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 the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses; and

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

2026 Andes Hantavirus Cruise Passenger and Traveler Contact Monitoring—New—National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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. Under its delegated authority, the Division of Global Migration Health (DGMH) works to fulfill this responsibility through a variety of activities, including the operation of Port Health Stations at ports of entry and administration of foreign quarantine regulations; 42 Code of Federal Regulation part 71, specifically 42 CFR 71.20 Public health prevention measures to detect communicable disease. This information collection concerns CDC's statutory and regulatory authority related to conducting public health screening of travelers upon arrival to the United States and assessing individual travelers for public health risk following a report of illness from a conveyance.

The purpose of this information collection is to: (1) conduct case investigations and active monitoring of contacts data that are identified during hantavirus exposure events in domestic and international settings; (2) analyze epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data for cases and contacts to characterize the exposure event, identify transmission patterns (including potential person-to-person transmission for Andes virus), and guide control strategies; (3) generate reports describing demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, and timelines ( e.g., exposure to symptom onset, symptom onset to detection) to inform response decision-making; and (4) inform the development of future guidance and recommendations for post-arrival traveler management for this current outbreak as well as future outbreaks of high-consequence pathogens.

CDC is currently sharing case and contact information as well as public health assessment of exposure risk to hantavirus for both passengers and travelers identified as contacts with state and local health departments through existing data-sharing infrastructure. State and local health departments utilize the contact information provided by CDC to prioritize and identify the level of follow-up needed based on the level of risk of exposure to confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus and determine if additional targeted public health measures are necessary. ( printed page 35214)

State/local health department partners are contacting travelers in order to determine if they are symptomatic and require additional screening and testing for hantavirus. The purpose of this data collection using assessment surveys will be to inform state and local health departments regarding case and contact traveler monitoring activities and help evaluate the usability of this public health risk assessment information provided by CDC for implementation of appropriate and effective outbreak control measures.

CDC requests OMB approval for an estimated 17,813 annualized burden hours. There is no cost to respondents other than their time to participate.

91 FR 35213