MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2013
Health-care provider screening for tobacco smoking and advice to quit - 17 countries, 2008-2011.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable mortality in the world. Article 14 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) states that countries should promote cessation of tobacco use and adequate treatment for tobacco dependence. Health-care providers asking all patients about their tobacco use and advising tobacco users to quit are evidence-based strategies that increase tobacco abstinence. ⋯ Among those screened for tobacco use, those who reported their health-care providers advised them to quit ranged from 17.3% in Mexico to 67.3% in Romania. In most countries, persons aged ≥45 years were more likely to report being screened and advised to quit than were persons aged ≤24 years. Health-care providers should identify smokers and provide advice and assistance in quitting at each visit as an adjunct to effective community interventions (e.g., increased price of tobacco products; smoke-free policies, mass media campaigns, and tobacco quitlines).
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2013
Case ReportsNotes from the field: primary amebic meningoencephalitis associated with ritual nasal rinsing--St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin islands, 2012.
On November 21, 2012, the U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Health documented the first case and death from primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in the territory. ⋯ Microscopic examination of the CSF obtained from a second lumbar puncture revealed motile amebic trophozoites. CSF specimens sent to CDC for confirmatory testing were positive for N. fowleri by real-time polymerase chain reaction testing. On the morning of November 21, the patient was pronounced brain dead based on neurologic criteria.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2013
Case ReportsNotes from the field: outbreak of tuberculosis associated with a newly identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotype--New York City, 2010-2013.
In January 2010, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) identified a tuberculosis (TB) case caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis with a genotype not reported previously in the United States. The patient was evaluated for TB while incarcerated but was released before the diagnosis was confirmed and before beginning TB treatment. The patient, who had a history of homelessness and clinical characteristics suggesting infectiousness, could not be located by DOHMH for 13 months. ⋯ All patients had drug-susceptible TB and were negative for human immunodeficiency virus. Three patients completed TB treatment. One patient, who was homeless at the time of diagnosis, began TB treatment but was lost to follow-up by DOHMH.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2013
Prevalence of doctor-diagnosed arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitation--United States, 2010-2012.
Arthritis is the most common cause of disability among U. S. adults and is particularly common among persons with multiple chronic conditions. In 2003, arthritis in the United States resulted in an estimated $128 billion in medical-care costs and lost earnings. ⋯ This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which found that 52.5 million (22.7%) of adults aged ≥18 years had self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and 22.7 million (9.8%, or 43.2% of those with arthritis) reported AAAL, matching and exceeding previous projected increases, respectively. Among persons with heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, the prevalences of doctor-diagnosed arthritis were 49.0%, 47.3%, and 31.2%, respectively; the prevalences of AAAL among persons with these specific conditions were 26.8%, 25.7%, and 15.2%, respectively. Greater use of evidence-based interventions, such as chronic disease self-management education and physical activity interventions that have been proven to reduce pain and improve quality-of-life among adults with chronic diseases might help reduce the personal and societal burden of arthritis.