MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Self-Rated Health Status Among Adults With and Without Disabilities

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Minorities with disabilities are disproportionately affected within racial and ethnic groups, so efforts to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities must incorporate the needs of adults with disabilities. A new CDC study highlights findings on the health of people with disabilities among racial and ethnic groups. This study found that among adults with a disability, Black, Hispanic and Native Americans report fair or poor health at disproportionately higher rates compared with White and Asian Americans. Overall, adults with a disability were less likely to have excellent or very good health (27.3 percent vs. 60.3 percent), and more likely to report being in fair or poor health (40.1 percent vs. 9.8 percent), when compared with their counterparts without disability.

HIV Prevalence Estimates

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• CDC Fact Sheet

CDC estimates that more than a million people – or 1,106,400 total – were living with HIV in the U.S. at the end of 2006, with about one in five unaware of their infections. The new analysis provides a refined national estimate of the total population living with HIV (or prevalence), as well as detailed breakdowns for a wide range of populations. These new estimates are based on a significantly improved national HIV reporting data set, as well as several additional years of data since the prior 2003 estimate. Based on the refined data set, researchers estimate HIV prevalence increased by 11 percent, or 112,000 people, since 2003. This was expected, as life-expectancies increase and more people are infected with HIV than die from the disease each year. The percentage of people unaware of their infections has declined, from 25 percent in 2003 to 21 percent in 2006, due to both increased diagnoses and a decline in deaths among persons living with HIV. The most severe impact continues to be felt among men who have sex with men, who represented 48 percent of those living with HIV, as well as blacks (46 percent) and Hispanics (18 percent). The authors note that the growing number of people living with HIV underscores the critical need to reach infected individuals with testing, treatment, and prevention services to reduce the impact of the disease.

Rabies in a Dog Imported from Iraq

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Canine rabies can be imported into the United States from abroad. Travelers should be aware of the risk of rabies exposure when traveling to countries where rabies is common in dogs and should not import animals to the United States without properly vaccinating them against rabies and adhering to animal importation laws. Dog-to-dog transmission of rabies has been eliminated in the United States. However, canine rabies virus variants can still be imported by unvaccinated dogs from countries where it is common in animals, specifically Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Latin America. Rabies between canine variants are responsible for most of the 55,000 human deaths from rabies reported globally each year. While traveling in areas where rabies is common travelers should not pet stray animals, nor is it advisable to adopt stray animals without a veterinarian’s health assessment. Adopted animals should be properly vaccinated before importation to the United States.

Licensure of a Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Adsorbed and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine for Use as a Booster Dose

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No summary available

Licensure of a Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Adsorbed, Inactivated Poliovirus, and Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine for Use in Infants and Children

PRESS CONTACT: Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

No summary available

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES