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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4037-4038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1225]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-09-08AW]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 639-5960 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974. 
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Quarantine Station Illness Response Forms: Airline, Maritime, and 
Land/Border Crossing--New--National Center for Preparedness, Detection, 
and Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
    CDC proposes to collect patient-level clinical, epidemiologic, and 
demographic data from ill travelers and their possible contacts in 
order to fulfill its regulatory responsibility to prevent the 
importation of communicable diseases from foreign countries (42 CFR 
Part 71) and interstate control of communicable diseases in humans (42 
CFR Part 70).

Background and Brief Description

    Section 361 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 264) 
authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make and 
enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission 
or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the 
United States. The regulations that implement this law, 42 CFR Parts 70 
and 71, authorize quarantine officers and other personnel to inspect 
and undertake necessary control measures with respect to conveyances 
(e.g., airplanes, cruise ships, trucks, etc.), persons, and shipments 
of animals and etiologic agents in order to protect the public health. 
The regulations also require conveyances to immediately report an ``ill 
person'' or any death on board to the Quarantine Station prior to 
arrival in the United States. An ``ill person'' is defined in statute 
by:

--Fever ([gteqt]100 [deg]F or 38 [deg]C) persisting [gteqt]48 hours
--Fever ([gteqt]100 [deg]F or 38 [deg]C) AND rash, glandular swelling, 
or jaundice
--Diarrhea ([gteqt]3 stools in 24 hours or greater than normal amount)

    The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) situation and concern 
about pandemic influenza and other communicable diseases have prompted 
CDC Quarantine Stations to recommend that all illnesses be reported 
prior to arrival.
    CDC Quarantine Stations are currently located at 20 international 
U.S. Ports of Entry. When a suspected illness is reported to the 
Quarantine Station,

[[Page 4038]]

officers promptly respond to this report by meeting the incoming 
conveyance (when possible), collecting information and evaluating the 
patient(s), and determining whether an ill person can safely be 
admitted into the U.S. If Quarantine Station staff are unable to meet 
the conveyance, the crew or medical staff of the conveyance are trained 
to complete the required documentation and forward it (using a secure 
system) to the Quarantine Station for review and follow-up.
    To perform these tasks in a streamlined manner and ensure that all 
relevant information is collected in the most efficient and timely 
manner possible, Quarantine Stations use a number of forms--the Airline 
Screening and Illness Response Form, the Ship Illness/Death Reporting 
Form, and the Land/Border Crossing Form--to collect data on passengers 
with suspected illness and other travelers/crew who may have been 
exposed to an illness. These forms are also used to respond to a report 
of a death aboard a conveyance.
    The purpose of all of the forms is the same: to collect information 
that helps quarantine officials detect and respond to potential public 
health communicable disease threats. All forms collect the following 
categories of information: demographics and mode of transportation, 
clinical and medical history, and any other relevant facts (e.g., 
travel history, traveling companions, etc.). As part of this 
documentation, quarantine public health officers look for specific 
signs and symptoms common to the nine quarantinable diseases (Pandemic 
influenza; SARS; Cholera; Plague; Diphtheria; Infectious Tuberculosis; 
Smallpox; Yellow fever; and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers), as well as most 
communicable diseases in general. These signs and symptoms include 
fever, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, cough, diarrhea, 
jaundice, or signs of a neurological infection. The forms also collect 
data specific to the traveler's conveyance.
    These data are used by Quarantine Stations to make decisions about 
a passenger's suspected illness as well as its communicability. This in 
turn enables Quarantine Station staff to assist conveyances in the 
public health management of passengers and crew.
    The estimated total burden on the public, included in the chart 
below, can vary a great deal depending on the severity of the illness 
being reported, the number of contacts, the number of follow-up 
inquiries required, and who is recording the information (e.g., 
Quarantine Station staff versus the conveyance medical authority). In 
all cases, Quarantine Stations have implemented practices and 
procedures that balance the health and safety of the American public 
against the public's desire for minimal interference with their travel 
and trade. Whenever possible, Quarantine Station staff obtain 
information from other documentation (e.g., manifest order, other 
airline documents) to reduce the amount of the public burden.
    There is no cost to respondents other than their time to complete 
the survey. The total estimated annualized burden for this data 
collection is 172 hours.

                                          Estimate of Annualized Burden
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                                                                                     Number of    Average burden
                           Respondents                               Number of     responses per   per response
                                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)
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Airline Illness or Death Investigation Form.....................            1320               1            6/60
International Maritime Illness or Death Report..................             200               1            3/60
International Maritime Illness or Death Investigation Form......             200               1            7/60
Land Border Illness or Death Investigation Form.................              60               1            6/60
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    Dated: January 12, 2009.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-1225 Filed 1-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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