Readout: CDC and OASH’s Office of Science and Medicine Host Roundtable on Vector-Borne Disease National Strategy

As part of the continued public engagement on vector-borne diseases, on Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Science and Medicine of the Office of the Under Secretary for Health (OASH ) met with researchers. , physicians, public health officials, vector control officials, and patients and patient advocates to learn about public priorities for implementing the goals of the newly published publication. National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People (National EVB Strategy). He National EVB Strategy was developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to Congressional direction in the Kay Hagan Tick Act of 2019 (42 USC §§ 247b-23 and 300hh-32) directing the Secretary of HHS to ensure the development and implementation of a national strategy to address the growing concern about vector-borne diseases. He main objective of the meeting is to increase awareness about National EVB Strategy and inform future implementation efforts.

The roundtable featured more than 120 invited participants, participating in person at HHS headquarters in Washington, DC and virtually in Zoom meeting rooms. The event provided a hybrid venue to hear a series of lightning talks from federal agency representatives on vector-borne disease prevention and control efforts in 2023. It also provided a space to hear diverse perspectives on the goals and priorities for implementation of the National EVB Strategy. Both the opening and closing sessions presented on the HHS livestream will be available on HHS YouTube in the coming weeks. Invited participants with a range of experience in vector-borne diseases participated in a series of interactive activities to gather individual opinions on priority areas of focus for National EVB Strategy Implementation.

The day was started by both Dr. Lyle Petersen, Director of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, CDC, and Dr. Leith States, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and Medicine, OASH, highlighting the growing health threat posed by Vector-borne diseases in the United States. Both emphasized the Department’s commitment to addressing those threats. Dr. Susanna Visser, Deputy Director of Extramural Policy and Programs, DVBD, CDC provided an overview of the National EVB Strategy with five main objectives and 19 strategic priorities to drive progress. Dr. Visser drew attention to the strategy’s four bold public health outcomes, including a 25% reduction in laboratory-confirmed Lyme disease cases by 2035 compared to 2022.

Following the strategy overview, Dr. Kristen Honey, Chief Data Scientist, OASH, HHS, thanked participants for sharing their candid feedback and underscored the need for VBD solutions to be “co-created” by everyone working together for maximum impact. Various representatives from participating agencies provided 5-minute lightning talks on their agency success stories in 2023, including:

• HHS Lyme Innovation with the LymeX Diagnostics Prize competition;
• Prevention and control of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Arizona tribal communities;
• Department of Defense MilTICK Program;
• Flea Control in Badlands National Park; and
• Emergence of longhorned ticks in the United States.

The roundtable exercises, led by external facilitators, provided an open forum for all participants to provide candid feedback on the five goals and 19 strategic priorities of the National EVB Strategy. Participants placed stickers on posters of each of the five goals and 19 strategic priorities to demonstrate the most important priorities. Participants also held open discussions to provide context and nuance about their perspectives, captured by note takers at each of the six in-person tables and six virtual breakout rooms. The roundtable closed with a final session streamed live by HHS to summarize input gathered from the day’s activities.

Emerging themes included the need for better diagnostics for existing and new VTEs, the inclusion of diverse patient voices and perspectives in solutions to VTE threats, and the importance of improving physician education on diagnosis and treatment of VTE. External facilitators are collecting and summarizing individual input from the roundtable to provide to the 17 federal agencies that developed the National VBD Strategy to help inform future implementation plans and updates to the National EVB Strategy. This post-event report from the Roundtable on National EVB Strategy It will be available to the public when it is released later this year.

The May 2024 Roundtable on National EVB Strategy begins the start of the implementation of the National EVB Strategy with collaboration inside and outside the federal government. Taken together, the collective vision is of a nation where vector-borne diseases no longer threaten human health and well-being. For more information, visit https://www.hhs.gov/ash/osm/innovationx/vector-borne-disease-national-strategy/index.html or email vectorbornedisease@hhs.gov.