Notification of a Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the Gorgas Memorial Institute, 43053-43054 [2014-17456]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2014 / Notices
scientific, public health, and technology
programs. With a mission to promote
binational collaboration in science and
technology to solve problems of
common interest to the United States
and Mexico, FUMEC is well
experienced to serve in this role, as it
has been the awardee of the U.S.Mexico’s Early Warning Infectious
Disease program and of other binational
programs between CDC and the Mexican
MOH. In addition, ASPR and
CENAPRECE will collaborate with other
stakeholders including the Mexican
MOH Directorate General of
Epidemiology in Mexico, CDC, and the
Pan American Health Organization.
Supporting global health security, IHR
(2005) implementation, and pandemic
influenza preparedness is a national
priority as it is crucial for protecting the
health of all Americans. After careful
and thorough consideration of other
potential partners for this program,
FUMEC’s and CENAPRECE’s proven
abilities to effectively achieve program
goals, and their alignment with ASPR’s
mission and priorities, make these
organizations the only appropriate
partners for the proposed program. In
keeping with its mission to enhance and
protect the American population’s
health, ASPR, through a cooperative
agreement with FUMEC, will continue
its partnership with the Mexican MOH
by implementing this proposed program
to strengthen pandemic influenza
preparedness and advance IHR (2005)
implementation and maintenance in
neighboring Mexico.
Procedures for Providing Public Input:
All written comments must be received
prior to September 30, 2014. Please
submit comments via the ASPR Division
of International Health Security—IHR
Programs Contact Form located at
https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/
international/ihr/Pages/
IHRInquiry.aspx.
Dated: July 18, 2014.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Response.
[FR Doc. 2014–17453 Filed 7–23–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–37–P
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Notification of a Single Source
Cooperative Agreement Award for the
Gorgas Memorial Institute
Department of Health and
Human Services, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and
Response
AGENCY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:03 Jul 23, 2014
Jkt 232001
Authority: Sections 301, 307, 1701, and
2811 of the Public Health Service Act, 42
U.S.C. 241, 242l, 300u and 300hh–10.
ACTION:
Notice.
The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and
Response (ASPR) intends to provide a
Single Source Cooperative Agreement
Award to the Gorgas Memorial Institute
(GMI) in Panama. The Cooperative
Agreement will support enhancement of
global and regional health security
through enhanced implementation of
International Health Regulations (IHR)
(2005) in Panama. ASPR, in close
coordination with the HHS Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and other U.S. Government (USG)
stakeholders, will collaborate with the
GMI to sustain and strengthen
preparedness, detection, and
communication capacities for pandemic
influenza and other emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in Panama
and its area of influence in Central
America and the Caribbean. Recognizing
that the health security of the American
people is intrinsically linked to the
world’s health security, and that
international cooperation is critical to
enhance global health security, this
program is aligned with Article 44 of the
IHR (2005), which directs State Parties
to collaborate to detect, assess, and
respond to events while developing,
strengthening, and maintaining core
public health surveillance and response
capacities.
DATES: The period of performance is
from September 30, 2014 to September
29, 2017.
Award Amount: Estimate $300,000–
$350,000.
SUMMARY:
The
Division of International Health
Security in the Office of Policy and
Planning is the program office for this
award.
Single Source Justification: GMI is
Panama’s national public health
laboratory and the only advanced
biomedical research institute in Central
America. In addition to serving as both
a national and regional reference
laboratory, it also serves as a focal point
for infectious disease studies in Central
America and the Caribbean. Justification
of GMI as the sole partner to support
this program is based upon three major
elements: (1) GMI’s unique, in-country
capabilities and capacities; (2) GMI’s
network of partners in the region; and
(3) GMI’s past achievements and
excellent performance during previous
collaborations (detailed below). Thus,
GMI is the only public health laboratory
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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43053
in the entire region with capacity to
rapidly execute HHS’s proposed
program in Panama and neighboring
countries.
GMI, a public health institution
within Panama’s Ministry of Health,
provides evidence-based guidance for
Panama’s national public health policy
and has a well-established commitment
to national and regional biomedical
research. Created in 1928 and named
after General William Crawford Gorgas,
a U.S. Army physician who led control
efforts for yellow fever, malaria, and
other diseases during the building of the
Panama Canal, GMI was funded
primarily by the USG from 1928 until
1991. Regionally, GMI has the most
advanced diagnostic and research
laboratory, with capabilities in virology,
parasitology, genomics, entomology,
tropical diseases, and food and water
chemistry. It contributes greatly to the
protection and improvement of
Panamanian and Central American
health by serving as a national public
health reference laboratory to diagnose
influenza, yellow fever, malaria,
measles, tuberculosis, arbovirus febrile
illness, viral encephalitis, dengue,
Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome,
and other endemic viral and bacterial
diseases. Most recently, GMI was
established as a World Bank/PanAmerican Health Organization reference
laboratory for human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) for the entire Central
American region.
ASPR’s past partnership with GMI,
beginning with a cooperative agreement
in 2006, resulted in numerous health
security accomplishments and has
greatly strengthened U.S.-Panama
relations. With support from ASPR,
syndromic and laboratory surveillance
for influenza have been fully integrated
into Panama’s national public health
infrastructure. Panama established the
first national influenza surveillance
network with 18 sentinel sites
throughout the country for monitoring
of influenza-like illness and hospitalbased severe acute respiratory illness.
The collaboration also supported
completion of the first national biosafety
level 3 (BSL–3) laboratory, which was
inaugurated by the President of Panama
and the HHS Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and
Response in 2010. The GMI’s BSL–3
laboratory serves as the country´s only
facility for detection of equine
encephalitis virus, multi-resistant
tuberculosis, HIV, hantavirus, influenza,
and other dangerous pathogens. The
ASPR–GMI collaboration has also
supported the implementation of new,
safer biological decontamination
procedures, with the concurrent
E:\FR\FM\24JYN1.SGM
24JYN1
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
43054
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2014 / Notices
development of an interconnected
electronic laboratory platform designed
at GMI with technical support from the
CDC Central American Regional Office,
to provide real time laboratory results to
health authorities.
As a result of the collaboration
between ASPR and GMI, over 5,000
public health and medical professionals
from more than 10 countries in the
region were trained between 2006 and
2013. Training topics included
laboratory biosafety, pathogen
biosecurity, rapid testing methods,
qualitative detection of ricin toxin, and
safe shipping of infectious material.
Using advanced technologies, laboratory
professionals in the region can
accomplish viral subtyping and
molecular characterization of different
influenza viruses which contribute to
global situational awareness for
pandemic threats. In 2011, ASPR
supported GMI to enhance their BSL–3
virology suite for detecting and
diagnosing emerging influenza and
other infectious disease threats,
including biological threat agents and
novel influenza viruses. These efforts
were achieved in collaboration with
CDC’s Laboratory Response Network. As
part of this effort, ASPR and GMI hosted
the first-ever Latin-American Regional
Planning Meeting of Experts aimed at
establishing a regional bio-safety
association for biological risk
management with participants from 11
countries. Lastly, ASPR and GMI
collaborated to advance IHR (2005)
implementation and establishment of
the IHR National Focal Point, known as
the National Operations Center (Centro
Nacional de Enlace [CNE]), in May
2013. CNE monitors all possible events
that may require immediate
intervention, response, or the need for
international notification on a 24 hour/
7 days a week basis.
Supporting IHR (2005)
implementation and strengthening
regional and global health security,
including pandemic influenza
preparedness efforts, to protect the
health of the American population is a
priority for the United States, as
evidenced by the recent launch of the
Global Health Security Agenda. After
careful and thorough consideration,
ASPR determined GMI is the only
partner with proven capabilities to
support the proposed program and meet
HHS’ needs of advancing IHR (2005)
implementation and strengthening
pandemic influenza and infectious
disease preparedness in Panama.
Collaboration efforts will also support
infectious disease preparedness in
neighboring countries, which facilitate
early detection of diseases and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:03 Jul 23, 2014
Jkt 232001
potentially prevent regional and global
spread. For the aforementioned reasons,
GMI is uniquely qualified and the only
appropriate partner to facilitate and
support successful completion of the
proposed project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please submit an inquiry via the ASPR–
OPP Division of International Health
Security—IHR Program Contact Form
located at https://www.phe.gov/
Preparedness/international/ihr/Pages/
IHRInquiry.aspx.
Dated: July 18, 2014.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Response.
[FR Doc. 2014–17456 Filed 7–23–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–37–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[60Day–14–14APM]
Proposed Data Collections Submitted
for Public Comment and
Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce public
burden, invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To
request more information on the below
proposed project or to obtain a copy of
the information collection plan and
instruments, call 404–639–7570 or send
comments to Leroy Richardson, 1600
Clifton Road, MS–D74, Atlanta, GA
30333 or send an email to omb@cdc.gov.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approval. Comments are invited on: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology; and (e) estimates of capital
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or start-up costs and costs of operation,
maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information. Burden means
the total time, effort, or financial
resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal
agency. This includes the time needed
to review instructions; to develop,
acquire, install and utilize technology
and systems for the purpose of
collecting, validating and verifying
information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing
and providing information; to train
personnel and to be able to respond to
a collection of information, to search
data sources, to complete and review
the collection of information; and to
transmit or otherwise disclose the
information. Written comments should
be received within 60 days of this
notice.
Proposed Project
Surveillance of Health-Related
Workplace Absenteeism—New—
National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
There is currently a high global
human health risk from emerging novel
influenza, coronavirus and similar
evolving pathogens, which is prompting
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) to enhance situational
awareness capacity for emergency
preparedness and response.
During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1)
virus pandemic, NIOSH/CDC conducted
a pilot study to test the feasibility of
using national surveillance of workplace
absenteeism to assess the pandemic’s
impact on the workplace to plan for
preparedness and continuity of
operations and to contribute to health
awareness during the emergency
response. As part of this emergency
effort, CDC contracted with the
American College of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine (ACOEM),
which has access to a large network of
affiliated medical directors and
corporate health units that routinely
compile absenteeism data, to conduct
enhanced passive surveillance of
absenteeism using weekly data from a
convenience sample of sentinel
worksites.
Due to the emergency situation at that
time, OMB approval was not requested,
erroneously, for the data collection
activities associated with the pilot
study. The pilot was conducted without
approval under the Paperwork
Reduction Act. The current request
seeks to build off of the data collected
E:\FR\FM\24JYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43053-43054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17456]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Notification of a Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for
the Gorgas Memorial Institute
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
Authority: Sections 301, 307, 1701, and 2811 of the Public
Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 241, 242l, 300u and 300hh-10.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) intends to provide a
Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award to the Gorgas Memorial
Institute (GMI) in Panama. The Cooperative Agreement will support
enhancement of global and regional health security through enhanced
implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) in
Panama. ASPR, in close coordination with the HHS Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and other U.S. Government (USG)
stakeholders, will collaborate with the GMI to sustain and strengthen
preparedness, detection, and communication capacities for pandemic
influenza and other emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in
Panama and its area of influence in Central America and the Caribbean.
Recognizing that the health security of the American people is
intrinsically linked to the world's health security, and that
international cooperation is critical to enhance global health
security, this program is aligned with Article 44 of the IHR (2005),
which directs State Parties to collaborate to detect, assess, and
respond to events while developing, strengthening, and maintaining core
public health surveillance and response capacities.
DATES: The period of performance is from September 30, 2014 to
September 29, 2017.
Award Amount: Estimate $300,000-$350,000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Division of International Health
Security in the Office of Policy and Planning is the program office for
this award.
Single Source Justification: GMI is Panama's national public health
laboratory and the only advanced biomedical research institute in
Central America. In addition to serving as both a national and regional
reference laboratory, it also serves as a focal point for infectious
disease studies in Central America and the Caribbean. Justification of
GMI as the sole partner to support this program is based upon three
major elements: (1) GMI's unique, in-country capabilities and
capacities; (2) GMI's network of partners in the region; and (3) GMI's
past achievements and excellent performance during previous
collaborations (detailed below). Thus, GMI is the only public health
laboratory in the entire region with capacity to rapidly execute HHS's
proposed program in Panama and neighboring countries.
GMI, a public health institution within Panama's Ministry of
Health, provides evidence-based guidance for Panama's national public
health policy and has a well-established commitment to national and
regional biomedical research. Created in 1928 and named after General
William Crawford Gorgas, a U.S. Army physician who led control efforts
for yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases during the building of
the Panama Canal, GMI was funded primarily by the USG from 1928 until
1991. Regionally, GMI has the most advanced diagnostic and research
laboratory, with capabilities in virology, parasitology, genomics,
entomology, tropical diseases, and food and water chemistry. It
contributes greatly to the protection and improvement of Panamanian and
Central American health by serving as a national public health
reference laboratory to diagnose influenza, yellow fever, malaria,
measles, tuberculosis, arbovirus febrile illness, viral encephalitis,
dengue, Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, and other endemic viral
and bacterial diseases. Most recently, GMI was established as a World
Bank/Pan-American Health Organization reference laboratory for human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) for the entire Central American region.
ASPR's past partnership with GMI, beginning with a cooperative
agreement in 2006, resulted in numerous health security accomplishments
and has greatly strengthened U.S.-Panama relations. With support from
ASPR, syndromic and laboratory surveillance for influenza have been
fully integrated into Panama's national public health infrastructure.
Panama established the first national influenza surveillance network
with 18 sentinel sites throughout the country for monitoring of
influenza-like illness and hospital-based severe acute respiratory
illness. The collaboration also supported completion of the first
national biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory, which was inaugurated by
the President of Panama and the HHS Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and Response in 2010. The GMI's BSL-3
laboratory serves as the country[acute]s only facility for detection of
equine encephalitis virus, multi-resistant tuberculosis, HIV,
hantavirus, influenza, and other dangerous pathogens. The ASPR-GMI
collaboration has also supported the implementation of new, safer
biological decontamination procedures, with the concurrent
[[Page 43054]]
development of an interconnected electronic laboratory platform
designed at GMI with technical support from the CDC Central American
Regional Office, to provide real time laboratory results to health
authorities.
As a result of the collaboration between ASPR and GMI, over 5,000
public health and medical professionals from more than 10 countries in
the region were trained between 2006 and 2013. Training topics included
laboratory biosafety, pathogen biosecurity, rapid testing methods,
qualitative detection of ricin toxin, and safe shipping of infectious
material. Using advanced technologies, laboratory professionals in the
region can accomplish viral subtyping and molecular characterization of
different influenza viruses which contribute to global situational
awareness for pandemic threats. In 2011, ASPR supported GMI to enhance
their BSL-3 virology suite for detecting and diagnosing emerging
influenza and other infectious disease threats, including biological
threat agents and novel influenza viruses. These efforts were achieved
in collaboration with CDC's Laboratory Response Network. As part of
this effort, ASPR and GMI hosted the first-ever Latin-American Regional
Planning Meeting of Experts aimed at establishing a regional bio-safety
association for biological risk management with participants from 11
countries. Lastly, ASPR and GMI collaborated to advance IHR (2005)
implementation and establishment of the IHR National Focal Point, known
as the National Operations Center (Centro Nacional de Enlace [CNE]), in
May 2013. CNE monitors all possible events that may require immediate
intervention, response, or the need for international notification on a
24 hour/7 days a week basis.
Supporting IHR (2005) implementation and strengthening regional and
global health security, including pandemic influenza preparedness
efforts, to protect the health of the American population is a priority
for the United States, as evidenced by the recent launch of the Global
Health Security Agenda. After careful and thorough consideration, ASPR
determined GMI is the only partner with proven capabilities to support
the proposed program and meet HHS' needs of advancing IHR (2005)
implementation and strengthening pandemic influenza and infectious
disease preparedness in Panama. Collaboration efforts will also support
infectious disease preparedness in neighboring countries, which
facilitate early detection of diseases and potentially prevent regional
and global spread. For the aforementioned reasons, GMI is uniquely
qualified and the only appropriate partner to facilitate and support
successful completion of the proposed project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please submit an inquiry via the ASPR-
OPP Division of International Health Security--IHR Program Contact Form
located at https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/international/ihr/Pages/IHRInquiry.aspx.
Dated: July 18, 2014.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
[FR Doc. 2014-17456 Filed 7-23-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-37-P
