September 2021 - Guardian of Public Health

Michigan Dept of Health & Human Services sent this bulletin at 09/29/2021 02:02 PM EDT

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MONTH 2019

The Michigan Update

Testing and Sequencing at Michigan's Bureau of Laboratories

Amy Dedoyard - Virology Fellow, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Laboratories

Throughout this pandemic we have seen many changes to our regular day-to-day routine. From mask wearing to social distancing to vaccines, we have integrated the best practices possible in order to stay healthy. A large part of the COVID-19 pandemic has included testing for SARS-CoV-2 as well as sequencing for coronavirus variants. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – Bureau of Laboratories (MDHHS-BOL) is a primary center for testing and sequencing in Michigan.

When the novel coronavirus emerged and began spreading in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health laboratories, like MDHHS-BOL, teamed up to begin testing for this novel virus as no FDA-approved testing methods were available. In February 2020, MDHHS-BOL participated in the initial verification studies for the CDC’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCOV) Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR Diagnostic Panel. MDHHS-BOL began testing for SARS-CoV-2 on February 29^th, 2020 and identified their first positive case on March 10^th, 2020. Since then, MDHHS-BOL has completed 139,350 COVID-19 tests spanning from February 29^th, 2020- August 20^th, 2021, including testing of the Michigan National Guard, long term care facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and corrections facilities.

In addition to bringing on clinical testing at the beginning of the pandemic, MDHHS-BOL scientists also created Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) protocols and data analysis pipelines early on in the pandemic response. The first Michigan COVID-19 WGS was published on March 20^th, 2020. Having real-time sequencing capabilities allows for the detection and tracking of COVID variants as they emerge and spread within the state as seen by the emergence of the Alpha variant followed by the Delta variant.

Of the 11,264 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases sequenced, 892 have already been recorded as the delta variant; specifically, the most prevalent variant B.1.617.2. This switch from the highly contagious Alpha variant to the even more contagious Delta variant occurred during July of 2021. This data is imperative to public health departments across the nation.

Real-time data is provided by public health laboratories to local and national epidemiologists in order to collaborate with their community; this data includes positive cases, variant prevalence, and surge locations. MDHHS’ robust surveillance allows for specific, accurate data that supports public health measures aimed at protecting the health of Michigan residents. Overall, this pandemic has shown us that testing, sequencing, and surveillance are key to implementing safety measures for everyone in our community, especially with emerging variants.

News & Articles

Kalamazoo County's Dr. William Nettleton Announced as de Beaumont Foundation 40 Under 40 Award Honoree

Dr. William Nettleton has been recognized as one of the "40 Under 40 in Public Health" in recognition of his work as Medical Director of Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department and Calhoun County Public Health Department. The de Beaumont Foundation announced its 2021 list Tuesday, Sept. 14 after reviewing applications from hundreds of rising leaders in public health. The cohort was selected by a distinguished panel of public health professionals for their leadership and impact on their community's health.

Dr. William Nettleton wears many hats as he strives to keep those in his community healthy. As both a medical director and an assistant professor, William’s position is a unique collaboration between a new school of medicine and two county health departments. In this role, he sees patients and teaches resident physicians and medical students, while also responding and addressing the various public health threats that impact the communities of Kalamazoo and Calhoun. He has led public health emergency responses to municipal water contamination incidents, a deadly outbreak of mosquito-borne infections and the COVID-19 pandemic.

When William started in his role, he realized that there was no standardized surveillance system for opioid overdoses in either the county or the state of Michigan. Using his research and people skills, he was able to secure data use agreements, reporting links, and collaborative buy-in from stakeholders to establish one of the first standardized fatal and nonfatal opioid overdose reporting systems in Michigan.

In 2020, William served as the president of the Michigan Association of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Physicians. He earned an MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine, an MPH from Portland State University, and degrees in philosophy and biology from Hope College. He completed residency at Oregon Health and Science University and is board certified in both family medicine and preventive medicine/public health.

For more information about the 40 Under 40 in Public Health, including a full list of honorees, visit debeaumont.org/40Under40.

Research

Asthma Surveillance - United States, 2006-2018

Pate CA, Zahran HS, Qin X, Johnson C, Hummelman E, Malilay J. Asthma Surveillance — United States, 2006–2018. MMWR Surveill Summ 2021;70(No. SS-5):1–32. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7005a1.

Problem: Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that requires ongoing medical management. Socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as health care use might influence health patterns in urban and rural areas. Persons living in rural areas tend to have less access to health care and health resources and worse health outcomes. Characterizing asthma indicators (i.e., prevalence of current asthma, asthma attacks, emergency department and urgent care center [ED/UCC] visits, and asthma-associated deaths) and determining how asthma exacerbations and health care use vary across the United States by geographic area, including differences between urban and rural areas, and by sociodemographic factors can help identify subpopulations at risk for asthma-related complications.

Interpretation: Despite some improvements in asthma outcomes over time, the findings from this report indicate that disparities in asthma indicators persist by demographic characteristics, poverty level, and geographic location.

Public Health Action: Disparities in asthma outcomes and health care use in rural and urban populations identified from NHIS and NVSS can aid public health programs in directing resources and interventions to improve asthma outcomes. These data also can be used to develop strategic goals and achieve CDC’s Controlling Childhood Asthma and Reducing Emergencies (CCARE) initiative to reduce childhood asthma hospitalizations and ED visits and prevent 500,000 asthma-related hospitalizations and ED visits by 2024.

Read Asthma Surveillance - United States, 2006-2008

Tools & Resources

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

CISA and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) are proud to continue the using the overarching theme::

“Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”

Week of October 4 (Week 1): Be Cyber Smart.
Week of October 11 (Week 2): Fight the Phish!
Week of October 18 (Week 3): Explore. Experience. Share. – Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week
Week of October 25 (Week 4): Cybersecurity First

Cybersecurity Awareness Month Social Media Posts & Graphics

Trainings & Events

National Indian Health Board 2021 National Tribal Health Conference

October 4-8

Virtual

The National Tribal Health Conference explores health policy and its impact on tribes, advances tribal capacity to expand policy work, and serves as a forum to discuss policy and political work in the arenas of tribal healthcare and public, behavioral, and environmental health.

Register

The Guardian of Public Health is a monthly newsletter from the Bureau of EMS, Trauma and Preparedness (BETP) within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Guardian aims to provide readers with relevant content on topics that affect the public health of Michigan's citizens and communities.

This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement number 1NU90TP922062-01-00, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Bureau of EMS, Trauma & Preparedness | 1001 Terminal Rd, Lansing, MI 48906 | 517-335-8150