The Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has focused on fostering conversations about the opioid epidemic and how it is affecting the spread of infectious diseases. They're engaging federal, national and local partners to bring examples of the latest evidence and recommendations, strategies being employed, and progress being made at the state and local levels in responding to the opioid epidemic.

Stopping the opioid epidemic is a major priority across the nation and is visible in federal funding for these efforts and in the President’s budget for 2018 and 2019 as well as in current events such as next week’s National Academies meeting and the Hidden Casualties webinars. However, the infectious disease consequences have been much less visible. As the crisis has evolved, more and more organizations are joining efforts to respond to these infectious disease trends.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is holding a one-and-a-half-day workshop on the infectious disease consequences of the opioid epidemic on March 12^th and 13^th in Washington, D.C. The workshop will be opened by the new Assistant Secretary for Health, ADM Brett Giroir, M.D., and will provide an opportunity to explore the epidemiology of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases associated with the opioid epidemic, how these infections are increasing because of the opioid epidemic, and the strategies experts are using to respond. Registration is open to attend the workshop in person or online via webcast. 

CDC’s most recent analysis, a Vital Signs released on March 6, 2018, showed that the opioid overdose epidemic continued to accelerate from 2016 – 2017, highlighting the need to have timely data collection, analysis, and dissemination to enable communities to respond quickly. More information is needed to understand how these trends may affect viral hepatitis and other infectious diseases. We hope our current partners and new partners will join us in working to identify opportunities to continue and/or expand strategic data gathering and planning efforts for hepatitis B and hepatitis C as they relate to the opioid epidemic. You can get more information and guidance on developing your own plan of action for viral hepatitis by  downloading our recently released Partner Planning Guide.

This announcement is for a third-party program that The Forum for Collaborative Research does not control or provide support for. Please contact the organizers directly with any questions.