The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #52476

Frank Bove, ScD, Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Road, MS - E31, Atlanta, GA 30333, (404) 498-0557, fbove@cdc.gov

Each year, more than 1,000 calls are placed to public health officials regarding suspected disease clusters. In many of these cases, investigators are called upon to determine whether rates of a disease in a particular community truly are excessive – and whether environmental exposures are to blame. These investigations are vital to public health. Cluster investigations can help public health officials target resources for disease prevention and treatment, spur the discovery and cleanup of existing environmental hazards, and enable researchers to develop and test hypotheses about the possible links between environmental exposures and chronic disease.

In many states, however, accurate chronic disease registries do not exist. Only three states – California, Iowa and Massachusetts – possess cancer and birth defects registries that meet the highest standards for quality and have any system at all for the tracking of asthma. And almost no states conduct systematic tracking of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and Parkinson’s.

The creation of a Nationwide Health Tracking Network would allow public health officials to conduct quicker, less resource-intensive, and more accurate investigations of disease clusters while providing researchers with the tools to better assess possible environmental links to chronic disease.

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to

(
• List and describe several disease cluster investigations and identify the linkages between health tracking and understanding these cluster investigations; (2)Understand how national health tracking can act as an early warning system to alert communities to immediate health crises such as heavy metal and pesticide poisonings and support federal, state and local rapid response capability to investigate clusters, outbreaks and emerging threats.

Keywords: Infrastructure, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.