The Connecticut Emerging Infections Program (EIP), a collaboration between Yale School of Public Health and CT Department of Public Health, has been awarded a five-year, $14 million grant from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to continue its ongoing research and surveillance of infectious diseases in Connecticut.
The Yale EIP tracks a wide range of infectious diseases that impact state residents, including cases of food-borne disease caused by common bacteria and parasites, C. difficile and other infections in health care and community settings, influenza-related hospitalizations, pre-cancerous cervical lesions due to human papillomavirus infections and Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Tracking these diseases allows EIP staff and state public health officials to better understand risk factors for contracting one of these diseases, identify targets for future public health interventions and evaluate the effectiveness of current interventions.
“We are thrilled to be able to continue to build on the success of the past 20 years in conducting public health surveillance for Connecticut. Collectively, the diseases we monitor affect tens of thousands of residents every year, and monitoring trends is essential for informing public health practice and policy. We are also excited about our role in continuing to train students and fellows, who will be the public health workforce of the future,” said Associate Professor Linda Niccolai, who is co-principal investigator of the program along with Professor Robert Heimer.
During the first year of this renewed agreement, EIP will receive $4.1 million. Projecting the first-year funding over the five-year span of the award results in a potential overall commitment of approximately $20.5 million dollars to the program, $14 million of which is earmarked for the Yale EIP site. The addition of new projects over the course of the next five years could result in additional funds from the federal government.
“Emerging infectious diseases are a reality for Connecticut and tackling these infections in partnership with the CDC and the Connecticut Department of Public Health has enabled a robust response to protect Connecticut residents for over 20 years,” said Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. “We are especially pleased with the role that YSPH students are playing in specific projects, both contributing substantially and learning about public health practice in the process. Drs. Niccolai and Heimer, Associate Director James Meek, and the EIP staff are superbly qualified to continue to lead this vital program that confronts conditions that pose a high disease burden to residents in our state.”
Emerging infectious diseases are a reality for Connecticut and tackling these infections in partnership with the CDC and the Connecticut Department of Public Health has enabled a robust response to protect Connecticut residents for over 20 years.
Sten Vermund, YSPH Dean
Yale is one of 10 sites that have been refunded as part of the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program, a national network that monitors disease outbreaks in order to inform policy surrounding methods of preventing and treating infectious disease. Combined with the other nine national sites, the communities covered by the national EIP approximate the composition of total U.S. population in terms of age, race, gender and other health indicators.
Yale was one of the first EIP sites funded in 1995, when the program began. Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state epidemiologist, serves at the principal investigator at the CT Department of Public Health along with Niccolai and Heimer at YSPH.
Meek said EIP staff annually monitor and investigate approximately 1,400 cases of food-borne illness, 1,500 cases of C. difficile infection, 1,000 flu hospitalizations and 2,000 cases of high-grade cervical lesions caused by HPV infection. In addition, EIP staff survey approximately 1,500 hospital or nursing home residents to estimate the burden of health care associated infections in these institutions and engage thousands of Connecticut residents in studies to assess the burden and evaluate prevention measures for tick-borne diseases.
“It is gratifying to see the value of the EIP network reflected in this new award. In the next five years we look forward to continuing to collect the data needed to help guide public health policy and interventions here in Connecticut and nationally,” Meek said.