MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Sep 1996
Firearm-related deaths and hospitalizations--Wisconsin, 1994.
Firearm-related injuries are a major cause of premature deaths in the United States. Although state-based vital records systems monitor fatal injuries, few surveillance systems exist to monitor nonfatal firearm-related injuries. ⋯ Wisconsin's system, which links hospital discharge records and vital records, uses external cause of injury codes (E-codes) for case identification. This report describes the surveillance system and findings for 1994.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Jul 1996
Prevention of perinatal hepatitis B through enhanced case management--Connecticut, 1994-95, and the United States, 1994.
Each year, an estimated 20,000 infants are born to women in the United States who are positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). These infants are at high risk for perinatal hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and for chronic liver disease as adults. ⋯ Specific objectives of these programs are to ensure that 1) all pregnant women are tested for HBsAg, and 2) infants born to HBsAg-positive women receive hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and hepatitis B vaccine at birth, with follow-up doses of vaccine at ages 1 and 6 months. This report describes the case-management features of successful hepatitis B-prevention programs in Connecticut during 1994-95 and in the United States during 1994.
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During 1993, a total of 26,009 homicides were reported in the United States; 71% were firearm-related, and one third of all homicides occurred among persons aged 15-24 years. Since 1985, national homicide rates have increased sharply, especially firearm-related homicides and homicides among persons aged 15-24 years. ⋯ To examine this trend and to assess the relative contributions of firearm- and nonfirearm-related homicide to these recent changes, CDC analyzed national vital statistics data for 1985-1994. This report summarizes this analysis, which indicates that overall rates of homicide increased from 1985 to 1991 and decreased from 1992 to 1994, and that during these two periods, rates for total firearm-related homicides and homicide among persons aged 15-24 years increased then stabilized but remained at record-high levels.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 1996
Tobacco use and usual source of cigarettes among high school students--United States, 1995.
Approximately 90% of all initiation of tobacco use occurs among persons aged < or = 18 years, and the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents is increasing. Despite laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors in all states and the District of Columbia, most minors are able to purchase tobacco products. To determine current prevalences of the use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products (i.e., chewing tobacco and snuff) by high school students, the usual source of cigarettes among those who smoked, and the percentage of students who were asked to show proof of age when buying cigarettes, CDC analyzed data from the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This report summarizes the results of the analysis, which indicate a higher prevalence of smoking among high school students in 1995 than in 1993 and 1991, a doubling of the prevalence of current smoking among non-Hispanic black male students during 1991-1995, and that most high school students aged < or = 17 years who buy cigarettes from stores are not asked to show proof of age.