MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

1. Severe Influenza Among Children and Young Adults with Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Conditions — Ohio, 2011

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

This study describes the findings of a joint investigation between the Ohio Department of Health and CDC into an outbreak of influenza in a residential facility for children and young adults with neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions. Among 130 residents of the facility, 76 (58 percent) developed respiratory illness in February 2011; 13 became severely ill and seven of those patients died. All 13 severely ill residents had multiple neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions, and their underlying medical conditions might have hindered early diagnosis and treatment and contributed to the severity of illness.  Clinicians should be alert to possible influenza among children and young adults with neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions, especially during influenza season. Because persons with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders are at high risk for complications from influenza, vaccination should be part of a larger program of influenza prevention that includes antiviral drugs that are given early in the course of illness, ideally within 48 hours of symptom onset.

2. Imported Human Rabies — New Jersey, 2011

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

Infected bats are the most common source of fatal human rabies cases in the United States, but dogs are the most common source abroad. All animal bites should be assessed for the risk of rabies exposure.  In July 2011, a woman aged 73 years, who was bitten in April 2011 by an adopted street dog in her home country of Haiti, died of rabies in New Jersey while visiting family. The woman did not seek medical care when the bite occurred as she thought it was minor and family in the United States was not informed of the bite until after diagnosis. This is the third report of human rabies in the United States acquired in Haiti since 2000 and highlights the importance of obtaining a detailed history for patients who have traveled from a rabies-endemic country and the value of consultation with medical and public health professionals regarding any animal bites.

3. Receipt of A(H1N1)pdm09 Vaccine by Prisons and Jails — United States, 2009–10 Influenza Season

Jennifer Johnson
Associate Director of Media Relations
Emory University
(404) 727-5696

Persons dwelling in jails and prisons are at increased risk for exposure to infectious agents because new entrants can constantly introduce new pathogens, and close confinement can facilitate disease transmission. Fifty-five percent of U.S. jails (facilities that house persons awaiting trial or serving short sentences) did not receive any H1N1 vaccine in 2009-2010 and thus were excluded from the national vaccine campaign. Including both jail and prison inmates in emergency preparedness efforts, especially vaccination campaigns, is important for the health of communities overall. Although most jail entrants are healthy men, jail populations can include those in the highest risk categories for influenza, such as pregnant women. The median length of stay is 48 hours, but detention can extend for months. Future emergency preparedness efforts need to consider jail and prison inmates, a population not well targeted in the 2009 H1N1 vaccine campaign.

 

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES