EPIDEMIOLOGY NEWS BRIEFS

Editor's Quote of the Week “For believers, no proof is necessary. And for skeptics, no proof is possible. Somewhere in between , hopefully, are the bulk of people who will weigh the evidence.” Barnett Kramer NIH Comments made to the New York Times following the publication of two studies showing no increased risk of brain tumors among cell phone users.

Journal Launches New Series On The History of Epidemiology

Social and Preventive Medicine, published every two months by the Swiss Society for Public Health and now subtitled The International Journal of Public Health, has just released its first issue for 2001 under the new leadership of co-editors Alfredo Morabia and Thomas Abel. A highlight of the revitalized journal is publication of a new series on the history of epidemiology. It will appear in installments over the next three years will be about the evolution of the methods of epidemiology rather than a retelling of the accomplishments of epidemiology.

According to Morabia, “mastering these methods becomes the reason why someone is considered ( and given a position) as an epidemiologist rather than any other kind of scientist.” Keeping with this approach, the first article in the series is entitled “Cohort analysis: W.H. Frost’s contributions to the epidemiology of tuberculosis and chronic disease” and was written by George Comstock. Other topics to be covered include case control studies, bias, outbreak investigations, ecologic studies, statistical methods, causality and many more. For further information, contact alfredo.morabia@hcuge.ch

New York Times Reporter Recounts His Former Days As A Shoe Leather Epidemiologist

“As epidemiologists, we acted as part scientists, historians, sleuths, statisticians, and journalists...”says Larry Altman, medical writer for the New York Times and former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the CDC, describing his role in an investigation of a botulism outbreak in Tennessee in 1963. Altman is just one of several writers who have put together articles in honor of the EIS which feted its 50th anniversary during weekend celebrations in Atlanta on April 21-22 (see below). The Altman article appeared in the Science Times on April 17, and other articles about the EIS have appeared in JAMA Medical News and Perspectives on April 18, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 7 (http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/apr01/marchione08040701.asp) and the MMWR on April 20th..

EIS Alumni Reminisce About Significant Contributions To Epidemiology and Public Health Triumphs Over The Last 50 Years

Scores of former Epidemic Intelligence Service officers converged on Atlanta this past weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Epidemic Intelligence Service and to hear their friends and colleagues retell their favorite “war stories” about battles on the front lines of public health. Among the famous episodes retold this weekend were those surrounding the Cutter incident in which poorly inactivated lots of the Salk polio vaccine were found to cause polio in the 1950’s and helped put CDC on the map, the early days of AIDS and lead investigations, the public health triumphs represented by the control of Reye syndrome and toxic shock syndrome, and many others. It was an inspiring chronicle because it reminded all who were there of the power of epidemiologic data to make a significant impact on publish health. This was the real stuff. A three-videotape oral history of key investigations has been prepared (“Ripples In The Waters Of Epidemiology”) as well as a pictorial report of the EIS. Interested readers may obtain more information about the celebrations at www.cdc.gov/eis

Bush Decides To Implement New Privacy Rules On Schedule

In a surprise move, President Bush decided to allow the “final” version of the new privacy rules promulgated in the last days of the Clinton administration to go into effect on April 14, 2001 as scheduled. According to an HHS press release, the new rules will give patients greater access to their own medical records and more control over how their personal information is used.

The government received more than 24,000 written comments in the last few weeks and will address the concerns raised by issuing clear guidelines for the implementation of the regulations. Where necessary, recommended modifications to the new rules will be made. The impact of the new rules on research related activities is not yet fully clear, but at least one major health organization, the American Association of Medical Colleges, has spoken out to say that changes are needed to avoid compromising medical research activities. And the AAMC has specifically argued for changes that would directly protect the work of epidemiologists. For more information, visit www.aamc.org/advocacy/testimny/research/privacyreg0102.htm

EPA Still Seeking To Find The Right Standard For Arsenic In Drinking Water

“...President Bush...has surprised even members of his own party with the breadth and speed of the administration’s assault on the environment,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. But that is not the administration’s view. In an April 18, 2001 statement on arsenic in drinking water, EPA Administrator Whitman has asked the National Academy of Sciences to perform an expedited review of a parts per billion standard that would range from 3 to 20 ppb instead of the 10 ppb recommended by the Clinton administration and lower than the 50 ppb which is the current standard set in 1942. According to the EPA, this is about setting a standard based on the best science. According to NRDC, the 10 ppb was the result of more than a decade of public hearings and scientific reviews and would be similar to the European Union and WHO standards already adopted a few years ago.