Did You Know?|The science of handwashing

10/02/2015

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Alert Network (HAN) Update

10/02/2015

New Resources and Support for Health Departments to Stop Foodborne Disease

10/02/2015

CDC Press Release: CDC Unveils Redesigned Healthy Pets Healthy People Website

10/02/2015

Press Release

For Immediate Release                                                                                             

Friday, October 2, 2015                                                                                                      

Contact: CDC Media Relations

(404) 639-3286

CDC Unveils Redesigned Healthy Pets Healthy People Website

CDC today launched its redesigned Healthy Pets Healthy People website, with expanded information about diseases people can catch from pets, farm animals, and wildlife. Users can now search alphabetically by animal and learn which zoonotic diseases they may carry. It is a unique “one-stop shop” where people can learn simple actions to protect themselves – and their pets.

The redesigned website offers:

• An alphabetized list and description of diseases that can spread from animals to humans.
• A list of animal species with the description of diseases associated with the animal.
• Specific groups of people that may be more susceptible to diseases from animals.
• Tips for preventing illnesses acquired from pets and other animals.
• Detailed information about the health benefits of owning a pet.

Approximately 75 percent of recently emerging infectious diseases affecting people began as diseases in animals. In recent years, CDC has responded to many illness outbreaks associated with people’s contact with animals. These include Ebola, avian influenza, and salmonella.

CDC is officially launching the redesigned website to coincide with World Animal Day on Oct.  4, a day that celebrates the importance of animals and the bonds that people share with them.

Read More>>

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, stem from human error or deliberate attack, CDC is committed to respond to America’s most pressing health challenges.

Preventive health care can help Americans stay healthier throughout their lives. Those enrolled in health insurance coverage can use the “Roadmap to Better Care and a Healthier You” (English and Spanish) to learn about their benefits, including how to connect to primary care and the preventive services that are right for them, so that they can live a long and healthy life.

CDC Study Reveals Medical Outcomes and Hospital Charges Among Children in a Crash

10/02/2015

CDC Study Reveals Medical Outcomes and Hospital Charges Among Children in a Crash

A new CDC surveillance summary highlights that proper car seat, booster seat, and seat belt use among children prevents injuries, decreases deaths, and reduces hospital charges. It also confirmed that parents often transition children to the next, less protective, stage of child passenger restraint too soon. With every transition to the next stage of restraint (e.g., rear-facing seat to forward-facing seat, forward-facing seat to booster seat, and from booster seat to seat belt), children are less protected in a crash and the cost of injury increases.

This surveillance summary examined the following:

Restraint use at the time of a crash:

Seating position at the time of a crash:

A higher percentage of children (aged 1-7) who were restrained using a car seat or booster seat were also sitting in a back seat. There was a significant decrease in the percentage of children sitting in a back seat from age 7 years (95%) to age 8 years (77%), and only 55% of restrained children aged 12 years were sitting in a back seat. Among the children who were unrestrained, 25% to 32% of children aged 8–12 years were in the front seat.

Type of injury:

The use of a car seat or booster seat among children aged 4-7 reduced the risk for neck, back, or abdominal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and hospitalization compared with seat belt use alone. Unrestrained children in a crash had approximately 7 times the percentage of traumatic brain injury compared with children buckled in age- and size-appropriate restraints. Regardless of age, contusions and other superficial injuries were the most prevalent type of injury; and unrestrained children had the highest percentage of each type of injury.

Hospital charges:

Among all age groups, the average hospital charges incurred during motor vehicle crashes varied based on restraint use and seating position, showing a decrease (in 2008 dollars) with the use of age- and size- appropriate restraint use in a back seat.

Characteristics of drivers:

Drivers with risky driving behaviors (including those who were driving unrestrained, driving with suspected alcohol or drug use, driving while distracted, or in a speed-related crash) had a higher percentage of unrestrained child passengers. Male drivers were more likely to have unrestrained child passengers than female drivers. Drivers aged ≤20 years had the highest percentage of unrestrained child passengers, followed by drivers aged 50–59 years and aged ≥60 years. The youngest and oldest drivers also had the highest percentage of children riding in a front seat.

What Can Be Done?

Parents and caregivers are the first line of defense for children in a crash; therefore, strategies for improving child passenger safety should focus on helping parents and caregivers learn how to properly buckle their children in and use age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats, and seat belts in the back seat on every trip, no matter how short. Effective interventions, including child passenger restraint laws (with child safety seat/booster seat coverage through at least age 8 years) and child safety seat distribution plus education programs, can increase restraint use and reduce child motor vehicle deaths. In addition, enforcement and implementation of effective interventions intended for adults to increase restraint use and prevent impaired driving, distracted driving, and speeding can reduce the risk of motor vehicle crashes and in turn also might reduce the risk for injury to child passengers.

> Read the surveillance summary to find effective strategies to keep child passengers safe.

> Read the new Cost of Injury Report to learn more about the total estimated lifetime medical and work loss costs associated with fatal and non-fatal injuries in the United States.

> Learn more about child passenger safety.

New Features Added: RMSF, Domestic Violence, Adult Obesity, Breast Cancer & More

10/02/2015

CDC/FDA Health Update about the Immediate Need for Healthcare Facilities to Review Procedures for Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Sterilizing Reusable Medical Devices

10/02/2015

As a follow-up to HAN 00382 (distributed September 11, 2015), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are providing this update to rescind the following recommendation: If healthcare facilities contract maintenance and repair of these devices to third-party vendors, healthcare facilities should verify that these vendors are approved or certified by the manufacturer to provide those services. We are making this change because there are currently no formal standardized programs or processes through which all manufacturers certify third-party vendors. We are also further clarifying that healthcare facilities which hire contractors to perform device reprocessing should verify that the contractor has an appropriate training program (i.e., consistent with what would be required in the healthcare facility) and that the training program includes the specific devices used by the healthcare facility.

View the CDC/FDA Health Update (HAN 00383) at: http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00383.asp

Correction to the October 1, 2015, Public Health Law News Announcement

10/02/2015

NCHS Health E-Stat Update

10/02/2015

You are subscribed to receive email updates regarding NCHS Health E-Stats from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The following report has been added:

NCHS Health E-Stat - Racial and Gender Disparities in Suicide Among Young Adults Aged 18–24: United States, 2009–2013

Suicide is an act of violence against oneself, resulting in death. Among teenagers and young adults aged 15–24, suicide was the second leading cause of death in 2013. Because patterns of suicide may be different for young adults aged 18–24 than for teens aged 15–17, this NCHS Health E-Stat examines suicide rates and methods among young adults aged 18–24, by sex and race and Hispanic origin, using recent mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).

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NCHS Data Briefs Update

10/02/2015

You are subscribed to receive email updates regarding NCHS Data Briefs from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The following reports have been added:

Data Brief No. 215

Emergency Department Visits Related to Schizophrenia Among Adults Aged 18–64: United States, 2009–2011 

Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder with clinical manifestations that may include hallucinations, delusions, and thought and movement disorders. This report describes the rate and characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits related to schizophrenia among adults aged 18–64. Visits with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD–9–CM) code of 295 for any of the up to three diagnoses listed as being related to the visit were included in this analysis to broadly describe ED visits related to schizophrenia.

Data Brief, No. 216

Births in the United States, 2014

This report presents several key demographic and maternal and infant health indicators by race and Hispanic origin, using 2014 final birth data. Trends in general fertility rates (GFRs), teen birth rates, and cesarean delivery and preterm birth rates are explored by race and Hispanic origin group (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native [AIAN], and Asian or Pacific Islander [API]), with special focus on the most current period, 2013–2014. An earlier report presented 2014 preliminary data on selected topics. Data are from the annual national natality files, representing 100% of births to U.S. residents.

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National Health Statistics Reports Update

10/02/2015

You are subscribed to receive email updates regarding National Health Statistics Reports from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The following reports have been added:

NHSR No. 83 - HIV Infection in U.S. Household Population Aged 18–59: Data From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2012
This report presents estimates of HIV prevalence, the association of HIV status with key risk factors, and the prevalence of antiretroviral drug use among HIV-infected adults, based on the 2007–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

NHSR No. 84 - Hospitalization, Readmission, and Death Experience of Noninstitutionalized Medicare Fee-for-service Beneficiaries Aged 65 and Over
This report provides descriptive measures of hospitalization, readmission, and death among the noninstitutionalized population aged 65 and over using data from a national survey of the noninstitutionalized population linked to Medicare data and the National Death Index. The estimates are presented by self-reported demographic, socioeconomic, heath status, and other characteristics gathered during the interview with the survey participants.

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