Surveillance for epidemics - United States
Article Abstract:
State and local governments are responsible for receiving and communicating data pertaining to outbreaks of diseases and epidemics. Despite the importance of gathering and interpreting data concerning community health, there is no national system responsible for surveillance. During a five-month period in 1988, the states of Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Washington participated in a pilot surveillance program with the Epidemiology Program of Office of the Centers for Disease Control. The pilot study registered 116 separate events of which 68 percent were epidemics. The majority of the outbreaks were small; 61 percent involved less than 64 persons. Most outbreaks occurred in restaurants (25 percent), long-term health care facilities (15 percent) and the general community (10 percent). For the 51 percent that were outbreaks of infectious disease, Salmonella bacteria (26 percent) and hepatitis A virus (23 percent) were the most frequent causative agents. The Centers for Disease Control comment that although states maintain written records, many do not computerize them. Coordinated surveillance of epidemics, using modern computerized systems and standard reporting methods, could be used to evaluate and rapidly respond to public health issues. The pilot study revealed both the value and the difficulties of establishing such a surveillance system.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
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Surveillance for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - United States
Article Abstract:
A fairly extensive review by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no US cases of a newly described variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). This variant, which was reported in 10 people in Great Britain in March, 1996, strikes people at a relatively young age. Five of the British cases were younger than 30. In contrast, the CDC's survey of approximately 800 pathologists found 94 deaths attributed to CJD and only 10% of the patients were younger than 55.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1996
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