MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

1. Human Rabies — Michigan, 2009

CDC Division of News and Electronic Media
(404) 639-3286

Rabies is a fatal viral disease that affects the central nervous system and is usually transmitted through animal bites. In November 2009, a Michigan man aged 55 years was hospitalized with labored breathing and muscle weakness that rapidly progressed to flaccid paralysis, then death. Rabies was suspected after a family member reported that several months earlier the patient had come in contact with a bat while sleeping. A diagnosis of rabies was confirmed by CDC laboratory testing, with molecular analysis later revealing that the patient had been infected with a variant commonly associated with the silver-haired bat. This case underscores the importance of medical attention following bat exposures that are conducive to rabies transmission. Such exposures include being bitten or scratched by a bat or being in close proximity to a bat while sleeping. The public should be aware of rabies and the risks associated with bat exposures. Middle-aged men are an important target for educational outreach, since a high percentage of rabies cases in the United States are in this demographic group.

2. Tracking Progress Toward Global Polio Eradication — Worldwide, 2009–2010

CDC Division of News and Electronic Media
(404) 639-3286

Ken Pastorick
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
(225) 342-1881

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is guided by acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and virologic testing in the global polio laboratory network. Surveillance performance is monitored by indicators. National polio surveillance indicators can mask subnational AFP surveillance weaknesses. During 2009–2010, 77 percent of polio-affected countries met national performance standards for AFP surveillance, but surveillance quality varied substantially at subnational (state/province) levels. For 15 of 30 polio-affected countries, subnational indicators were met in <50 percent of the population. Thus, monitoring performance indicators at subnational levels is critical for identifying gaps that could allow wild polio virus (WPV) circulation to be missed in areas or subpopulations. To stay on target to meet WPV transmission interruption targets of the 2010–2012 GPEI strategic plan, to promptly detect importation into previously polio-free countries, and to minimize the extent of any additional outbreaks, efforts should be made to strengthen polio surveillance at each subnational level in all countries.

 

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES