MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Oct 2016
Declines in Opioid Prescribing After a Private Insurer Policy Change - Massachusetts, 2011-2015.
Overdose deaths involving opioid pain medications are epidemic in the United States, in part because of high opioid prescribing rates and associated abuse of these drugs (1). In 2014, nearly 2 million U. S. residents either abused or were dependent on prescription opioids (2). ⋯ The percentage of BCBSMA members per month with current opioid prescriptions also declined. The temporal association between implementation of the program and statistically significant declines in both prescribing rates and proportion of members using opioids suggests that the BCBSMA initiative played a role in reducing the use of prescription opioids among its members. Public and private insurers in the United States could benefit from developing their own best practices for prescription opioid utilization that ensure accessible pain care, while reducing the risk for dependence and abuse associated with these drugs.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Oct 2016
Notes from the Field: Chlorination Strategies for Drinking Water During a Cholera Epidemic - Tanzania, 2016.
Since August 2015, the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) of Tanzania has been leading the response to a widespread cholera outbreak. As of June 9, 2016, cholera had affected 23 of 25 regions in Tanzania, with 21,750 cumulative cases and 341 deaths reported (Ally Nyanga, MoHCDGEC Emergency Operations Center, personal communication, June 2016). ⋯ Regions surrounding Lake Victoria, in the north, also reported high case counts, including Mwanza with 9% (Ally Nyanga, MoHCDGEC Emergency Operations Center, personal communication, June 2016). Since the start of the outbreak, MoHCDGEC and the Ministry of Water (MOW) have collaborated with the Tanzania Red Cross Society, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and CDC to enhance the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) response to prevent the further spread of cholera.
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October 15, 2016, marks Global Handwashing Day. This observance increases awareness and understanding of the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable means of preventing disease around the world.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Oct 2016
Notes from the Field: Mycobacterium chimaera Contamination of Heater-Cooler Devices Used in Cardiac Surgery - United States.
In the spring of 2015, investigators in Switzerland reported a cluster of six patients with invasive infection with Mycobacterium chimaera, a species of nontuberculous mycobacterium ubiquitous in soil and water. The infected patients had undergone open-heart surgery that used contaminated heater-cooler devices during extracorporeal circulation (1). In July 2015, a Pennsylvania hospital also identified a cluster of invasive nontuberculous mycobacterial infections among open-heart surgery patients. ⋯ M. chimaera was described as a distinct species of M. avium complex in 2004 (3). The results of the field investigation prompted notification of approximately 1,300 potentially exposed patients.* Although heater-cooler devices are used to regulate patients' blood temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass through water circuits that are closed, these reports suggest that aerosolized M. chimaera from the devices resulted in the invasive infections (1,2). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC have issued alerts regarding the need to follow updated manufacturer's instructions for use of the devices, evaluate the devices for contamination, remain vigilant for new infections, and continue to monitor reports from the United States and overseas (2).
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Oct 2016
State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults - United States, 2014.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, resulting in approximately 480,000 premature deaths and more than $300 billion in direct health care expenditures and productivity losses each year (1). In recent years, cigarette smoking prevalence has declined in many states; however, there has been relatively little change in the prevalence of current smokeless tobacco use or concurrent use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in most states, and in some states prevalence has increased (2). CDC analyzed data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess state-specific prevalence estimates of current use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigarette and/or smokeless tobacco (any cigarette/smokeless tobacco use) among U. ⋯ By race/ethnicity, non-Hispanic whites had the highest prevalence of any cigarette and/or smokeless tobacco use in eight states, followed by non-Hispanic other races in six states, non-Hispanic blacks in five states, and Hispanics in two states (p<0.05); the remaining states did not differ significantly by race/ethnicity. Evidence-based interventions, such as increasing tobacco prices, implementing comprehensive smoke-free policies, conducting mass media anti-tobacco use campaigns, and promoting accessible smoking cessation assistance, are important to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disease and death among U. S. adults, particularly among subpopulations with the highest use prevalence (3).