly.\5\
Local health departments and vector control organizations are the
nation's first defense against vector-borne disease outbreaks. Yet some
evidence indicates they lack the tools, resources, and training to
prevent these outbreaks. For example, an assessment of mosquito control
competency at the local-level found that during the 2016-2017 Zika
emergency response 84% lacked one or more core vector control
competencies.\6\ In parallel, widespread and growing insecticide-
resistance threatens the ability of standard pest control measures to
control these disease vectors. Additional capacity is needed at state
and local levels for vector tracking, testing, and control as well as
the prevention of vector-borne disease transmission. Currently no
effective population-level interventions that address tickborne
diseases exist. No human vaccines against any vector-borne diseases
endemic to the continental United States are widely available.
Additionally, evidence-based community interventions (e.g., acaricide
spraying, animal host vaccination) have not been studied sufficiently
to support their use as effective measures to prevent vector-borne
disease.
Recognizing the numerous public health challenges and stakeholders
involved in the prevention of vector-borne diseases, OASH is working
closely with a range of federal partners to lead the development of the
National Strategy. This five-year strategy will establish goals to
address vector-borne diseases including improving surveillance,
diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and research. It will also identify
strategies and benchmarks to measure and drive progress toward
achieving the goals. To develop this plan, OASH seeks input from
subject matter experts, non-federal stakeholders, and other members of
the public. Examples of these stakeholders may include health care
providers, national professional organizations, state and local health
departments, community-based and faith-based organizations,
manufacturers, researchers, advocates, and persons affected by vector-
borne diseases.
This RFI seeks public input on strengthening and improving the
nation's response to vector-borne diseases in a number of areas.
Responses may address one or more of the areas below:
1. What do you recommend as the top priorities to address vector-
borne diseases in the United States during the next five years? Why are
these the most important priorities?
2. What goals, objectives, and strategies would you propose for
each of your top priority areas?
3. Do you have recommendations on specific research or programmatic
efforts to improve surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
of vector-borne diseases?
4. Any additional topics you wish to provide input on.
The information received will inform the development of the
National Strategy to address vector-borne diseases.
Kristen Honey,
Chief Data Scientist, Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Endnotes
\1\ A National Public Health Framework for the Prevention and
Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 28 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/pdf/Brochure_National_Framework_VBDs-P.pdf.
\2\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019. National
notifiable diseases surveillance system, 2018 annual tables of
infectious disease data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/nndss/infectious-tables.html.
\3\ Rosenberg, R., N.P. Lindsey, M. Fischer, C.J. Gregory, A.F.
Hinckley, P.S. Mead, G. Paz-Bailey, S.H. Waterman, N.A. Drexler,
G.J. Kersh, et al. 2018. Vital signs: Trends in reported vectorborne
disease cases--United States and territories, 2004-2016. MMWR. Morb.
Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 67: 496-501. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6717e1.htm.
\4\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2018. Lyme
Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/humancases.html.
\5\ Marx et al. Ann Intern Med. 2020;172(3):222-224. DOI:
10.7326/L19-0483.
\5\ National Association of County and City Health Officials.
2017. NACCHO report: Vector control assessment in Zika virus
priority jurisdictions. Washington, DC: National Association of
County and City Health Officials; http://nacchopreparedness.org/naccho-report-vector-control-assessment-in-zika-virus-priority-jurisdictions.
[FR Doc. 2021-08167 Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
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