MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2005
Tobacco use and cessation counseling--global health professionals survey pilot study, 10 countries, 2005.
Tobacco use is projected to cause nearly 450 million deaths worldwide during the next 50 years. Health professionals can have a critical role in reducing tobacco use; even brief and simple advice from health professionals can substantially increase smoking cessation rates. Therefore, one of the strategies to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths is to encourage the involvement of health professionals in tobacco-use prevention and cessation counseling. ⋯ The findings indicated that current cigarette smoking among these students was higher than 20% in seven of the 10 countries surveyed. Nevertheless, 87%-99% of the students surveyed believed they should have a role in counseling patients to quit smoking; only 5%-37% of these third-year students had actually received formal training in how to conduct such counseling. Schools for health professionals, public health organizations, and education officials should work together to design and implement training in smoking-cessation counseling for all health-profession students.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2005
Disparities in deaths from stroke among persons aged <75 years--United States, 2002.
Despite declines in deaths from stroke, stroke remained the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2002, and age-adjusted death rates for stroke remained higher among blacks than whites. In 1997, excess deaths from stroke occurred among persons aged <65 years in most racial/ethnic minority groups, compared with whites. A younger age distribution among Hispanics and other racial/ethnic groups compared with whites might partly explain the disproportionate burden in deaths at younger ages. ⋯ Approximately 3,400 excess stroke deaths would not have occurred among blacks in 2002 if blacks had had the same death rates for stroke as whites aged <65 years. Moreover, age-adjusted estimates of years of potential life lost (YPLL) before age 75 years from stroke were more than twice as high for blacks than for all other racial groups. Reducing premature death from stroke in these groups will require early prevention, detection, treatment, and control of risk factors for stroke in young and middle-aged adults.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Apr 2005
Assessing the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project--six sites, United States, January 1-June 15, 2004.
Adverse drug events (ADEs) occur when therapeutic drugs have injurious effects; current systems for conducting national ADE surveillance are limited, and current national estimates of ADE incidence are problematic. In 2003, CDC, in collaboration with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), created the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance (NEISS-CADES) project by adding active surveillance of ADEs to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP). ⋯ As a result of these findings, additional training on identifying and reporting ADEs was initiated for all NEISS-CADES hospital coders. As more persons in the United States use drug therapies, active, postmarketing surveillance of ADEs can help identify safety problems and guide prevention efforts.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Apr 2005
Anhydrous ammonia thefts and releases associated with illicit methamphetamine production--16 states, January 2000-June 2004.
Anhydrous ammonia, a colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating fumes, is used primarily as an agricultural fertilizer and industrial refrigerant. Anhydrous ammonia is also a key ingredient for illicit methamphetamine (meth) production in makeshift laboratories. Exposure to anhydrous ammonia can be immediately dangerous to life or health. ⋯ If released into the environment, anhydrous ammonia can cause acute injuries to emergency responders, the public, and the cookers themselves. In addition, when handled improperly, anhydrous ammonia can be explosive and deadly. This report describes examples of anhydrous ammonia thefts associated with illicit meth production, summarizes ammonia theft events reported to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and suggests injury prevention recommendations, such as installing valve locks or fencing on unattended tanks and donning appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when responding to releases.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Mar 2005
Elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome--United States, 1969-2004.
In October 2004, CDC convened an independent panel of internationally recognized authorities on public health, infectious disease, and immunization to assess progress toward elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in the United States, a national health objective for 2010. Since rubella vaccine licensure in 1969, substantial declines in rubella and CRS have occurred, and the absence of endemic transmission in the United States is supported by recent data: 1) fewer than 25 reported rubella cases each year since 2001, 2) at least 95% vaccination coverage among school-aged children, 3) estimated 91% population immunity, 4) adequate surveillance to detect rubella outbreaks, and 5) a pattern of virus genotypes consistent with virus originating in other parts of the world. Given the available data, panel members concluded unanimously that rubella is no longer endemic in the United States. This report summarizes the history and accomplishments of the rubella vaccination program in the United States and the Western Hemisphere and the challenges posed by rubella for the future.