The 11th meeting of the Tick-borne Disease Working Group (TBDWG) will be held on January 28 and 29, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET on both days (times subject to change).

The meeting will be held at the in Washington D.C. and by webcast. Preregistration for public members is advisable and can be accomplished by registering here.

The TBDWG was established by Congress in 2016 as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to provide subject matter expertise and to review federal efforts related to all tick-borne diseases, to help ensure interagency coordination and minimize overlap, and to examine research priorities.  The focus of this effort is the development of a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Congress on the findings and any recommendations of the Working Group for the federal response to tick-borne disease prevention, treatment and research, as well as how to address gaps in these areas.

For this meeting, the Working Group will hear presentations from eight subcommittees on their findings and potential actions for the TBDWG to consider; hear updates from the Public Comment and Inventory Subcommittees; and further discuss plans for developing the 2020 report to the HHS Secretary and Congress on federal tick-borne activities and research.

Public Comment – Information and Instructions

The public will have an opportunity to present their views to the Working Group during the meeting’s public comment session or by submitting their views in writing.

Verbal comments (in-person):

  • Requests to provide verbal public comment must be submitted via email by midnight Tuesday, January 17, 2020, ET to tickbornedisease@hhs.gov. In the Subject line please enter: Verbal Public Comment – January 28-29 Meeting. In addition, please indicate if you will be providing verbal comment in person or by phone. If by phone, you will be provided a call-in number and and time to call.
  • A total of 30 minutes has been set aside for verbal comments on both days. Each person will be limited to 3 minutes in order to accommodate as many speakers as possible. If more requests are received than can be accommodated, speakers will be randomly selected.
  • Your remarks will be heard over a live webcast and will become part of the archived recording and meeting summary that will be posted on this website.

Written comments

  • Written public comments must be submitted via email by midnight Tuesday, January 17, 2020, ET to tickbornedisease@hhs.gov. In the Subject line please enter: Written Public Comment – January 28-29 Meeting.
  • When you submit your written comment, please include a statement letting the TBDWG know how you would like to be identified with your comment. You may choose to use your name or to be anonymous. You may also list your city and/or state. If you are providing comments on behalf of an organization, please include the name of the organization. TBDWG cannot post your comment until you let us know how you would like to be identified.
  • Comments should either be provided in the body of your email, or in an attachment in Word format and equivalent to no more than 4 pages in Calibri or Times New Roman, 11 point font. Text that exceeds the 4 pages will be deleted.
  • TBDWG will not post graphics, images, text boxes, or tables. If included with your comment, they will not be able to retain them.
  • TBDWG can only create hyperlinks to “.gov” sites (local, state, or federal). For all other reference sites, please insert the full URL (e.g., http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics).
  • TBDWG is also unable to include attachments as supporting documentation to your written comments.

Agenda

Draft agenda – subject to change.

Day 1 – January 28, 2020

Time Agenda Item Speaker
9:00 am – 9:05 am – Welcome from the Working Group
– Roll Call: During roll call members are asked to state their organization and what subcommittee(s) they co-chair		 Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
Jim Berger, DFO
9:05 am – 9:07 am Overview of the Working Group’s Mission, Vision Statement, Values Jim Berger, DFO
9:07 am – 9:10 am – Update from September 12, 2019, Meeting to Today
– Review 2020 TBDWG objectives
– What We Hope to Accomplish Today
– Introduction of Speakers		 Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
9:15 am – 9:20 am – NIH Strategic Plan Update
– CDC-led Domestic Framework		 Sam Perdue
Ben Beard
9:20 am – 9:50 am Public Comments –
9:50 am – 10:00 am Public Comment Subcommittee Update
– Comments received
– Overall themes		 Scott Commins, Co-Chair
Angel Davey, Co-Chair
Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
10:00 am – 11:00 am Subcommittee Presentation – Tick Biology, Ecology, and Control Subcommittee Kevin Macaluso, Co-Chair
Beto Perez de Leon, Co-Chair
11:00 am – 11:15 am Break –
11:15 am – 12:15 pm Subcommittee Presentation – Pathogenesis and Physiology of Lyme Disease Subcommittee Sam Donta, Co-Chair
Leith States, Co-Chair
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Subcommittee Presentation – Clinical Aspects of Lyme Disease Subcommittee CDR Rebecca Bunnell, Co-Chair
Sam Donta, Co-Chair
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm Lunch –
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Subcommittee Presentation – Training, Education, Access to Care, and Reimbursement Subcommittee CDR Rebecca Bunnell, Co-Chair
Pat Smith, Co-Chair
3:15 pm – 4:15 pm Subcommittee Presentation – Alpha-gal Subcommittee Scott Commins, Co-Chair
Angel Davey, Co-Chair
Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
4:15 pm Adjourn –

Day 2 – January 29, 2020

Time Agenda Item Speaker
9:00 am – 9:05 am Welcome from the Working Group Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
9:05 am – 9:07 am Recap of First Day Jim Berger, DFO
9:07 am – 9:37 am Public Comments –
9:37 am – 10:37 am Subcommittee Presentation – Babesiosis and Tick-Borne Pathogens Subcommittee Ben Beard, Co-Chair
Gene Shapiro, Co-Chair
10:37 am – 10:52 am Break –
10:52 am – 11:52 am Subcommittee Presentation – Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis Subcommittee Dennis Dixon, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
11:52 am – 12:52 pm Subcommittee Presentation – Rickettsiosis Subcommittee Estella Jones, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
12:52 pm – 1:52 pm Lunch –
1:52 pm – 1:57 pm Federal Inventory Update
– What has been received
– What is outstanding		 Jim Berger, DFO
1:57 pm – 3:07 pm Open Discussions for Working Group Working Group
3:07 pm – 3:22 pm Break –
3:22 pm – 3:52 pm Discussion of Next Steps and What is Expected for the March Meeting Leigh Ann Soltysiak, Co-Chair
David Walker, Co-Chair
3:52 pm – 3:57 pm Review Draft Outline of Report to Congress Working Group
3:57 pm – 4:30 pm Open Discussion for Working Group Working Group
4:30 pm Adjourn –

Please view the Federal Register Meeting Notice and visit the meeting page for the latest information.