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| PRESS CONTACT: Peter Salama, M.D., M.P.H. CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease & Health Promotion (770) 488–4466 |
This study conducted in July 2000 by CDC, Save the Children Fund-US, and UNICEF demonstrated the importance of understanding trends in mortality,
and causes of death during famine. Approximately 6000 excess deaths occurred in an 8-month period in Gode district (Somali region of Ethiopia),
and more than 70% of deaths occurred before any humanitarian intervention commenced. As expected, malnutrition was a major cause of death,
however, so were common and preventable infectious diseases such as diarrhea and measles. In refugee camps, mass measles immunization has become
an early priority for humanitarian interventions. While such campaigns are more difficult to implement in situations where populations are widely
dispersed, these cost-effective interventions should be an early priority, and should include all children from 6 months to 14 years of age, where
feasible.
This article reports the first known death associated with a new 2-month drug regimen of rifampin and pyrazinamide for the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection.
| PRESS CONTACT: Office of Communications CDC, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention (404) 639–8895 |
This regimen was recommended by American Thoracic Society (ATS) and CDC in April 2000 as an alternative to isoniazid. In September 2000, a
53-year-old man in New York died from hepatitis after five weeks on this course of therapy. In December 2000, another severe case of hepatitis was
reported, when a 59-year-old woman in Georgia was admitted to the hospital after taking the drug combination for seven weeks. Because both
regimens recommended for treating latent TB infection have been associated with hepatitis previously, CDC continues to recommend health care
providers educate their patients about the rare, but potentially severe, adverse effects of treatment and monitor their patients closely. Most
importantly, patients should be reminded during each visit to their provider or at least monthly to stop taking their medication and contact their
provider if symptoms, such as gastrointestinal pains, develop.
In January 2001, CDC EIS Officers were asked to assist in the investigation of an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) among women who worked as exotic dancers in Wichita, Kansas
| PRESS CONTACT: Office of Communication CDC, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention (404) 639–8895 |
Within a 4-month period, CDC, working with Wichita-Sedgwick County Department of Community Health and Kansas Department of Health and Environment,
had linked 18 patients with active TB disease and 76 with latent infection to this outbreak. Patients with active disease included seven women who
were exotic dancers, along with seven men, one woman, and three children who had been exposed to these individuals. The first patient was
diagnosed in 1994, and the last five were diagnosed in 2000. This outbreak, which evolved over a 6-year period, demonstrates the importance of
maintaining local TB control systems capable of quickly identifying, containing, and curing TB even in low incidence areas. Kansas routinely has a
low incidence of TB (provisionally reporting only 77 active cases of TB in 2000). All states need outbreak response plans for outbreaks and during
other times of increased demand.
Outbreaks of E. coli O157 infections among children associated with farms visits occurred in Pennsylvania and Washington in 2000.
| PRESS CONTACT: John Crump CDC, National Center for Infectious Diseases (404) 639–2206 |
These outbreaks resulted in 56 illnesses and 19 hospitalizations. Children became infected through direct contact with animals or the animals’
environment. E. coli O157 causes an estimated 60 deaths and 73,000 illness annually in the United States and although most reported
outbreaks are due to contaminated food or water, direct transmission from animals to people is a growing concern. Some people (e.g., children
under 5 years old) are at greater risk of serious infection. CDC has issued strategies to reduce transmission of such infections (e.g., E. coli
O157, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium) at venues that allow public access to farm animals, including improved handwashing
facilities; and separation of food preparation, serving, and consumption from animal areas. Also, animal contact should occur only in a defined,
supervised, interaction areas.
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CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed Friday, April 20, 2001 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
