Notices. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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/register/2011/03/15/2011-5919·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [30 Day 11-10GP] Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)publishes a list of information collection requests under review by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at
(404)639-5960 or send an e-mail to *omb@cdc.gov.* Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to
(202)395-5806. Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice. Proposed Project *Clostridium difficile* Infection
(CDI)Surveillance—New—National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC). Background and Brief Description Steady increases in the rate and severity of *Clostridium difficile* infection
(CDI)indicate a clear need to conduct longitudinal assessments of the impact of CDI in the United States. *C. difficile* is an anaerobic, spore-forming, gram positive bacillus that produces two pathogenic toxins: A and B. CDI ranges in severity from mild diarrhea to fulminant colitis and death. Transmission of *C. difficile* occurs primarily in healthcare facilities, where environmental contamination by *C. difficile* spores and exposure to antimicrobial drugs are common. No longer limited to healthcare environments, community-associated CDI is the focus of increasing attention. Recently, several cases of serious CDI have been reported in what have been considered low-risk populations, including healthy persons living in the community and peri-partum women. The surveillance population will consist of persons residing in the catchment area of the participating Emerging Infections Program
(EIP)sites. This surveillance poses no more than minimal risk to the study participants as there will be no interventions or modifications to the care study participants receive. EIP surveillance personnel will perform active case finding from laboratory reports of stool specimens testing positive for *C. difficile* toxin and abstract data on cases using a standardized case report form. For a subset of cases ( *e.g.,* community-associated *C. difficile* cases) sites will administer a health interview. Remnant stool specimens from cases testing positive for *C. difficile* toxin will be submitted to reference laboratories for culturing, and isolates will be sent to CDC for confirmation and molecular typing. Outcomes of this surveillance project will include the population-based incidence of community- and healthcare-associated CDI, and a description of the molecular characteristics of *C. difficile* strains and the epidemiology of this infection among the population under surveillance. There is no cost to respondents to participate in this program. The total annualized burden for this data collection is 5,840 hours. Estimate of Annualized Burden Hours Respondent Number of respondents Number of responses per respondent Average burden per response (in hours) CDI Surveillance Case Report Form—Complete 10 437 1 CDI Surveillance Case Report Form—Partial 10 438 15/60 CDI Surveillance Health Interview 10 50 45/60 Dated: March 9, 2011. Carol Walker, Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [FR Doc. 2011-5919 Filed 3-14-11; 8:45 am]