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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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Synopsis for January 4, 2002
The MMWR is embargoed until 4:00 PM EST.
- Raccoon Roundworm Encephalitis — Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, 2000
- Multidrug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae — Southwest Georgia, December 2000
Notices to Readers
Update: Supply of Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine
Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) remains in short supply, and the shortage will continue into mid-2002.
Contact: Kris Bisgard, M.D.
CDC, National Immunization Program
(404) 639–8773
Synopsis for January 4, 2002
Raccoon Roundworm Encephalitis — Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, 2000
Severe or fatal encephalitis occurs in birds and people and can be caused by Baylisascaris procyonis (BP), a common roundworm found
in the small intestine of raccoons.
PRESS CONTACT:
Peter Schantz, M.D.
CDC, National Center for Infectious Diseases
(770) 488–7767 |
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Two cases of BP encephalitis were identified in 2000 in residents of Chicago and Los Angeles. In Chicago, a 2-1/2 year old boy remains severely
neurologically disabled as a result of infection with BP. In Los Angeles, a 17 year old boy with the disease remains in a coma. In addition to
the aforementioned cases, at least 12 cases of severe or fatal BP encephalitis have been identified since 1984 in the United States. Ten of the
12 cases occurred in children. Raccoons infected with BP have been found throughout the United States.
Multidrug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae — Southwest Georgia, December 2000
Prevnar should be considered for children, younger than 2 years old, who attend group day care centers.
PRESS CONTACT:
Susan Wootton, M.D.
CDC, Epidemiology Program Office
(404) 657–2588 |
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A recently-licensed vaccine called Prevnar protects young children from serious infections caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus
pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Antibiotic resistance is common in these bacteria and infections may be difficult and costly to treat. For
this reason, prevention of infection is important. Children who attend child care centers are twice as likely as those who do not attend child
care centers to develop serious infections with antibiotic-resistant pneumococci and are a group for which the vaccine should be considered. In
a recent survey of parents whose children attended a child care center in rural south Georgia, two-thirds of parents were not aware of Prevnar.
Other measures that help prevent antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal infections include appropriate use of antibiotics.
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