This issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) focuses on communicable diseases of public health importance. The lead scientific article “Late Identification of Perinatal Transmission of HIV in an Infant at High Risk” is contributed by the AIDS Institute of the New York State Department of Health. This article describes the delayed diagnosis of perinatal HIV transmission in a four-month-old infant prompting a reevaluation of HIV testing and treatment protocols. An accompanying commentary by Pasquale and co-authors from Duke University commends the study authors for identifying the policy-based gaps that led to the delayed diagnosis of HIV in an infant and amending the NYSDOG HIV perinatal guidelines.
Of interest is a commentary “Measles Back to the Future” by Fricchione, former director of immunizations of Chicago, and colleagues who argue for creating an isolation housing program for individuals with measles. This would provide big city, county, and local public health programs the right tools to respond to highly contagious infectious disease outbreaks. Fricchione points out that measles is three times as contagious as COVID-19 and kills 1 in 1000 children due to brain inflammation. Ready availability of measles family isolation housing is recommended to be available to public health officials. In addition, this article is of particular importance at this time because of the possible surge in measles and other vaccine preventable diseases due to individuals who oppose vaccination.
Other articles on communicable disease in this issue include the epidemiology of Mpox cases in Alameda County, California; Hepatitis B infection cases in persons with active Tuberculosis in California; Hepatitis C cases among injection drug users; HPV (human papilloma virus) testing in federally qualified health centers; campylobacter case investigations in Colorado; and pivoting from influenza control to COVID-19 in Minnesota.
With this issue, we publish Volume Two of a supplement on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, which details efforts of state and local health departments funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recipients of CDC’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention fund provide the evaluation for this issue. This supplement was also sponsored by the National Network of Public Health Institutes. Results from the field are highlighted, including team-based care and evidence-based practice. You can also read Volume One, which published in July.
About the Author
- Lloyd F. Novick, MD, MPH is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Public Health at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University. Previously, he was chair of this Department. He has served as the Commissioner of Health and Secretary for Human Services of Vermont, Director of Health Services for Arizona, and Director of the Office of Public Health for New York State. Previous academic positions include Professor and Director of the Preventive Medicine Program for SUNY Upstate Medical University, Professor and Chair of Epidemiology at the University of Albany School of Public Health, and Clinical Professor and Director of the Teaching Program in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. He is the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. He is also editor of five books, including Public Health Administration: Principles for Population-Based Management; Public Health Issues in Disaster Preparedness; Community-Based Prevention Programs that Work; Public Health Leaders Tell Their Stories; and Health Problems in the Prison Setting. He is past president of the Association of Teachers of Prevention and Research (APTR) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). He has received a number of national awards, including Special Recognition Award, American College of Preventive Medicine (2005); Duncan Clark Award, Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (2003); Yale University Distinguished Service Award (2003); Excellence in Health Administration, American Public Health Association (2001); and the Arthur T. McCormack Award, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (1992). He is a graduate of Colgate University (BA), New York University (MD), and Yale University (MPH). Follow him on Twitter.
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