National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 

This year, National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) is October 20–26, 2024, with the theme "Bright futures begin lead-free." NLPPW aims to increase awareness about the dangers of lead, its potential harmful impacts on children, and ways to reduce children’s exposure to lead. 

Two of the key messages for families: 

✅Get the Facts 

✅Get Your Child Tested 

Educating families on the facts about lead exposure and lead poisoning prevention and knowing best practices for blood lead testing and reporting are two important ways healthcare providers can ensure that Virginia’s children have bright, lead-free futures. 

For information on blood lead testing, see the Virginia Blood Lead Testing and Case Management Guidelines and visit the VDH Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention website.  

For more information on preventing lead exposure and National Lead Poisoning Prevention week, visit CDC and EPA.  

Marburg Outbreak in Rwanda  

On October 3, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory about a Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda. CDC also released information about managing travelers and healthcare personnel returning from Rwanda.   

• Rwanda has confirmed several cases of MVD in healthcare facilities around the country, including some deaths.  

• No cases of MVD have been reported in Virginia or the United States. CDC considers the risk of infection in the U.S. to be low.  

• Travelers returning from Rwanda are being screened at three U.S. airports, including Dulles International Airport. Local health departments will monitor the travelers’ health for 21 days.  

Most returning travelers who become ill and present to a U.S. healthcare facility do not have MVD, but clinicians are asked to:  

• Ensure your healthcare facility incorporates triage and evaluation processes into MVD exposure risk and travel related assessment questions.  

• Consider MVD early in the differential diagnosis for patients with compatible symptoms and recent travel to Rwanda.  

• Isolate any patient with suspect MVD. Follow appropriate infection prevention measures and inform your local health department immediately.   

For more information, see VDH’s Marburg webpage OR CDC’s Marburg Webpage for Healthcare Professionals.  

Increase in Pediatric Pneumonia 

➡️Virginia continues to observe an increase in pneumonia emergency department and urgent visits, particularly among children 5-17 years of age.  

➡️Outbreaks of pneumonia at elementary schools and universities have identified a variety of causes including enterovirus, rhinovirus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.  

➡️Testing for the etiologic agent can guide treatment decisions, especially given the unusual trend of pneumonia caused by viral infections of rhinovirus and enterovirus.  

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Enhanced Surveillance  

Starting this month, VDH is requesting submission of all invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from patients under five years of age to the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS). Isolates will be serotyped to identify cases of vaccine failure and assess the effectiveness of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV15 and PCV20) in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in this age group. 

✅ Submit invasive S. pneumoniae isolates from patients under five years of age immediately to DCLS.  

✅ Collect immunization history for all IPD cases and vaccinate patients not up to date with PCV recommendations.  

School Physicals: Testing for TB on the Same Day as Administering Live Vaccines  

In Virginia, a physical exam is required before entering public kindergarten or elementary school.   

This exam includes tuberculosis screening, vaccination, and other elements.  

It is recommended that TB screening and any necessary TB testing be conducted on the same day as administering live vaccines. This avoids the four-week waiting period that must occur if TB testing needs to be completed after the administration of a live virus vaccine. This waiting period can delay a child's school entry and pose a risk to their well-being due to extended school absences.  

Clinicians should consider individual medical and social risk factors when screening for TB during school physicals. For instance, a child’s parents or caretakers may have come from areas with a high incidence of TB and could expose the child to TB.   

For more guidance on TB screening, please review this document and reach out to the VDH TB Program at Tuberculosis@vdh.virginia.gov.  

FDA Updates Pemgarda EUA  

The EUA Fact Sheet for Pemgarda (pemivibart), a COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis drug, will be continuously revised to provide up-to-date data about the drug’s effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 variants (Table 2, page 17-21).