Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on Survey of Surveillance Records of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from 1960 to Present. This project consists of the collection of county and sub-county-level records for Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, the vectors of Zika virus.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before October 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-0079 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

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; (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; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Proposed Project

Survey of Surveillance Records of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from 1960 to Present—New—National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

The Zika virus response necessitates the collection of county and sub-county level records for Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, the vectors of Zika virus. This information will be used to update species distribution maps for the United States and to develop a model aimed at identifying where these vectors can survive and reproduce. CDC is seeking six months of OMB clearance to collect information.

In February, 2016, OMB issued emergency clearance for a county-level survey of vector surveillance records (OMB Control No. 0920-1101, expiration date 8/31/2016). This information collection will be nearly a repeat of that survey.

The previous survey aimed to describe the current reported distribution of the Zika virus vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The survey revealed that we are lacking records from recent years of both species from areas where we expect to find Zika vectors based on historical records and environmental suitability. It is likely that the reason for this is because from 2004-2015 most vector surveillance focused on vectors of West Nile virus (Culex spp.) rather than Zika vectors. As part of the Zika response, efforts to identify Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in the continental U.S. were substantially enhanced during 2016 and funding will be provided to states to continue to enhance surveillance for these vectors. By repeating the survey, we will have a more complete assessment of where these vectors are currently being reported. In the new survey, we will also seek information on locations of the mosquito traps at sub-county spatial scales. Such information will aid in (1) targeting vector control efforts to prevent mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission in the continental U.S. and (2) targeting future vector surveillance efforts.

The purpose of the mosquito surveillance survey is to collect county and sub-county-level records for Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, the vectors of Zika virus. The resulting maps and models will: Inform the public and policy makers of the known distribution of these vectors, identify gaps in vector surveillance, and target allocation of surveillance and prevention resources.

Respondents will include vector control professionals, entomologists, and public health professionals who will be contacted by email, primarily through listserves of professional organizations. They will be asked for their voluntary participation in a short survey to assess the distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus at county and sub-county spatial scales in the U.S.

This information collection request is authorized by Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241). The total estimated annualized number of burden hours is 125. There will be no anticipated costs to respondents other than time.