Avian Flu Diary: CDC HAN/COCA Call (Dec 19th): Ebola Diagnostics At State & Federal Levels

#14,584

The CDC uses their HAN (Health Advisory Network) and COCA (Clinician Outreach Communication Activity) call webinars to provide up-to-date information to a wide audience of health care professionals, including public information officers; federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.

While occasionally these systems are used for situations requiring immediate action (a HAN ALERT), most of the time they are fairly routine (HAN Advisories or Updates), and are used primarily to convey updated guidance to interested parties.

With the recent approval of a rapid diagnostic test for Ebola, this week the CDC issued a HAN Advisory, and will hold a COCA call on Thursday afternoon, to discuss updated guidelines for their use.

First a link, and some brief excerpts from yesterday's HAN Advisory, and then details on Thursday's COCA Call.

Guidance for Using Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Ebola in the United States

Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network
December 16, 2019, 1400 EST (2:00 PM EST)
CDCHAN-00423

Summary
In October 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed marketing of the OraQuick® Ebola Rapid Antigen Test, a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for detecting Ebola virus in both symptomatic patients and recently deceased people. This is the first Ebola RDT that FDA has allowed for marketing in the United States. The RDT should be used only in cases where more sensitive molecular testing is not available.

All OraQuick® Ebola Rapid Antigen Test results are presumptive; all test results (positive and negative) must be verified through real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) testing at a Laboratory Response Network (LRN) laboratory located in 49 states and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interpretation of RDT results should be done with caution and in consultation with relevant public health authorities to ensure appropriate testing and interpretation of results. RDT results should not be used to rule out Ebola infection or to determine the use or type of infection prevention and control precautions when managing a patient with Ebola compatible symptoms and epidemiologic risk factors.

Healthcare providers with a patient with possible Ebola virus infection should first contact their local or state public health authorities before any testing is performed. CDC is available to provide consultation, technical assistance, and confirmatory testing as necessary.

(Continue . . . )

Details on the COCA call can be found below. Click the link to read it in its entirety.

Update on Ebola Diagnostics at the State and Federal Levels in the United States

Free Continuing Education

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm (Eastern Time)

Overview

Due to the ongoing Ebola virus disease (Ebola) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, subject matter experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will discuss the current status of Ebola diagnostic testing that is available through the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and CDC in the United States.

The presenters will also discuss considerations around using OraQuick® Ebola Rapid Antigen Test (RDT), the first Ebola RDT that FDA has allowed for marketing in the United States.

During this COCA Call, clinicians will learn about options for testing for suspected Ebola virus infection in coordination with state and local public health authorities and CDC, as well as the benefits and limitations of existing diagnostic tools.

Webinar Objectives

Call Materials

Presenters

Call Information

Additional Resources

A few minutes before the webinar begins on Thursday, December 19, 2019, please click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/804256797external icon