Full Text
Dr. Sheila Pinette Director, Maine CDC Osteopathic physician Public Health Update April 19, 2012 In this update: HIV/STD updates Influenza Child injury Lyme disease Donate Life Month Nutrition report National Infant Immunization Week Active Community Conference Follow us HIV/STD updates The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released updated HIV treatment recommendations: http://go.usa.gov/yTI The updated recommendations have changed significantly regarding when to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART). Antiretroviral treatment is now recommended for all HIV infected individuals. The strength of these recommendations depends on an individual’s CD4 count, but if an individual is at risk of transmitting HIV to HIV-negative sexual partner(s) the strength of the recommendations increases. Several HIV/STD surveillance documents have recently been added to Maine CDC’s website: March Update for HIV and STDs: http://go.usa.gov/yTR 2010 Annual HIV/STD Surveillance Report: http://go.usa.gov/yTQ A detailed report on HIV for 2011: http://go.usa.gov/yTE A detailed report on chlamydia and gonorrhea for 2011: http://go.usa.gov/yTV US CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden will host a live Twitter chat on STDs and young people at 1 p.m. April 23. Follow the conversation by using hashtag Follow Dr. Frieden on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DrFriedenCDC Influenza Maine CDC’s March 2011 investigation of influenza outbreaks at two correction facilities was published in the MMWR on April 6: http://go.usa.gov/yT8 Maine CDC reported regional flu activity for the week ending April 14, with one new outbreak reported in a residential school or university. Weekly updates on flu activity are available online: for Maine: http://go.usa.gov/NoK for the US: http://go.usa.gov/ITB for the world: http://go.usa.gov/ITK Maine CDC reminds everyone to take everyday preventive measures against the flu: Wash your hands frequently Cough and sneeze into your elbow or shoulder Stay home when you feel sick Get vaccinated ---PAGE BREAK--- Child injury More than 9,000 children lost their lives as the result of an unintentional injury in the United States in 2009, as this month’s edition of Vital Signs (http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/ChildInjury/). The injury death rate among children dropped nearly 30% over the last decade. However, injury is still the number one cause of death among children. Common causes of deaths from child injuries include motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires and burns, and falls. Though rates for most causes of child injuries have been declining, suffocation rates are on the rise, driven by a 54% increase in reported cases among infants less than one year old. Poisoning death rates also went up, largely due to a 91% increase in deaths among teens aged 15-19, mainly caused by prescription drug overdoses. For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/Features/VitalSigns/ChildInjury/ Lyme disease Young people are at high risk of contracting Lyme disease, especially if they spend time outdoors. Maine CDC sponsored two awareness campaigns focusing on Lyme disease prevention messages for Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May. This year’s theme for the month is “Know ticks, no Lyme.” Children in grades K-8 can submit posters until April 30, demonstrating at least one of the four measures to help prevent Lyme disease. An audio contest for high school and college students is already closed. Information about Lyme Disease Awareness Month is available at http://go.usa.gov/yTS For general information about Lyme disease, visit http://go.usa.gov/yTh Donate Life Month April is National Donate Life Month. More than 100,000 US patients are currently waiting for an organ transplant. More than 4,000 new patients are added to the wait list each month. Organ donation takes healthy organs and tissues from one person for transplantation into another. Experts say that the organs from one donor can save or help as many as 50 people. Organs you can donate include Kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs Skin Bone and bone marrow Cornea Most organ and tissue donations occur after the donor has died. But some organs and tissues can be donated while the donor is alive. Maine residents who are 16 years of age or older can help save lives by signing up on the Maine Organ Donor Registry. Registration is free and takes a few minutes a couple of minutes. You can sign up or check your registration at http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/donatelife/ For more information about organ donation, visit http://www.organdonor.gov/ ---PAGE BREAK--- Nutrition report US CDC’s first nutrition report since 2008 finds that some population groups are deficient in vitamin D and iron, but overall the nation’s nutrition status is favorable. The highest rate of vitamin D deficiency – 31 percent – was found in African Americans. High rates of iron deficiency were found in Mexican American children and Mexican American and African American women of childbearing age. Additionally, iodine levels “border on insufficiency” among young women. For more information: http://go.usa.gov/yTA National Infant Immunization Week National Infant Immunization Week is an annual observance to promote the benefits of immunizations and to improve the health of children two years old or younger. Since 1994, local and state health departments, national immunization partners, health care professionals, community leaders from across the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have worked together through to highlight the positive impact of vaccination on the lives of infants and children, and to call attention to immunization achievements. National Infant Immunization Week will be held April 21-28. For more information: http://go.usa.gov/yTH Active Community Conference Maine's Active Community Conference will be held May 31 at University of Southern Maine's Abromson Conference Center in Portland. A full session will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., and is targeted primarily for professionals working in local policy, programs, and infrastructure that impact Active Community Environments. An evening session from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is designed for elected officials and citizen volunteers who are so critical to this effort but who may not be able to attend a full daytime conference. Public and private sector professionals in the fields of Public Health, Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Planning, Public Safety, Economic Development and Public Works, as well as Elected Officials, Citizens, City and Town Mangers, Business Owners and others interested in improving their communities should attend. The cost is $40 for the full day session and $10 for the evening session. For more information and to register: Follow us Follow Maine CDC’s Social Media Updates: Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaineCDC Twitter: http://twitter.com/MEPublicHealth Blog: http://mainepublichealth.blogspot.com You may subscribe to these updates for free through an RSS feed at http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/rss.php?tid=1049. In Internet Explorer and Firefox, you will be prompted to Subscribe to the Feed and then select the folder where feeds are stored. For clinical consultation and outbreak management guidance, call Maine CDC’s toll-free 24-hour phone line: 1-[PHONE REDACTED]