[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)] [Notices] [Page 68289] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-32617] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Draft Guidelines for HIV Case Surveillance, Including Monitoring HIV Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Agency
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Action
Notice and Request for Comments.
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Summary
This notice announces the availability for public comment of a document entitled ``Draft Guidelines for HIV Case Surveillance, Including Monitoring HIV Infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)''.
Dates
Comments must be submitted in writing on or before January 11, 1999. Comments should be submitted to the Technical Information and Communications Branch, Mailstop E-49, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30333; Fax: 404-639- 2007; E-mail: hivmail@cdc.gov.
For Further Information Contact
Requests for copies of the Draft HIV Case Surveillance Guidelines should be submitted to the CDC National Prevention Information Network, P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, Maryland 20849-6003; telephone (800) 458-5231; or copies can be obtained from the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/nchstp/hiv__aids/dhap.htm.
www.cdc.gov/nchstp/hiv__aids/dhap.htmSupplementary Information
From 1995 to 1996, the incidence of both deaths and opportunistic infections (OIs) due to AIDS declined in the United States for the first time in the history of the epidemic (6 percent for OIs; 23 percent for deaths) as reported in the September 19, 1997, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) (Volume 46, pp. 861-867). These declines reflect recent advances in treatment of HIV infection and the provision of care and services that have slowed the progression of AIDS for HIV-infected persons on therapy and the success of HIV prevention and education efforts that have encouraged early diagnosis and have helped to reduce the number of Americans becoming infected with HIV. In response to these changes in HIV treatment practices and new information needs of public health programs, CDC, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and most other public health and AIDS organizations have recommended that all States and territories conduct HIV case surveillance in addition to AIDS surveillance. In this manner, the AIDS/HIV epidemic can be tracked more accurately, and appropriate information about HIV/AIDS can be made available to policymakers. As of July 1998, a total of 32 States were conducting HIV case surveillance using the same methods as surveillance for AIDS. Because some States (many with large numbers of AIDS cases) do not report HIV case numbers, interpretations of available HIV data are difficult. To gain more reliable information about the prevalence, incidence, and future directions of HIV infection and the impact on specific populations such as racial and ethnic minorities and women, CDC is proposing that the current surveillance system be expanded to include HIV case reporting for all States and is publishing guidelines that States can use to implement HIV surveillance.
Dated: December 3, 1998. Jeffrey P. Koplan, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [FR Doc. 98-32617 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4163-18-P