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The MMWR is embargoed until 4:00 PM EST.
Notices to Readers Update: Supply of Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Contact: Kris Bisgard, M.D. Synopsis for January 4, 2002Raccoon Roundworm Encephalitis Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, 2000Severe or fatal encephalitis occurs in birds and people and can be caused by Baylisascaris procyonis (BP), a common roundworm found in the small intestine of raccoons.
Two cases of BP encephalitis were identified in 2000 in residents of Chicago and Los Angeles. In Chicago, a 2-1/2 year old boy remains severely neurologically disabled as a result of infection with BP. In Los Angeles, a 17 year old boy with the disease remains in a coma. In addition to the aforementioned cases, at least 12 cases of severe or fatal BP encephalitis have been identified since 1984 in the United States. Ten of the 12 cases occurred in children. Raccoons infected with BP have been found throughout the United States. Multidrug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Southwest Georgia, December 2000Prevnar should be considered for children, younger than 2 years old, who attend group day care centers.
A recently-licensed vaccine called Prevnar protects young children from serious infections caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Antibiotic resistance is common in these bacteria and infections may be difficult and costly to treat. For this reason, prevention of infection is important. Children who attend child care centers are twice as likely as those who do not attend child care centers to develop serious infections with antibiotic-resistant pneumococci and are a group for which the vaccine should be considered. In a recent survey of parents whose children attended a child care center in rural south Georgia, two-thirds of parents were not aware of Prevnar. Other measures that help prevent antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal infections include appropriate use of antibiotics.
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CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed January 3, 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |