EpiLab Consulting

EpiLab epidemiologist John Pfister co-authored two papers published in the December 2021 supplement issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Volume 48 – 12S):

Enhancing Gonococcal Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance in Cisgender Women, Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea, 2018 to 2019
Wendel, Karen A.; Mauk, Kerry; Amsterdam, Lori; McNeil, Candice J.; Pfister, John R.; Mobley, Victoria; Mettenbrink, Christie; Nishiyama, Masayo; Terrell, Erica; Baldwin, Tamara; Pham, Cau D.; Nash, Evelyn E.; Kirkcaldy, Robert D.; Schlanger, Karen Less
Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 48(12S):S104-S110, December 2021.

Targeting Culture Criteria to Maximize Culture Positivity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 3 Sexual Health Clinic Settings
Nguyen, Trang Quyen; Jamison, Kelly; Pfister, John; Sankaran, Madeline; Amsterdam, Lori; Siemetzk-Kapoor, Ulrike; Pathela, Preeti Less
Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 48(12S):S144-S150, December 2021.

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States”, the first report to look at the burden and threats posed by antibiotic resistance on human health. This report named antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea among the three most urgent threats of its kind in the country. One year later the President released an Executive Order and the White House developed the National Strategy to “Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria” (CARB), both of which call for the prevention, detection, and control of antibiotic resistance.

In March 2015, the White House released the five-year National Action Plan for CARB, which outlines steps for implementing the National Strategy. Through federal funding for CARB in fiscal year 2016, CDC’s Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP) is supporting a number of new and continuing activities that aim to slow the development of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea and prevent its spread. Gonorrhea control in the U.S. relies on our ability to detect and treat each case of gonorrhea quickly and effectively with the right antibiotic; because of this, DSTDP is taking a multipronged, capacity-building approach to tackle the problem.

Among the activities CARB is supporting is the multisite, Gonorrhea Rapid Detection and Response, which will develop and strengthen local and state health department epidemiological, laboratory, and informatics capacity to more rapidly detect, and quickly and effectively respond to, antibiotic resistance through network analysis of transmission dynamics and novel interventions.

Wisconsin, and specifically Milwaukee, is one of nine jurisdictions nationally to be awarded funding to begin these activities in 2016. John Pfister of EpiLab Consulting has been named Epidemiology Analyst to provide support to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for this initiative, through its existing contract with Health Care Education and Training, Inc.

Strategic Planning Session, Jinja, Uganda, June 2016

John Pfister of EpiLab Consulting participated on a three-person APHL team which organized and facilitated meetings in Jinja, Uganda June 12-19, 2016, and in Kampala, Uganda July 11-15 to begin work with the Uganda team on the policy development and strategic planning activities. An additional meeting in Uganda is being scheduled for later in 2016 to review and finalize these documents.

John Pfister’s role with Health Care Education and Training (HCET) has changed as of January 1, 2015. John has been working as a part-time HCET staff member since October 2011, but will now revert to working as an external consultant – a relationship he has had with HCET for almost 20 years. There will be little change in the types or scope of the HCET-related projects on which John will be working, particularly those assisting the Wisconsin Division of Public Health in conducting laboratory-bases surveillance of sexually transmitted diseases in Wisconsin.

The annual business meeting of the Wisconsin Division of Public Health’s (DPH) Women’s Health-Family Planning/Reproductive Health (WH-FP/RH) Program was held in Wausau on September 24, 2014. This annual event is an opportunity for Wisconsin DPH-funded clinics to learn about program updates and guidelines, discuss priority topics, and consider future trends. Among the sessions was a review of Wisconsin STD screening data presented by Lori Amsterdam of DPH and John Pfister of HCET.

“DPH Annual Business Meeting.”

PREP funding is directed toward the development of comprehensive, teen pregnancy prevention programs that incorporate medically accurate approaches, while replicating evidence-based programs or elements of programs that have been demonstrated to change behavior.

With efforts toward preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, the Indiana Proud and Connected Teens (IN-PACT) Program at Health Care Education and Training (HCET) is supported by Competitive PREP funding. IN-PACT targets young people who are:
-In foster care and transitioning
-Court Involved and Incarcerated
-Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ)

HCET partners with youth-serving organizations to provide evidence based curricula to target youth. The purpose of IN-PACT programming is to reduce teen pregnancy and prevent STD’s/HIV, by educating youth to develop the life skills that will enable them to become health productive adults.

John Pfister will assist as an epidemiologist on this project He has contributed to the grant proposal by conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of the target populations. During the course of the project, he will assist with periodic statistical analysis of participant survey data.

Association of Public Health Laboratory (APHL) consultants John Pfister and Paul Kimsey participated in and facilitated a stakeholders workshop on 9/26-9/28/2012 in Gaborone, Botswana to review, update and finalize the National Medical Laboratory Policy (NMLP) document for Botswana. Botswana’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has had a draft NMLP document for at least seven years and needed to finalize, adopt and publish this document as a companion document to the Laboratory Standards document of 2003 and the Strategic Plan (2009-2014). The APHL consultants provided expert input, content review and editorial guidance at the workshop during which the 20 invitees of the Technical Review Committee finalized the draft NMLP document!

Health Care Education and Training, Inc. (HCET) has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to serve as the STD-related Reproductive Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (STDRHTTAC) for DHHS Region V (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI). HCET will provide training and technical assistance to state, local, territorial, and tribal STD programs to strengthen program management and delivery of STD services and improve quality of reproductive-health-related STD services.

The key activities of this funding are as follows:
-Support the implementation, use, and evaluation of implementing third-party billing and reimbursement systems in STD prevention services in clinics;
-Collect, analyze, and utilize prevalence monitoring data;
-Promote best practices.

John Pfister will serve as the project’s epidemiologist for HCET. His role will be to work with the Program Director to conduct the prevalence monitoring needs assessment, develop the training and TA plan for years 2-5, and coordinate on-site interventions for the prevalence monitoring aspects of the project.

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works with the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) Global AIDS Program through a cooperative agreement to improve laboratory capacity in the countries most severely affected by the AIDS pandemic. APHL project activities are conducted by APHL staff members and external consultants. John Pfister of EpiLab Consulting has been invited to serve as, and has accepted, the role of APHL Country Lead to Botswana, Ghana and South Africa. The Botswana assignment is a continuation of the role held by John since 2005.

Today was my last day of work at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene. After 29 years of state service at the University of Wisconsin, 28 years at WSLH, I am retiring to devote more of my time and energy to my consulting activities through EpiLab. I thank my colleagues for the opportunities for professional and personal development that have been provided to me over the years. I have enjoyed working with them at WSLH and with many local, national, and international partners. I greatly value the efforts and achievements we have made together to improve the health and safety of the citizens, not just of Wisconsin, but the world.

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