02-10400. Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports Clearance Officer on [phone].

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Send comments to Seleda Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project: National Disease Surveillance Program—I. Case Reports (0920-0009)—Extension—National Center for Infectious Disease (NCID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Formal surveillance of 20 separate reportable diseases has been ongoing to meet the public demand and scientific interest for accurate, consistent, epidemiologic data. These ongoing diseases include: bacterial meningitis and bacteremia, dengue, hantavirus, HIV/AIDS, Idiopathic CD4+T-lymphocytopenia, Kawasaki syndrome, Legionellosis, leprosy, lyme disease, malaria, Mycobacterium avium Complex Disease, plague, Q Fever, Reye Syndrome, tick-borne Rickettsial Disease, toxic shock syndrome, toxocariasis, trichinosis, typhoid fever, and viral hepatitis. Case report forms enable CDC to collect demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of cases of these diseases. This information is used to direct epidemiologic investigations, to identify and monitor trends in reemerging infectious diseases or emerging modes of transmission, to search for possible causes or sources of the diseases, and to develop guidelines for the prevention of treatment. It is also used to recommend target areas in most need of vaccinations for certain diseases and to determine development of drug resistance.

Because of the distinct nature of each of the diseases, the number of cases reported annually is different for each. The total estimated annualized burden is 34,097 hours. There is no cost to respondents.

Respondents	Number of respondents	Number of responses/respondent	Avg. burden/respondent (in hours)	Total burden (in hours)
Health Care Workers	55	111.10	5.58	34,097
Total				34,097*
* An average of the total estimated burden hours.

Dated: April 19, 2002.

Nancy E. Cheal,

Acting Associate Director for Planning, Policy, and Evaluation Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.