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Women who follow vegetarian diets must ensure adequate vitamin B12
intake, particularly pregnant women and those who breastfeed.
PRESS CONTACT: Maria Elena Jefferds, PhD CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (770) 4885862 (Alternate: 6784682184) |
In 2001, neurologic impairment (including delays in speech, walking, and fine motor skills) and failure to thrive resulting from vitamin B12 deficiency was diagnosed in two children in Georgia. The children were breastfed by mothers who followed vegetarian diets. Vitamin B12 deficiency in young children is difficult to diagnose because of nonspecific symptoms. The only reliable, unfortified, sources of vitamin B12 are animal products. Vegetarians must ensure adequate vitamin B12 intake, particularly women during pregnancy and lactation. If it is not possible to consume the recommended dietary intake of vitamin B12 through food, a daily supplement should be taken that contains at least the recommended dietary intake from a reliable source. Health-care providers should be vigilant about the potential for vitamin B12 deficiency in breastfed children of vegetarian mothers.
Outbreaks of conjunctivitis among school children should be
reported to state health departments and the CDC so that the cause can be
determined and control strategies evaluated.
PRESS CONTACT: Brendan Flannery, PhD, MPH CDC, National Center for Infectious Diseases (404) 6394755 |
Conjunctivitis, or 'pink eye', is a common, mild infection of the eye. Several types of bacteria and viruses can cause conjunctivitis. This outbreak was caused by an uncommon strain of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, also referred to as the pneumococcus. This is the first time this strain of bacteria has caused an outbreak of conjunctivitis among young children; previously recognized outbreaks have occurred among college-aged adults. Although children were not seriously ill, the outbreak resulted in lost school days for ill children and costs to their parents for provider visits and missed work. State health departments should notify CDC of future outbreaks of conjunctivitis among young children so that prevention and control measures may be evaluated.
Regular comprehensive foot exams are important for persons with
diabetes who undergo amputation.
PRESS CONTACT: Heidi Krapfl, MS New Mexico Department of Health (505) 8270325 |
Lower extremity amputation is one of the most devastating and disabling complications of diabetes, and approximately one-third of persons with diabetes are at high risk for amputation. Currently, surveillance of amputation is conducted using hospital discharge records. The article describes "episodes" of amputation that link hospital discharges to individuals. Episodes of amputation were twice as high among men as women, and the age-adjusted rate was approximately 3.5 times higher among American Indians compared with non-Hispanic whites.
CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed January 31, 2003 Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention |