This episode discusses six MMWR reports. First, deaths from excessive alcohol use are on the rise in the U.S. Next, this season's flu vaccines are effective at reducing flu-related medical visits and hospitalizations. Finally, CDC releases updated guidance for investigating and responding to suicide clusters.
This episode discusses three MMWR reports. First, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in children have recently increased but remain below pre-pandemic levels. Next, a quick response by CDC's quarantine program for imported nonhuman primates prevented potential tuberculosis exposures. Finally, measles cases in the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region spiked sharply in 2022.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, improved reporting for Lyme disease helps track and monitor cases. Second, smoking overtakes injection as the primary route of drug use in U.S. overdose deaths. Third, a hepatitis A vaccination campaign helps prevent an outbreak at the Los Angeles County jail. Finally, in 2022 the percentage of U.S. adults who experienced Long COVID was higher in some U.S. states.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, teens report that seeking relief from stress, anxiety, and depression are top reasons for substance use. Second, antimicrobial resistance prompts CDC to update guidance on antibiotic selection to prevent meningococcal disease. Third, among workers in the oil and gas extraction industry, well-servicing contractors were found to be at the highest risk of severe injury. Finally, 8 mg naloxone was associated with more withdrawal symptoms when used dur...
This episode discusses five MMWR reports. First, a new CDC study shows that updated COVID-19 vaccines protect against symptomatic illness, including infections caused by the JN.1 variant. Second, Neptune's Fix, a flavored tianeptine elixir sold in gas stations, convenience stores, and online, is associated with serious clinical outcomes in 17 patients in New Jersey. Third, acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, remained low in the U.S. between 2019 and 2022 despite increased circulation of EV-D68, an e...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, when trying to understand who gets diabetes and heart disease, looking at traditional categories of race and ethnicity doesn't tell the whole story. Second, antivirals, which are known to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, are underused. Third, deaths among U.S. citizens who had cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic were mostly due to preventable conditions. Finally, poor infection control at a South Florida cosmetic surgery clinic most like...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, cannabis use dropped among students, particularly male students, in King County, Washington. Second, inadequate chlorine levels in a hotel pool likely led to a water-associated Pseudomonas outbreak in Maine. Third, wastewater monitoring detects even low levels of mpox in communities. Finally, mpox transmission in Los Angeles County, California, increased during the summer of 2023 compared with previous months.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, CDC encourages clinicians to confirm fungal diagnoses before prescribing topical antifungals. Next, CDC releases the 2024 immunization schedules for children and adolescents, as well as adults. Finally, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines helps prevent COVID-19-related strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks in adults aged 65 years and older and adults on dialysis.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, an outbreak of tuberculosis caused by contaminated bone product shows that additional interventions are needed to address gaps in transplant tissue safety in the U.S. Next, drug shortages create additional challenges for tuberculosis patients and programs in California. Finally, young adults in Chicago hospitalized after taking counterfeit pills disguised as alprazolam.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, researchers found no increased risk of hospitalizations or deaths due to COVID-19 rebound. Viral rebound rates were similar between COVID-19 patients who had or had not received antiviral treatment. Next, most nursing home residents have not received an updated COVID-19 vaccine or the RSV vaccine. Finally, new research finds low COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccination coverage for eligible adults.
This week, MMWR published reports on unintentional firearm injury deaths among children and teens, suicide rates by industry, occupation, and sex, and more.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, lack of timely testing and inadequate treatment contributed to almost 90% of congenital syphilis cases in the U.S. in 2022. Second, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease trends are stable, but disparities persist by age, sex, education, and rural residence. Third, the first occupational asthma death in a U.S. cannabis production worker has been reported. Finally, invasive pneumococcal disease was identified among people experiencing homelessness i...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, prenatal care clinicians and fertility specialists should consider tuberculosis evaluations if their patients are from a country where tuberculosis is common. Second, CDC published updated recommendations for the use of inactivated polio vaccine for adults who are known to be unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. Third, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are a leading global public health threat. They are spreading in Ukraine and surrounding coun...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, a new study finds at least 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine are effective at reducing emergency department visits and hospitalizations in young children. Second, wastewater monitoring helps experts better prepare for and respond to respiratory virus seasons. Third, the 2022 U.S. firearm suicide rate reached the highest level documented. Finally, a greater percentage of young children with HIV on antiretroviral treatment die compared to older individual...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, vaccination rates among kindergartners are still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, 1 in 3 U.S. veterans has arthritis. Diagnosed arthritis is much more common among the youngest veterans compared with people of the same age. Finally, health care personnel were less likely to get a flu shot during the pandemic. Most were not up to date with COVID-19 vaccination during the last respiratory virus season.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, vaccination coverage among children remains high. However, disparities persist and are widening for some groups of children. Second, CDC issues new recommendations for testing infants and children born to pregnant people with hepatitis C. Third, e-cigarette use among high school students declined in 2023, yet nearly half of youth who have tried e-cigarettes reported current use. Finally, further efforts are needed to identify and overcome barriers...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, routine vaccination coverage increased globally in 2022 but has yet to return to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Second, CDC used early-warning surveillance systems to track the emergence of COVID-19 variant BA.2.86. Third, CDC's Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program identified the BA.2.86 variant in a traveler within days of its first identification globally. Finally, health workers continued to face a mental health crisis in 2022. Resources are ...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, hepatitis A vaccines prevent deaths, but they are still not reaching adults at highest risk. Second, the U.S. firearm homicide rate decreased in 2022, but remained higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, a Mycobacterium abscessus outbreak is linked to contaminated water and improper infection prevention and control practices. Finally, severe cases of Bartonella quintana infection were detected among people experiencing unsheltered homeles...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, the flu hit children and teens hard last season. Second, CDC recommends the RSV vaccine during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy to protect young infants. Third, CDC recommends everyone aged 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall. Finally, 1 in 5 U.S. adults have arthritis.
First, two CDC studies confirm RSV causes serious illness in older adults and highlight the potential benefit of RSV vaccines in preventing severe illness in this population. Next, adults 65 years and older accounted for 63% of all COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in the first half of 2023, yet more than 75% of those hospitalized had not received the recommended bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. Finally, a CDC study of long-term care facility residents found bivalent COVID-19 vaccine coverage was l...
This week, MMWR published four reports that add to evidence that COVID-19 vaccinations during pregnancy help protect patients and newborns from serious illness and hospitalization. However, pregnancy vaccination coverage has been low and has varied by vaccine type and patients' race and ethnicity.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, despite very low risk of getting malaria in the U.S., locally acquired malaria cases reported in Florida and Texas highlight importance of quick diagnosis, treatment, and malaria prevention methods. Second, more than 33 million children in Africa are missing a measles vaccine, highlighting the urgent need to increase immunization efforts to prevent outbreaks and deaths. Third, the JYNNEOS vaccine offers protection against hospitalization among peo...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. The most recent data from 2020 and 2021 were examined to determine the percentage of older adults who reported falling during the previous year and unintentional fall-related death rates. In 2020, approximately 14 million older adults reported falling during the past year. In 2021, nearly 39,000 older adults died due to an unintentional fall, which is about 100 older adults per day dying from falls. Older women were more likely to report a fall than olde...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, West Nile virus continues to be the most common mosquito-borne disease in the U.S., with almost 3,000 cases reported in 2021. Second, CDC releases its first-ever 'Sepsis Core Elements' to help hospitals strengthen their sepsis programs. Third, CDC publishes its 2023-24 influenza vaccination recommendations. Everyone 6 months and older should get their annual flu shot, ideally in September or October. Finally, CDC recommends a new preventive tool f...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, a norovirus outbreak with more than 300 cases in Illinois is linked to an ill worker who continued working while sick. Second, COVID-19 vaccines protect young children against COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care visits. Third, adults older than 50 who received the JYNNEOS vaccine had lower rates of hospitalization with mpox. For the best protection, all eligible adults should receive 2 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine, regardless of c...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, the percentage of adults reporting long COVID has decreased. However, 1 in 4 with long COVID reported significant impact to daily activities. Next, patients on dialysis had higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated death compared to the general U.S. population during the Delta and early Omicron waves. Finally, tofu is identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak in Ontario, Canada.
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, a tick bite-associated allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome has become an emerging clinical and public health concern; however, many clinicians are unaware of the condition, how to diagnose it, and how to manage it. Next, travel-associated dengue cases continue to be reported in U.S. states. Mosquito bite prevention is important when traveling to areas with dengue risk. Finally, a new study finds route of mpox vaccine administration had no negative...
First, cannabis-involved emergency department visits among children, teens, and young adults increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, ongoing testing at a large school district in Missouri found respiratory viruses common among students and staff. Third, a new report describes recommendations for respiratory syncytial virus vaccination in adults 60 years and older, using shared clinical decision-making. Finally, cases of soft tick relapsing fever, a rare but serious tickborne disease, con...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, the cost of birth defect-associated hospitalizations among patients younger than 65 totaled $22 billion in 2019. Second, increased international effort is urgently needed to accelerate the use of new and underused lifesaving vaccines worldwide. Third, an increase in gastrointestinal illnesses in Florida in 2022 was linked to salad kits. Finally, scrub typhus, typically only seen in the Asia-Pacific region, causes a recent outbreak in southern Chil...
This episode discusses four MMWR reports. First, breakthrough cures for hepatitis C still fail to reach most Americans who need them. A transformative national response is needed. Second, xylazine mixed with fentanyl emerges as a public health threat, increasingly detected in overdose deaths. Third, targeted vaccination in LA County had a greater impact on COVID-19 infections in lower-income communities than in higher-income communities. Finally, many international travelers returning to the Uni...
