This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by email at emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.
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The Department of Homeland Security Disaster Management (DM) Transition Team completed the conversion of critical infrastructure protection (CIP) information email notification from DisasterHelp.gov to GovDelivery. For the information sharing purposes of the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC), DisasterHelp.gov is now defunct. This means subscribers to CIP InfoGrams, Bulletins, and the CIP (For Official Use Only) Notices have already begun receiving these documents from emr-isac@govdelivery.com.
All existing email accounts have been moved over automatically from DisasterHelp.gov to the GovDelivery notification system without any necessary action by EMR-ISAC CIP information subscribers. However, it should be no surprise that there were some problems such as invalid electronic addresses or expired passwords among the 45,000 transferred from one system to the other. Efforts are ongoing to correct these problems on a case-by-case basis and may take the remainder of this month to reconcile.
Please understand that individual subscribed just for the open-source and unclassified weekly CIP InfoGrams and periodic CIP Bulletins do not require a user name and password. As was the case in the past, recipients of InfoGrams and Bulletins should simply click on the link within the message and the document should immediately open.
Only personnel validated to receive the CIP (FOUO) Notices who frequently logged in to open these notices since 1 January 2007, received a message from administrator@interactive.dhs.gov stating that they must log into the DHSInteractive portal with a new user name and password provided in the email. If you received this message, please comply with the directions to ensure your uninterrupted receipt of the CIP (FOUO) Notices.
In the event you experience difficulty accessing the CIP information disseminated by the EMR-ISAC through the new delivery system, please send a message to emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov with sufficient details. For example, to perform corrective action, the EMR-ISAC will need to know the following:
The response to the Minneapolis bridge collapse in August by Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies demonstrated that many state, local, and federal agencies worked together successfully. The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) wrote that organizational critical infrastructures remained intact and operational because of the smart planning, excellent training, hard work, synchronization of all participants, and application of National Incident Management System (NIMS) processes and procedures.
Opportunities for responders to engage in free emergency preparedness training with stakeholder agencies in their communities are available through a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation. The goal of the training, "Connecting Communities Public Transportation Emergency Preparedness Workshops," is to bring together members of stakeholder agencies to collaboratively improve overall interoperability and incident response. Attendees from local, county, and state organizations will participate in interactive exercises and small-group activities to coordinate the assets and specialized resources of transit and transportation systems using the framework of NIMS and the Emergency Management Process. Priority topics include interoperability and maximum resource use in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist incident, or other emergency.
The next workshop will be held 8-9 November 2007, at the National Guard Armory in Charleston, WV. There is no charge for the training, and breakfast and lunch are provided. Additional information and a schedule of upcoming workshops can be seen here. Information about all Federal Transit Administration emergency management training is available here.
MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterial infection, transmitted from person-to-person, that in the past was mainly associated with health care facilities. Today, it has taken the lead to become the most frequent cause of skin and soft tissue infections within the United States. Research conducted during July 2004 through December 2005 suggests that this disease is not only a major public health problem, but that it is no longer confined to acute health care.
Community-associated MSRA is defined as a case that has no documented community-onset health care risk factors which include hospitalization, surgery, long-term care residence, and MRSA infection. Among those found to be at the highest risk are people 65 years or older, African Americans, and males; those with the lowest risk are people between the ages of 5 and 17.
The overall estimation for 2005 was 94,360 cases nationally of MSRA with an estimated 18,650 deaths. According to the "2005 AIDS Epidemic Update" produced by UNAIDS and the WHO, the estimated number of deaths in North America due to AIDS in 2005 was 18,000.
In recent years, community-associated MSRA infections have been spreading through prisons, gyms, locker rooms, and in poor urban neighborhoods. The Washington Post reported this week that more than a dozen cases have been identified among students in Maryland and Virginia school systems.
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) encourages first responders to be aware of their surroundings. Document a patient's history and maintain proper hygiene standards that are already necessary to prevent other infections. Be aware that MRSA is most often spread by skin-to skin contact, contact with a contaminated surface or through the sharing of personal items such as towels and razors.
For further information, read the actual research article in the Journal of American Medical Association, October 17, 2007�Vol 298, No. 15 "Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States;" or visit http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/AntimicrobialResistance/default.htm.
The U.S. Fire Administration/EMR-ISAC does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and does not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
This INFOGRAM may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. EMR-ISAC personnel believe this constitutes "fair use" of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DHS and the FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to DHS and/or the FBI. The DHS National Operation Center (NOC) can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9685 or by email at NOC.Fusion@dhs.gov.
The FBI regional phone numbers can be found online at www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
For information affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure, contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), a sub-element of the NOC. The NICC can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9201 or by email at NICC@dhs.gov.
When available, each report submitted should include the date, time, location, type of activity, number of people and type of equipment used for the activity, the name of the submitting company or organization, and a designated point of contact.
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