MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

(Box) Worker′s Memorial Day – April 28, 2009

Press Contact: Fred Blosser, NIOSH Public Affairs, (202) 245-0645

No summary available.

Work-Related Fatalities Associated with Tree Care Operations – United States, 1992-2007

Press Contact: Fred Blosser, NIOSH Public Affairs, (202) 245-0645

Tree care operators are a little understood population of workers that experience a unique set of safety hazards and are at risk for a wide range of traumatic injuries. Prevention of traumatic injuries in this worker population begins with proper training in tree safety, well-developed, implemented and enforced safety programs, and being able to identify workplace hazards and control strategies. During 1992-2007, an average of 80 workers a year died while performing tree care and maintenance. Almost half were trimming or pruning a tree when they died. Common causes of these preventable deaths included being struck by tree branches and trees, falling from trees and lifting equipment, or being electrocuted when contacting power lines. Most of the tree care operators (57 percent) that died worked for small companies with 10 or few employees. Safety programs for tree care operators that include tree safety, fall protection, electrical hazards, machine safety, safety along roadways, first aid and CPR should be implemented and enforced. Worksite surveys should be conducted before each new job and daily to identify workplace hazards and control strategies.

Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality – United States, 1999-2005

Press Contact: Fred Blosser, NIOSH Public Affairs, (202) 245-0645

Despite regulatory actions and the sharp decline in the use of asbestos, potential exposure to asbestos from remediation and demolition activities continues in the United States. The number of deaths from malignant mesothelioma, a type of fatal cancer primarily associated with occupational exposure to asbestos, is still increasing, highlighting the need to ensure control of hazardous work-related exposures to asbestos. Deaths from malignant mesothelioma increased from 2,482 deaths in 1999 to 2,704 deaths in 2005, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) finds. The findings highlight the need to control hazardous work-related exposures to asbestos and to continue monitoring trends in malignant mesothelioma mortality and morbidity in order to focus preventive efforts. Prevention of mesothelioma requires diligent attention to asbestos already in place. Maintenance, renovation, or demolition activities that might disturb asbestos should be performed with precautions that sufficiently prevent exposures for workers and the public. Physicians should document the occupational history of all suspected and confirmed mesothelioma cases

HIV Infection – Guangdong Province, China, 1997-2007

Press Contact: Lauren Hoffmann, Global AIDS Program, CDC, (404) 639-8414

Results of ongoing HIV infection trend analysis in China conducted with technical assistance from the U.S. CDC help to characterize HIV transmission and provide valuable information to China for targeting and evaluating HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs. In 2007, an estimated 700,000 persons in China were living with HIV infection, of which 40.6 percent were infected through heterosexual transmission and 38.1 percent were infected through injection-drug use. To assess recent trends in HIV infection in Guangdong Province, the country’s most populous, the Guangdong Center for Disease Control, with technical assistance from CDC, analyzed case-based surveillance data from 1997 to 2007. The results of this analysis indicated that, from 2003 to 2005, the number of reported new HIV infections increased from 1,284 to 5,223, with the majority of infections related to injection-drug use. However, 2007 data indicate a decline in infections related to injection-drug use while infections from heterosexual contact continued to increase.

Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Infection in Two Children – Southern California, March-April, 2009
(previously released)

Press Contact: CDC, Division of Media Relations, (404) 639-3286

No summary available.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES