COCA Email Updates: September 12 - September 26

If you have any questions on these or other clinical issues, please write to us at coca@cdc.gov

Sign up for Email Updates and Reminders

Available for download: September 26, 2016, COCA Email UpdateCdc-pdf


COCA News and Announcements

Recent COCA Calls:

Zika Update: Clinical Laboratory Testing and Care of Infants with Congenital Zika Virus Infection
Date:Tuesday, August 23, 2016
During this COCA Call, clinicians learned about these updated interim clinical guidelines, which include evaluation and management recommendations. This information can help pediatric healthcare providers better understand the appropriate tests and clinical approaches for evaluating and managing infants, born to mothers in the United States and its territories, with laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection.

Archived COCA Conference Calls

Free continuing education credits (CME, CNE, ACPE, CEU, CECH, and AAVSB/RACE) are available for most calls. More information about free CE.


CDC Emergency Response

2016 Zika Virus

NEW: Official CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update – CDC Updates Guidance for Travel and Testing of Pregnant Women and Women of Reproductive Age for Zika Virus Infection Related to the Ongoing Investigation of Local Mosquito-borne Zika Virus Transmission in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Zika Virus Information for Healthcare Providers
CDC’s Zika webpage for healthcare provider resources.

Key Zika Considerations for Healthcare SettingsCdc-pdf

Updated: Key Messages – Zika VirusCdc-pdf
A collection of the most up-to-date and cleared information on the ongoing Zika virus outbreak.

Print Resources in Different Languages
CDC fact sheets and posters for distribution to patients are available in languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Creole, and Korean. These resources cover a variety of topics, including travel information, insect repellent, sexual transmission, and mosquito control.

Clinicians Caring for Pregnant Women and Women of Reproductive Age 

Clinical Guidance for Healthcare Providers Caring for Pregnant Women

Clinical Guidance for Healthcare Providers Caring for Women of Reproductive Age

Clinicians Caring for Infants and Children

Clinical Guidance for Healthcare Providers Caring for Infants & Children

Sexual Transmission

Zika and Sexual Transmission

Travel Information

Zika Travel Information

UPDATED: Advice for People Living in or Traveling to South Florida
As of September 19, CDC has updated guidance for the Wynwood-designated area after three mosquito incubation periods passed without any new locally transmitted cases of Zika.

Clinical Evaluation and Testing

Clinical Evaluation & Disease
Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis. Most people infected with Zika virus are asymptomatic. Characteristic clinical findings are acute onset of fever with maculopapular rash, arthralgia, or conjunctivitis. Other commonly reported symptoms include myalgia and headache.

Testing for Zika Virus
Contact your state or local health department to facilitate testing.

State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Health Department Resources

State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Health Department Resources

Interim CDC Zika Response PlanCdc-pdf
The purpose of this document is to describe the CDC response plan for the first locally acquired cases of Zika virus infection in the continental United States and Hawaii.

Zika Community Action Response Toolkit (Z-CART)
The Z-CART outlines an approach to risk communication and community engagement planning and is intended as a template for state, local, and tribal agencies to adapt to their needs and to use for reviewing plans for communicating about Zika during the event of a locally transmitted Zika virus.

CDC News and Announcements

CDC Science Clips: Volume 8, Issue: 38

Each week select science clips are shared with the public health community to enhance awareness of emerging scientific knowledge. The focus is applied public health research and prevention science that has the capacity to improve health now.

Public Health Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness and Response – (CDC)
Find preparedness resources for all hazards.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Training Resources for Clinicians – (CDC)
Find online and in-person training resources.

Natural Disasters and Severe Weather

CDC Feature: Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather – (CDC)

Food and Water Needs: Preparing for a Disaster or Emergency – (CDC)

Health and Safety Concerns for All Disasters – (CDC)

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

The MMWR series is CDC’s primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. To subscribe electronically, go to. Electronically Subscribe.

September 23, 2016 / Vol. 65/Nos. 37 Download .pdf document of this issueCdc-pdf

Infectious, Vector-Borne, and Zoonotic Diseases

Seasonal Influenza

Information for Health Professionals– (CDC)

Weekly Flu View – September 17 (CDC)
Flu View is a weekly influenza surveillance report prepared by CDC Influenza Division. All data are preliminary and may change as CDC receives more reports.

Planning and Preparedness: Health Professionals and Seasonal FluExternal  – (HHS)
Healthcare providers play an important role during flu season. The following guidance and information will assist healthcare providers and service organizations to plan and respond to seasonal flu.

Travel Safety

Current Travel WarningsExternal – September 23 (US Department of State)
The U.S. Department of State issues Travel Warnings when long-term, protracted conditions make a country dangerous or unstable. Travel Warnings recommend that Americans avoid or carefully consider the risk of travel to that country. The State Department also issues Travel Warnings when the U.S. Government’s ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate, or because of a drawdown of State Department staff.

Food, Drug and Device Safety

NEW: Multistate Outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Beef Products Produced by Adams Farm(CDC)
CDC is collaborating with public health and regulatory officials in multiple states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC O157:H7) infections

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Reading and Salmonella Abony Infections Linked to Alfalfa Sprouts(CDC)
CDC, several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Reading and Salmonella Abony infections.

MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting ProgramExternal – (FDA)
MedWatch is your Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gateway for clinically important safety information and reporting serious problems with human medical products.

FoodSafety.gov: Reports of FDA and USDA Food Recalls, Alerts, Reporting, and ResourcesExternal – (HHS/USDA/FDA/CDC/NIH)
Foodsafety.gov lists notices of recalls and alerts from both FDA and USDA. Visitors to the site can report a problem or make inquiries.

The CDC and HHS logos are the exclusive property of the Department of Health and Human Services and may not be used for any purpose without prior express written permission. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organizations.

Page last reviewed: September 27, 2016 (archived document)