Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Geroncio C. Fajardo, MD, MBA, MS, MS, Georgia Department of Human Resources, Georgia Division of Public Health, Epidemiology Branch, Notifiable Disease Epidemiology Section, 2 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30303, 404-730-4400, gcfajardo@dhr.state.ga.us and Randy Hanzlick, MD, Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, 430 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Background/Objective: Traditionally, the role of the medical examiner's office is geared towards serving the needs of the criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies. While Hepatitis C infection is a notifiable disease, many cases go undetected and therefore unreported. This paper shows that the medical examiner's office can be an important partner in improving completeness of surveillance for an infectious disease like Hepatitis C. Methods: The authors analyzed the January 2003- June 2006 death cases certified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. Hepatitis C cases were ascertained using death certificates, medical examiners' reports, medical records and/or laboratory reports. Cases were then matched against the records contained in the State of Georgia's State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) to verify if these cases were previously reported through traditional means (i.e., by healthcare providers or laboratories). Results: Of the 29 Hepatitis C cases identified, only two cases were reported in SendSS. Thirteen cases died in a violent manner, and sixteen cases died in a natural manner. Only four cases died from other infections (not directly related to Hepatitis C). Ages of these decedents ranged from 34-85 years, and most of them were black (n=18) and male (n=20). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a medical examiner's office may be an important adjunct data source for infectious diseases surveillance.

Learning Objectives:

• Assess the underreporting of hepatitis C cases in a viral hepatitis surveillance program
• List the manners of death among hepatitis C cases
• List the possible causes of death among hepatitis C cases
• Recognize that the medical examiner’s office may be an important source for infectious disease surveillance

Keywords: Collaboration, Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation