Last data update: Jan 27, 2025. (Total: 48650 publications since 2009)
Records 1-8 (of 8 Records) |
Query Trace: Gertz AM[original query] |
---|
On alert for Ebola: public health risk assessment of travellers from Uganda to the U.S. during the 2022 outbreak
Fowler JJ , Preston LE , Gearhart SL , Figueroa A , LChristensen D , Mitchell C , Hernandez E , Grills AW , Morrison SM , Wilkinson M , Talib T , Marie Lavilla K , Watson T , Mitcham D , Nash R , Veguilla MAC , Hansen S , Cohen NJ , Nu Clarke SA , Smithson A , Shearer E , Pella DG , Morris JD , Meehan S , Aboukheir M , Adams K , Sunavala Z , Conley J , Abouattier M , Palo M , Pimentel LC , Berro A , Mainzer H , Byrkit R , Kim D , Katebi V , Alvarado-Ramy F , Roohi S , Wojno AE , Brown CM , Gertz AM . J Travel Med 2024 31 (5) BACKGROUND: On 20 September 2022, the Ugandan Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Sudan ebolavirus. METHODS: From 6 October 2022 to 10 January 2023, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff conducted public health assessments at five US ports of entry for travellers identified as having been in Uganda in the past 21 days. CDC also recommended that state, local and territorial health departments ('health departments') conduct post-arrival monitoring of these travellers. CDC provided traveller contact information, daily to 58 health departments, and collected health department data regarding monitoring outcomes. RESULTS: Among 11 583 travellers screened, 132 (1%) required additional assessment due to potential exposures or symptoms of concern. Fifty-three (91%) health departments reported receiving traveller data from CDC for 10 114 (87%) travellers, of whom 8499 (84%) were contacted for monitoring, 1547 (15%) could not be contacted and 68 (1%) had no reported outcomes. No travellers with high-risk exposures or Ebola disease were identified. CONCLUSION: Entry risk assessment and post-arrival monitoring of travellers are resource-intensive activities that had low demonstrated yield during this and previous outbreaks. The efficiency of future responses could be improved by incorporating an assessment of risk of importation of disease, accounting for individual travellers' potential for exposure, and expanded use of methods that reduce burden to federal agencies, health departments, and travellers. |
Characteristics of aircrew who flew while infectious with mpox during the 2022 multi-country mpox outbreak, United States, May 10-September 30, 2022
Roy S , Gertz AM , Minhaj FS , Akinkugbe O , Delea KC , Lumpkin-Knighten A , Mase SR , Alvarado-Ramy F , Brown C , Gearhart SL . J Travel Med 2024 |
Estimated airline compliance with predeparture SARS-CoV-2 testing for passengers on flights to the United States, January 2021 to June 2022
Preston LE , Berro A , Christensen D , Gesinde B , Vang A , Gilliland C , Epps KJ , Rothney E , Palo M , Klevos AD , Cope JR , D’Angelo Z , Olmstead J , Shearer E , Guduguntla B , Decherd J , Brown C , Gertz AM . Health Security 2024 In the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented public health measures were designed and implemented to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. On January 26, 2021, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff began daily audits of documents of arriving passengers at 18 US international ports of entry to ensure documentation of either a negative predeparture antigen or nucleic acid amplification test result for SARS-CoV-2 or recent recovery from COVID-19. This case study briefly describes the results of those audits. The CDC found a very low rate of issues overall. Of the 483,251 passengers selected for audit, 2,142 (0.44%) had issues with their COVID-19 test documentation and 1,182 (0.24%) provided documentation of recovery from COVID-19 rather than a negative test result. The low rate of issues noted during traveler audits indicated airlines were largely compliant with the order. However, the burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the United States was high during much of this period, which suggests that implementing a predeparture testing requirement earlier in the pandemic might have had more impact on spread. Digital solutions could reduce the burden of similar interventions in the future on airlines, public health authorities, and other partners. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |
SARS-CoV-2 infection and other communicable diseases identified among evacuees from Afghanistan arriving in Virginia and Pennsylvania, August to September 2021
Gearhart SL , Preston LE , Christensen DL , Kinzer MH , Ohlsen EC , Kim C , Palo MR , Rothney E , Klevos AD , Pieracci EG , Hausman LB , Rey A , Sockwell D , Lawman H , Alvarado-Ramy F , Brown C , Gertz AM . Public Health Rep 2024 333549241277375 In 2021, the US government undertook Operation Allies Welcome, in which evacuees from Afghanistan arrived at 2 US ports of entry in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Because of the rapid evacuation process, the US government granted evacuees an exemption to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement in place at that time-namely, that air passengers present a negative SARS-CoV-2 viral test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they boarded international flights bound for the United States. This study describes cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection detected among 65 068 evacuees who arrived at the 2 ports of entry in August and September 2021. Because evacuees were a population at increased risk for infection with diseases of public health concern, CDC staff helped coordinate on-site and on-arrival testing, visually observed evacuees for signs and symptoms of communicable disease, and referred evacuees for further evaluation and treatment as needed. CDC staff used antigen or nucleic acid amplification tests at the ports of entry to evaluate evacuees aged ≥2 years without documentation of recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. CDC staff isolated evacuees with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and quarantined their close contacts, consistent with CDC guidance at the time, before evacuees rejoined the repatriation process. Of 65 068 evacuees, 214 (0.3%) were confirmed as having SARS-CoV-2 infection after port-of-entry testing. Cases of measles, varicella, pertussis, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, malaria, leishmaniasis, and diarrheal illness were also identified. Although the percentage of SARS-CoV-2 infection was low in this evacuated population, communicable disease detection at US ports of entry, along with vaccination efforts, was an important part of a multilayered approach to mitigate the transmission of disease in congregate housing facilities and into US communities. |
Demographic and travel characteristics and self-reported predeparture SARS-CoV-2 testing behavior in air passengers entering the United States from foreign destinations from July to September 2021
Panasci A , Gearhart S , Shaum A , Simental AJ , Mitchell C , Mitcham D , Williams G , Shake N , Brown C , Gertz AM . Immun Inflamm Dis 2023 11 (12) e1019 INTRODUCTION: From January 2021 to June 2022, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention required predeparture SARS-CoV-2 testing for all air passengers arriving into the United States from a foreign country. METHODS: Using data collected during a surveillance project, we described predeparture testing behavior among a convenience sample of international air passengers entering the United States from July to September 2021 at six US ports of entry. We analyzed pairwise relationships between self-reported test type, test timing, demographic and travel characteristics, and COVID-19 vaccination status using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: Participants were more likely to get a NAAT versus antigen test if they identified as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander (68.2%, n = 173), non-Hispanic Black (62.6%, n = 147), or if they preferred not to report race and ethnicity (60.8%, n = 209) when compared to those who identified as non-Hispanic White (47.1%, n = 1086, all p < 0.05). Those who identified as Hispanic or Latino (n = 671) were less likely to get a NAAT than the non-Hispanic White group (39.5% vs. 47.1%, p < 0.05). Participants arriving in the US from the Americas were less likely to get a NAAT (38.5%, n = 871) compared to those arriving from Europe (45.5%, n = 1165, p < 0.05). Participants who reported receiving their predeparture test 2 days or 3 or more days before departure were more likely to report receiving a NAAT (52.2%, n = 879, and 60.2%, n = 410, respectively) than those who reported testing within 1 day (41.4%, n = 1040, all p < 0.001) of departure. DISCUSSION: Test type was significantly associated with race and ethnicity, departure region, and test timing. Differences likely reflected regional disparities in the availability of tests at the time of the activity. Discrepancies in predeparture test timing and type worldwide may have consequences for the effectiveness and equity of travel requirements in future pandemics. |
SARS-CoV-2 cases reported on international arriving and domestic flights: United States, January 2020-December 2021
Preston LE , Rey A , Dumas S , Rodriguez A , Gertz AM , Delea KC , Alvarado-Ramy F , Christensen DL , Brown C , Chen TH . Am J Public Health 2023 113 (8) e1-e5 Objectives. To describe trends in the number of air travelers categorized as infectious with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; the virus that causes COVID-19) in the context of total US COVID-19 vaccinations administered, and overall case counts of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States. Methods. We searched the Quarantine Activity Reporting System (QARS) database for travelers with inbound international or domestic air travel, a positive SARS-CoV-2 lab result, and a surveillance categorization of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported during January 2020 to December 2021. Travelers were categorized as infectious during travel if they had arrival dates from 2 days before to 10 days after symptom onset or a positive viral test. Results. We identified 80 715 persons meeting our inclusion criteria; 67 445 persons (83.6%) had at least 1 symptom reported. Of 67 445 symptomatic passengers, 43 884 (65.1%) reported an initial symptom onset date after their flight arrival date. The number of infectious travelers mirrored the overall number of US SARS-CoV-2 cases. Conclusions. Most travelers in the study were asymptomatic during travel, and therefore unknowingly traveled while infectious. During periods of high community transmission, it is important for travelers to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and consider wearing a high-quality mask to decrease the risk of transmission. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print June 15, 2023:e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307325). |
Public health actions to control measles among Afghan evacuees during Operation Allies Welcome - United States, September-November 2021
Masters NB , Mathis AD , Leung J , Raines K , Clemmons NS , Miele K , Balajee SA , Lanzieri TM , Marin M , Christensen DL , Clarke KR , Cruz MA , Gallagher K , Gearhart S , Gertz AM , Grady-Erickson O , Habrun CA , Kim G , Kinzer MH , Miko S , Oberste MS , Petras JK , Pieracci EG , Pray IW , Rosenblum HG , Ross JM , Rothney EE , Segaloff HE , Shepersky LV , Skrobarcek KA , Stadelman AM , Sumner KM , Waltenburg MA , Weinberg M , Worrell MC , Bessette NE , Peake LR , Vogt MP , Robinson M , Westergaard RP , Griesser RH , Icenogle JP , Crooke SN , Bankamp B , Stanley SE , Friedrichs PA , Fletcher LD , Zapata IA , Wolfe HO , Gandhi PH , Charles JY , Brown CM , Cetron MS , Pesik N , Knight NW , Alvarado-Ramy F , Bell M , Talley LE , Rotz LD , Rota PA , Sugerman DE , Gastañaduy PA . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 71 (17) 592-596 On August 29, 2021, the United States government oversaw the emergent establishment of Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and implemented by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Department of State (DoS), to safely resettle U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals from Afghanistan to the United States. Evacuees were temporarily housed at several overseas locations in Europe and Asia* before being transported via military and charter flights through two U.S. international airports, and onward to eight U.S. military bases,(†) with hotel A used for isolation and quarantine of persons with or exposed to certain infectious diseases.(§) On August 30, CDC issued an Epi-X notice encouraging public health officials to maintain vigilance for measles among Afghan evacuees because of an ongoing measles outbreak in Afghanistan (25,988 clinical cases reported nationwide during January-November 2021) (1) and low routine measles vaccination coverage (66% and 43% for the first and second doses, respectively, in 2020) (2). |
A survey of patients and providers at free clinics across the United States
Gertz AM , Frank S , Blixen CE . J Community Health 2011 36 (1) 83-93 This study set out to demonstrate the need for free clinics on a national level, to identify difference among types of free clinics in the US, to identify which services were commonly used, and to determine where else patients would seek care if not at the free clinics. Two separate, distinct surveys were sent out, one to free clinic directors and another to free clinic patients. Chi-squared tests, two tailed t-tests, and percentages were used to describe results and significant differences. 1,114 free clinics were identified in the US. 172 free clinics and 362 patients responded. Most clinics (44%) were independent. A mean of 4,310 annual visits was reported. Most patients used primary care (86%) and pharmacy (80%) services. If the free clinic did not exist, 24% would not seek care, 21% due to cost. Most would seek care at another free clinic (47%), or the emergency room (23%). Most patients were satisfied with their care at the free clinic (97%). Patient satisfaction correlated with use of primary care (P = 0.0143). Most patients (77%) reported greater satisfaction with the care they received at the free clinic than with their prior care. Free clinics provide primary care to a substantial number of uninsured and working poor. They provide an alternative to patients who might otherwise seek primary care in the emergency room. Even with reform of the national health care system, free clinics will provide primary care to millions of uninsured. How they will adapt to provide this care is yet to be seen. |
- Page last reviewed:Feb 1, 2024
- Page last updated:Jan 27, 2025
- Content source:
- Powered by CDC PHGKB Infrastructure