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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 106484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31316]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Notice of Award of a Single Source Cooperative Agreement To Fund 
Ponce Health Sciences Foundation, Inc.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located 
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announces the 
award of approximately $5,000,000, with an expected total funding of 
approximately $25,000,000 over a 5-year period, to Ponce Health 
Sciences Foundation, Inc. The award will support surveillance and 
research studies for endemic and emerging arboviruses in Puerto Rico.

DATES: The period for this award will be 09/01/2025 through 08/31/2030.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Anderson, MS, MPH, Scientific 
Review Officer, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB 
Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road, NE, Mailstop H24-6, Atlanta, Georgia 30329-4027. Telephone: (404) 
718-8833; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The single source award will strengthen an 
established research platform for arboviruses in hospital and community 
settings to identify emerging and endemic pathogens like dengue and 
Oropouche viruses, improve patient management, and evaluate prevention 
and control strategies. The core objectives include: 1) strengthen 
hospital surveillance of acute febrile illness (AFI); 2) maintain an 
AFI platform for conducting clinical research on special populations 
such as children and pregnant women; 3) maintain a community cohort to 
assess incidence and prevalence of arboviral infections and other AFIs, 
while also evaluate the effectiveness of vector control strategies; 4) 
strengthen the infrastructure for project data management and analysis; 
and 5) strengthen collaborations with the local government, community 
leaders, and other stakeholders to ensure continuity of the established 
program.
    Ponce Health Sciences Foundation (PHSF), Inc. is in a unique 
position to conduct this work, as it is the only institution with the 
infrastructure, training, and established community trust to implement 
study objectives rapidly and effectively. It successfully implemented 
the Sentinel Enhanced Dengue Surveillance System (SEDSS) at the St. 
Luke's Episcopal Hospital (SLEH) in 2012 and Centro de Emergencia y 
Medicina Integrada (CEMI) in 2016 in Ponce, PR. PHSF successfully built 
and managed a community cohort of >3000 participants with annual visits 
and implemented interventions to evaluate efficacy of vector control 
techniques. PHSF has built long-standing relationships with the 
community stakeholders, which facilitates rapid implementation of 
public health programs and interventions. In addition, it has the 
following: an extensive historical database and well-developed data 
management systems in place to handle the large volume of data 
generated by this work; a well-trained workforce familiar with the 
local epidemiology, cultural context, and public health challenges; and 
laboratories equipped to process arbovirus samples quickly and 
efficiently, with validated protocols and established quality control 
measures.

Summary of the Award

    Recipient: Ponce Health Sciences Foundation, Inc.
    Purpose of the Award: The purpose of this award is to support 
surveillance and research studies for endemic and emerging arboviruses 
in Puerto Rico.
    Amount of Award: $5,000,000 in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025 
funds, with a total estimated $25,000,000 for the five-year period of 
performance, subject to availability of funds.
    Authority: This program is authorized under Public Health Service 
Act, sections 301(a) (42 U.S.C. 241) and 317(k)(2) (42 U.S.C. 247b), as 
amended.
    Period of Performance: 09/01/2025 through 08/31/2030.

    Dated: December 23, 2024.
Terrance Perry,
Acting Director, Office of Grants Services, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-31316 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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