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Tech Solutions
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2019 News Archives
DONOR SCREENING GEO GUIDE UPDATE: CDC REVISES MALARIA INFORMATION FOR COSTA RICA
December, 2019
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An update to the GEO Guide was published on December 16th in response to revised malaria information and anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis recommendations for Costa Rica published in the online version of the CDC's 2020 Yellow Book.
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Specifically, the 2020 Yellow Book now states that malaria is present in the districts of Cutris and Pocosol in San Carlos Canton of Alajuela Province and recommends malaria chemoprophylaxis for travel to these areas.
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This update includes the revision and return of the malaria map of Costa Rica to the GEO Guide as well as updated malaria reference lists to reflect the change in status of Costa Rica from a non-malaria-endemic country to a country with malaria-endemic areas.
DONOR SCREENING GEO GUIDE UPDATE: MACEDONIA NAME CHANGE & CDC UPGRADES ZIKA RISK FOR FRANCE
November, 2019
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An update to the GEO Guide was published on November 19th in response to the change in name of Macedonia to North Macedonia.
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This update also includes revised Zika transmission risk information for France published recently on the CDC’s website, and revised malaria information for Brazil to reflect the end of the outbreak in Wenceslau Guimarães.
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In addition, the malaria maps of Malaysia; Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Urban Area; South Africa; South Korea: Incheon, Kyonggi-do, and Kangwon-do; Thailand: Southern Region; and the vCJD risk map of U.S. Military Bases in Europe have been revised to incorporate some client-requested changes and other enhancements.
2020 EDITION OF THE CDC YELLOW BOOK PUBLISHED
May 23, 2019
Publication of the 2020 Edition of the CDC's Health Information for International Travel, also known as "The Yellow Book", has been confirmed by the publisher, Oxford University Press.
The new edition Yellow Book is being published in both hardcover, paperback, and digital formats. Hard-copy and paperback books are currently only available directly from Oxford University Press. The hardcover and paperback books are currently available for pre-order on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites, with books to be shipped once the new editions are received from the publisher. The digital version of the 2020 Yellow Book is currently available for download from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Review of the 2020 Yellow Book revealed no significant changes in malaria-endemic areas from the information in the CDC’s online version of the 2018 Yellow Book that was updated in February 2019. These changes have been incorporated in the April 2019 update to the Donor Screening GEO Guide.
DONOR SCREENING GEO GUIDE UPDATE ISSUED:
CDC UPDATES TO MALARIA & ZIKA INFORMATION
April, 2019
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An update to the GEO Guide was published on April 1st, in response to the recent changes to Malaria and Zika information published on the CDC's website. This update also includes revisions to additional malaria maps to bring all maps up to our current map standards.
This update includes:
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Addition of a new malaria map of Timor-Leste and re-institution of the malaria maps of Mauritania and Saudi Arabia.
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Revision of malaria maps of Bangladesh, Botswana, Cambodia, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Iran, Madagascar, Mexico: Overview, Mexico: Chiapas, Mexico: Chihuahua, North Korea, Philippines: Overview, Philippines: Mindanao Region, Philippines: Palawan Region, South Korea: Incheon, Kangwon-do, & Kyonggi-do, Tanzania, Thailand, and Thailand: Southern Region.
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Revision of malaria reference lists & malaria section Table of Contents
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Revision of malaria Technical Notes and malaria map overlays for new, reinstituted and revised malaria maps (Reference Edition only)
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Revision of the Donor Screening GEO Matrix
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CDC UPDATES ZIKA RISK INFORMATION
March 6, 2019
On February 28th the CDC published a revised classification system for Zika transmission risk on its website. This change resulted in the reclassification of numerous countries and areas. Here is a link to the location of the changed information of the CDC’s website: Zika Travel Information.
In response to these changes, the FDA published a document to clarify and align the CDC’s revised categories with the FDA’s recommendations for deferral of HCT/P donors for increased risk of Zika transmission. Here is a link to the FDA document:
In response to these changes, an interim change has been made to the Donor Screening GEO Matrix. This is being offered as a stand-alone document to any current Donor Screening GEO Guide clients that require this revised Zika information in advance of the complete GEO Guide update that will be issued in April.
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In addition, the Interactive Zika World Map on this website has been updated to reflect the reclassification of Zika transmission risk for all affected areas.
CDC UPDATES ONLINE YELLOW BOOK MALARIA INFORMATION
February 27, 2019
The CDC has updated malaria information for several countries in the online version of the 2018 Yellow Book. These changes warrant a major update to the Donor Screening GEO Guide at this time. Malaria-endemic areas have changed for 11 countries, and publication of the GEO Guide update is currently projected for April.
The affected countries include Botswana, Cape Verde, China, Cyprus, Guyana, Iran, Mauritania, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, & Timor-Leste (East Timor). This update will also include eight other malaria maps that have been updated to the current map standards.
Please note that the malaria information contained in the “Red Pages” table on the CDC site has not yet been fully updated to reflect the changes to the online Yellow Book.
2019 UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION PRICING RELEASED
February 7, 2019
Update pricing for the 2019 subscription year (from April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020) has been determined.
Hard Copy Update Subscriptions (per book):
Screening Editions (all versions): $180.00
Reference Editions (all versions): $220.00
Update projections for 2019 included consideration of the following factors:
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Analysis of 2018 WHO report identified a possible changes in malaria-endemic areas in 15 countries (with an estimated 10 overlays impacted).
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Planned revision of 11 malaria maps to the current production method.
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Scheduled publication of the 2020 CDC Yellow Book in the summer of 2019.
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Possible publication of final revised FDA blood guidance on vCJD, based on the draft amendment published in December 2017: Amendment to “Revised Preventive Measures to Reduce the Possible Risk of Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease by Blood and Blood Products: Guidance for Industry", that includes revised geographic screening recommendations for vCJD.
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Possible triggering of donor screening for Ebola Virus Disease in 2019 based ont he sustained current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Update subscription pricing for digital version clients will be provided individually based on each client’s reported 2018 annual collections.
DONOR SCREENING GEO GUIDE UPDATE ISSUED:
ESWATINI & NEW MALARIA DETAIL MAPS
January 2, 2019
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An update to the GEO Guide was published on January 2nd, encompassing the name change of Swaziland to Eswatini. This update also included the addition of five new malaria detail maps of areas of Afghanistan and the Philippines requested by our users.
This update includes:
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Revision of the malaria map of Swaziland to Eswatini
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New detail malaria maps of the Kabul region of Afghanistan as well as the greater Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, and Visayas regions of the Philippines
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Updated malaria maps of Afghanistan, the Philippines, & the Manila Region of the Philippines
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Updated malaria reference lists
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Updated malaria section Table of Contents
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Updated malaria Technical Notes and malaria map overlays for Eswatini and the Philippines (Reference Edition only)
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Revised Donor Screening GEO Matrix