RFA-CK-22-003, Emerging Infections Sentinel Networks (EISN) Research - 2022

Project Summary In 1995, following the Institute of Medicine’s report, “Emerging Infections,” and in response to the CDC’s strategic plan to enhance surveillance, EMERGEncy ID NET was established. EMERGEncy ID NET's goal was to address the threat of emerging infectious diseases by assessing disease prevalence, risk factors, and management practices for acute presentations from the community among a diverse and underserved population of patients presenting to US emergency departments (EDs). A CDC cooperative grant has funded the network for the last 25 years. Due to the ability to prospectively collect clinical data and specimens for on-site laboratory analysis 24/7 from acutely ill patients from the community, EMERGEncy ID NET has been able to produce translational research that has impacted physician practices and informed public health policy. The research network demonstrated its capability to successfully address an urgent public health threat during the COVID-19 pandemic by rapidly implementing 20-site and 16-site public health surveillance projects of ED patient care-related infection risk and vaccine effectiveness among frontline health care personnel. Numerous peer-reviewed publications have resulted from EMERGEncy ID NET research, including in high-impact journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Annals of Emergency Medicine. Aims of EMERGEncy ID NET for the next 5 years are to: 1) identify emerging infections and risk factors for these conditions affecting US ED patients, including among underserved groups; 2) leverage EMERGEncy ID NET’s findings to create new collaborations to develop and improve diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines; and 3) disseminate results at national medical conferences, in high-impact journals, and on infectious diseases, public health, and emergency medicine social media outlets to inform treatment and public health policy, and educate the public. Support of EMERGEncy ID NET for the next 5 years will ensure that the network can continue to answer new questions about emerging infections and related areas of high public health priority.