[Federal Register: May 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 101)]
[Notices]
[Page 25556-25557]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28my09-71]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30Day-09-08AW]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 639-5960 or send an e-mail
to omb@cdc.gov. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Quarantine Station Illness Response Forms: Airline, Maritime, and
Land/Border Crossing--Existing Collection in Use without an OMB
Number--National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of
Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
CDC proposes to collect patient-level clinical, epidemiologic, and
demographic data from ill travelers and their possible contacts in
order to fulfill its regulatory responsibility to prevent the
importation of communicable diseases from foreign countries (42 CFR
Part 71) and interstate control of communicable diseases in humans (42
CFR Part 70).
Section 361 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 264)
authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make and
enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission
or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the
United States. The regulations that implement this law, 42 CFR Parts 70
and 71, authorize quarantine officers and other personnel to inspect
and undertake necessary control measures with respect to conveyances
(e.g., airplanes, cruise ships, trucks, etc.), persons, and shipments
of animals and etiologic agents in order to protect the public health.
The regulations also require conveyances to immediately report an ``ill
person'' or any death on board to the Quarantine Station prior to
arrival in the United States. An ``ill person'' is defined in statute
by:
-- Fever (>=100[deg] F or 38[deg] C) persisting >=48 hours.
-- Fever (>=100[deg] F or 38[deg] C) and rash, glandular swelling,
or jaundice.
-- Diarrhea (>=3 stools in 24 hours or greater than normal amount).
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) situation and concern
about pandemic influenza and other communicable diseases have prompted
CDC Quarantine Stations to recommend that all illnesses be reported
prior to arrival.
CDC Quarantine Stations are currently located at 20 international
U.S. Ports of Entry. When a suspected illness is reported to the
Quarantine Station, officers promptly respond to this report by meeting
the incoming conveyance (when possible), collecting information and
evaluating the patient(s), and determining whether an ill person can
safely be admitted into the U.S. If Quarantine Station staff is unable
to meet the conveyance, the crew or medical staff of the conveyance is
trained to complete the required documentation and forward it (using a
secure system) to the Quarantine Station for review and follow-up.
To perform these tasks in a streamlined manner and ensure that all
relevant information is collected in the most efficient and timely
manner possible, Quarantine Stations use a number of forms--the Airline
Screening and Illness Response Form, the Ship Illness/Death Reporting
Form, and the Land/Border Crossing Form--to collect data on passengers
with suspected illness and other travelers/crew who may have been
exposed to an illness. These forms are also used to respond to a report
of a death aboard a conveyance.
The purpose of all of the forms is the same: to collect information
that helps quarantine officials detect and respond to potential public
health communicable disease threats. All forms collect the following
categories of information: demographics and mode of transportation,
clinical and medical history, and any other relevant facts (e.g.,
travel history, traveling companions, etc.). As part of this
documentation, quarantine public health officers look for specific
signs and symptoms common to the nine quarantinable diseases (Pandemic
influenza; SARS; Cholera; Plague; Diphtheria; Infectious Tuberculosis;
Smallpox; Yellow fever; and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers), as well as most
communicable diseases in general. These signs and symptoms include
fever, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, cough, diarrhea,
jaundice, or signs of a neurological infection. The forms also collect
data specific to the traveler's conveyance.
These data are used by Quarantine Stations to make decisions about
a passenger's suspected illness as well as its communicability. This in
turn enables Quarantine Station staff to assist conveyances in the
public health management of passengers and crew.
The estimated total burden on the public, included in the chart
below, can vary a great deal depending on the severity of the illness
being reported, the number of contacts, the number of follow-up
inquiries required, and who is recording the information (e.g.,
Quarantine Station staff versus the conveyance medical authority). In
all cases, Quarantine Stations have implemented practices and
procedures that balance the health and safety of the American public
against the public's desire for minimal interference with their travel
and trade. Whenever possible, Quarantine Station staff obtain
information from other documentation (e.g., manifest order, other
airline documents) to reduce the amount of the public burden.
There is no cost to respondents other than their time to complete
the survey. The estimated annual burden for this data collection is 172
hours.
Estimate of Annualized Burden
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Number of Average burden
Respondents Form Number of responses per per response
respondents respondent (in hours)
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Quarantine Staff / Crew or Medical Airline Illness or Death 1320 1 6/60
Staff. Investigation Form.
[[Page 25557]]
International Maritime 200 1 3/60
Illness or Death Report.
International Maritime 200 1 7/60
Illness or Death
Investigation Form.
Land Border Illness or 60 1 6/60
Death Investigation Form.
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Dated: May 19, 2009.
Maryam I. Daneschvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-12332 Filed 5-27-09; 8:45 am]
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