Emerging Infections Program (EIP)/PPACA: Enhancing Epidemiology and Laboratory Ca

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this project is to improve overall infectious disease surveillance capacity in Georgia by enhancing epidemiology and laboratory infrastructure in the currently-existing Georgia Emerging Infections Program (EIP), particularly in the areas of influenza testing, healthcare-associated infections, and expanding training opportunities in infectious disease epidemiology. The Emerging Infections Program (EIP) in Georgia is a continuing strong partnership between the Georgia Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine and the Atlanta VA Medical Center. It is built on the foundation of an active population-based surveillance program in metropolitan Atlanta and throughout Georgia. Emory/VA EIP activities have focused on the 20-county greater metropolitan Atlanta area, while DPH EIP activities have focused on the other 139 counties (Georgia Outside of Atlanta, or GOA). Project activities include: 1) improving capacity for real- time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) influenza testing at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory; 2) conducting active surveillance for dialysis access-associated bloodstream infections in the 8-County Atlanta metropolitan area; 3) hiring an epidemiologist to support the nascent Georgia Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Prevention Program; 4) EIP partners will offer a one-year EIP Infectious Disease (ID) Fellowship Epidemiology/Public Health module during the third year of the ID training program at Emory University School of Medicine, including a several-month rotation in the DPH Epidemiology Program; and 5) coordinating a statewide Georgia EIP Educational Conference. Anticipated outcomes include: 1) improved completeness of EIP data in Georgia; 2) improved timeliness of influenza testing at GPHL; 3) improved capacity to characterize HAI epidemiology in Georgia, including risk factors associated with dialysis access-associated bloodstream infections; 4) evidence base to better target HAI Program prevention activities in Georgia; 5) improved partnerships with Infection Preventionists and other EIP stakeholders in Georgia.