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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92937-92938]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27467]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-25-1255; Docket No. CDC-2024-0096]

Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project 
titled Emergency Cruise Ship Outbreak Investigations (CSOIs). The 
Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) conducts CSOIs in response to acute 
gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks on cruise ships within the VSP's 
jurisdiction.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before January 24, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2024-
0096 by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to www.regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (www.regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection 
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; telephone: 404-639-7570; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Emergency Cruise Ship Outbreak Investigations (CSOIs (OMB Control 
No. 0920-1255, Exp. 3/31/2025)--Extension--National Center for 
Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Established in 1975 as a cooperative activity with the cruise ship 
industry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel 
Sanitation Program (VSP) develops and implements comprehensive 
operational public health programs to minimize the risk of 
gastrointestinal illness. VSP coordinates and conducts public health 
inspections, ongoing surveillance of gastrointestinal illness, and 
outbreak investigations on cruise ships.
    Under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264 
and 269), VSP is requesting a three-year Extension Information 
Collection Request (ICR) for an existing Generic Clearance. This ICR 
will provide for the quick turnaround necessary to conduct emergency 
Cruise Ship Outbreak Investigations (CSOIs) in response to acute 
gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks. CSOIs are used to determine causative 
agents and their sources, modes of transmission, or risk factors. VSP's 
jurisdiction includes passenger vessels carrying 13 or more people 
sailing from foreign ports and within 15 days of arriving at a U.S. 
port.
    VSP uses its syndromic surveillance system called the Maritime 
Illness and Death Reporting System (MIDRS) (OMB Control No. 0920-1260, 
expiration date 03/31/2026) to collect aggregate data about the number 
of people onboard ships in VSP's jurisdiction who are experiencing AGE 
symptoms. When the levels of illness meet VSP's alert threshold (i.e., 
at least 2% in either the passenger or crew populations), a special 
report is made to VSP via MIDRS and VSP provides environmental health 
and epidemiologic assistance. VSP considers an outbreak to be >=3% of 
reportable AGE cases in either passenger or crew populations.
    When a cruise ship has an AGE outbreak, VSP often must deploy a 
response team to meet the ship in port within 24 hours of reaching the 
outbreak threshold. In some cases, the response team must board the 
ship before its U.S. arrival and sail back to the U.S. port of 
disembarkation to conduct a more detailed and comprehensive 
epidemiologic and environmental health evaluation of the outbreak.
    VSP can ascertain a causative agent, sources of exposure, modes of 
transmission, and risk factors by gathering the following types of 
information from both the affected and (seemingly) unaffected 
populations:
     Demographic information,
     Pre-embarkation travel information,
     Symptoms, including type, onset, duration,
     Contact with people who were sick or their body fluids,

[[Page 92938]]

     Participation in ship and onshore activities,
     Locations of eating and drinking, and
     Foods and beverages consumed both on the ship and on 
shore. Rapid and flexible data collection is imperative given the 
mobile environment, the remaining duration of the voyage left for 
investigation, and the loss to follow-up if delays allow passengers to 
disembark and leave the ship, including those returning to locations 
outside of the United States.
    This Generic Clearance will cover investigations that meet all the 
following criteria:
     The investigation is urgent in nature (i.e., timely data 
are needed to inform rapid public health action to prevent or reduce 
morbidity or mortality).
     The investigation is characterized by undetermined agents, 
undetermined sources, undetermined modes of transmission, or 
undetermined risk factors.
     One or more CDC staff (including trainees and fellows) 
will be deployed to the field.
     Data collection is completed in 30 days or less (most 
CSOIs involve two to five days of data collection).
    This Generic Clearance excludes each of the following:
     Investigations related to non-urgent outbreaks or events.
     Investigations conducted for the primary purpose of 
program evaluation, surveillance, needs assessment, or research (e.g., 
to contribute to generalizable knowledge).
     Investigations with data collection expected for greater 
than 30 days.
    VSP estimates 10 CSOIs annually in response to cruise ship AGE 
outbreaks. The estimated number of respondents is 1,300 per CSOI, for a 
total of 13,000 respondents per year. The average time burden is 15 
minutes for each respondent. Therefore, the total estimated annual 
burden in hours is 4,063. There is no cost to respondents other than 
their time.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

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                                                                  Number of    Average burden
     Type of respondents         Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden (in
                                                 respondents     respondent      (in hours)          hours)
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Cruise ship crew............  Self-                     3,000               1           15/60                750
                               administered
                               questionnaire.
Cruise ship crew............  Interview......             450               1           15/60                113
Cruise ship crew............  Biospecimen                 300               1           15/60                 75
                               collection.
Cruise ship passenger.......  Self-                    10,000               1           15/60              2,500
                               administered
                               questionnaire.
Cruise ship passenger.......  Interview......           1,500               1           15/60                375
Cruise ship passenger.......  Biospecimen               1,000               1           15/60                250
                               collection.
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    Total...................  ...............  ..............  ..............  ..............              4,063
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health 
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-27467 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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