MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

1. "Choking Game" Awareness and Participation Among Youth – Oregon, 2008

Press Contact: >Christine Stone, Communications Officer
Oregon Public Health Division (971) 673-1282

Parents, educators and health-care providers should be aware that nearly 6 percent of Oregon 8th-grade youth have participated in strangulation activities and 30.4 percent have heard of someone participating. Parents, educators, and health-care providers should be aware of the signs and serious consequences of strangulation activities, and look for them especially among youths with suspected substance use or mental health concerns. In 2008, the Oregon Public Health Division surveyed 8th-graders on their awareness and participation in “choking game” behavior; 30.4 percent of respondents had heard of someone participating and 5.7 percent had participated themselves. Youths in rural areas were more likely (6.7 percent) to have participated than youths in urban areas (4.9 percent). Strangulation activity participation was significantly higher among 8th-graders who reported mental health risk factors (4.0 percent), substance use (7.9 percent), or both (15.8 percent) compared with those who reported neither (1.7 percent). When effective prevention messages are identified, information on strangulation activities and the health effects should be included when discussing high-risk behaviors.

2. Outbreak of Adenovirus 14 Respiratory Illness – Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, 2008

Press Contact: Ann Potempa
Public Information Officer, State of Alaska Section of Epidemiology (907) 269-7957

Adenovirus 14 (Ad14) infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, particularly when unexplained clusters of severe respiratory infections are detected. Before 2003, outbreaks of Ad14 respiratory infections in the United States typically occurred among military recruits; however, increasing numbers of outbreaks of severe and sometimes fatal Ad14 infection in nonmilitary settings have been described recently. This outbreak of community-acquired Ad14 occurred in a remote Alaskan community and Alaska Natives (61 percent), males (70 percent), and persons with underlying pulmonary disease (44 percent) were more frequently affected; persons aged >65 years were at five times greater risk for hospitalization.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES