HEP EXPRESS
Viral hepatitis news from the Immunization Action Coalition
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Issue Number 33 August 12, 2005

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

1. CDC's National Viral Hepatitis Information Center now
offers online ordering
2. Guidelines for hepatitis C management available online
3. CDC reports on a survey of U.S. syringe exchange programs
operating during 2002
4. Updated: IAC revises a professional education piece on
preventing hepatitis B virus transmission
5. WHO introduces a website on the safe management of
healthcare waste
6. National Gay Men's Health Summit to be held October 19-23
in Salt Lake City
7. AASLD meeting to take place November 11-15 in San Francisco
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ABBREVIATIONS: ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; DVH,
Division of Viral Hepatitis; HAV, hepatitis A virus; HBV,
hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; IAC, Immunization
Action Coalition; IDU, injection drug user; MMWR, Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report; MSM, men who have sex with men; STD,
sexually transmitted disease; VIS, Vaccine Information
Statement; WHO, World Health Organization.
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August 12, 2005
CDC'S NATIONAL VIRAL HEPATITIS INFORMATION CENTER NOW OFFERS
ONLINE ORDERING

The National Viral Hepatitis Information Center, a service of
CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis, now offers an improved online
ordering option. Interested parties can order educational
materials for patients and health professionals, including
brochures, posters, ACIP recommendations, and pocket cards.
There is no charge for this service.

To access the online order form, go to:
http://webapp.cdc.gov/ixpress/pubsprod/hepa+book/hepa.dml

To download hepatitis materials directly, go to the information
center's main page at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/resource
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August 12, 2005
GUIDELINES FOR HEPATITIS C MANAGEMENT AVAILABLE ONLINE

The Hepatitis C Support Project and the National Partnership for
Wellness have jointly released a new publication for health
professionals who work with individuals infected with hepatitis
C virus. "Management of Hepatitis C by the Primary Care
Provider: Monitoring Guidelines" was written by David H.
Winston, MD, FACP, and Donna C. Winston, PhD, NP.

To download this document in PDF format, go to:
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/About_Hepatitis_pdf/1.1.2_Training_Resource\
s/PCP_GUIDELINES_final.pdf

To access the website of the Hepatitis C Support Project, go to:
http://www.hcvadvocate.org

To access the website of the National Partnership for Wellness,
go to: http://www.npfw.org
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August 12, 2005
CDC REPORTS ON A SURVEY OF U.S. SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
OPERATING DURING 2002

[The following is cross posted from the Immunization Action
Coalition's "IAC EXPRESS" electronic newsletter, 07/18/05.]

CDC published "Update: Syringe Exchange Programs--United States,
2002" in the July 15 issue of MMWR. Syringe exchange programs
can help prevent transmission of bloodborne pathogens such as
HIV and hepatitis B virus. A summary made available to the press
is reprinted below in its entirety.

***********************

A national survey conducted by New York's Beth Israel Medical
Center finds that the total number of syringe exchange programs
(SEPs) known by the North American Syringe Exchange Network to
be operating in the United States decreased nearly 4 percent
between 2000 and 2002. The total number of syringes exchanged by
the programs participating in the survey, however, increased
more than 10 percent, from 22.6 million to 24.9 million. The
survey summarizes activities of 126 SEPs operating in 102
cities. In addition to providing new sterile syringes in
exchange for used, often potentially infectious ones, nearly all
of the SEPs offer other important public health services,
including HIV prevention education (90%), education on safer
injection practices (88%), substance-abuse treatment referrals
(77%), and voluntary HIV counseling and testing (72%). As a
result of such efforts, SEPs can provide a pathway to
prevention, treatment, and care for individuals at risk for HIV.
In addition, SEPs provide for the safe disposal of millions of
potentially infectious syringes that might otherwise end up in
the community.

***********************

To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go
to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5427a1.htm

To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR,
go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5427.pdf
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August 12, 2005
UPDATED: IAC REVISES A PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PIECE ON
PREVENTING HEPATITIS B VIRUS TRANSMISSION

[The following is cross posted from the Immunization Action
Coalition's "IAC EXPRESS" electronic newsletter, 07/25/05.]

IAC recently updated its one-page professional-education piece
"Labor & Delivery and Nursery Unit Guidelines to Prevent
Hepatitis B Virus Transmission." The primary revision was to add
emphasis to the information about the hepatitis B vaccine birth
dose. When MMWR publishes the new ACIP hepatitis B
recommendations for children, IAC will update this piece again.

To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the revised piece,
go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2130per.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2130.htm
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August 12, 2005
WHO INTRODUCES A WEBSITE ON THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF HEALTHCARE
WASTE

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released a
completely updated website on the safe management of healthcare
waste. Healthcare waste (HCW) is a by-product of healthcare that
includes sharps, non-sharps, blood, body parts, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and radioactive materials.
Poor management of HCW exposes healthcare workers, waste
handlers, and the community to infections, toxic effects, and
injuries.

To access this resource, go to: http://www.healthcarewaste.org
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August 12, 2005
NATIONAL GAY MEN'S HEALTH SUMMIT TO BE HELD OCTOBER 19-23 IN
SALT LAKE CITY

The 2005 National Gay Men's Health Summit will be held in Salt
Lake City, Utah, on October 19-23. The 2005 Summit will provide
an opportunity for gay, bisexual, and transgender men to work
together in understanding gay men's health issues.

For more information or to register, visit the Summit's website
at http://www.gmhs2005.com/index.htm
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August 12, 2005
AASLD MEETING TO TAKE PLACE NOVEMBER 11-15 IN SAN FRANCISCO

The 56th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study
of Liver Diseases (AASLD) will take place in San Francisco,
California, on November 11-15.

For more information about this conference, go to:
http://www.aasld.org

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We hope you will forward this e-newsletter to others.

Editor: Deborah L. Wexler, MD
Managing editor: Teresa A. Anderson, DDS, MPH
Copy editor: Dale Thompson
Editorial assistant: Janelle Tangonan Anderson
ISSN: 1547-6375

To subscribe or change your HEP EXPRESS email address, or to view
past issues, please visit http://www.hepprograms.org/hepexpress

This publication is supported by Grant No. U50/CCU523259 from
the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of IAC
and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.
Circulation: 2,502

DISCLAIMER: http://www.immunize.org/iacadmin/discl-ex.htm

PLEASE CONTACT US AT:
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