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PRESS CONTACT: |
An estimated 23,800 children ages 19 and younger were treated for off-road motorcycling injuries in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs) each year from 2001-2004. To prevent child and adolescent injuries, measures should be taken to reduce off-road motorcycling among those under the age of 16.
Off-road motorcycle riding is a growing recreational activity among younger
Americans. Nevertheless, children and adolescents may be vulnerable to
losing control of the motorcycle, especially on uneven terrain, resulting
in a crash and injury, because of lack of motor skills and maturity in
judgment. An estimated 23,800 children ages 19 and younger were treated
for off-road motorcycling injuries in U.S.
hospital emergency departments (EDs) each year from 2001-2004. Nearly seven
out of ten of those injured were less than 16 years of age, and 88 percent
were male. For both sexes, about 17 percent were injured in the head and
neck area; of those, about half had internal head injuries.
Almost all were driving when injured. Twenty percent of the riders were injured during motocross, i.e., while racing or jumping, and these riders were more likely to be hospitalized than those injured during other off-road activities (15 percent versus 6 percent). Prevention efforts underway in the U.S., such as promoting helmet use and reducing participation by children under age 16 in off-road motorcycling, need to be strengthened to help reduce the risk of injury from off-road motorcycling among children and adolescents.
PRESS CONTACT: |
Restraint use for child passengers should be vigorously promoted and enforced because it can reduce their risks for multiple injuries and hospitalization from motor vehicle crashes.
Age-appropriate restraints (child safety seats, booster seats or lap/shoulder seatbelts) have decreased risks of injury, hospitalization, and death in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). However, a CDC report released today studied 635 children up to 12 years old who were injured in MVCs and treated in emergency departments (EDs) in 2004. Almost 45 percent were either inappropriately restrained or not restrained. Among the 36 percent of children who were inappropriately restrained, most were four to eight year-olds who had been prematurely placed in seatbelts (rather than booster seats). The percentage of unrestrained children requiring hospitalization for their injuries was three times that of restrained children.
PRESS CONTACT: |
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rodent-borne viral disease characterized by severe pulmonary illness and a case-fatality ratio of 30 to 40 percent. There has been an increase in the number of human cases of HPS reported during January - March 2006 in comparison with previous years, suggesting that a greater risk for human hantavirus infection might exist this year.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) continues to pose a public health problem, particularly in the western United States, so promotion of awareness among health-care workers and prevention and education measures for the general public remains necessary. Measures to prevent HPS include 1) sealing up holes inside and outside the home to prevent entry by rodents, 2) trapping rodents around the home to help reduce the rodent population size, 3) cleaning up potential rodent food sources and nesting sites and 4) taking precautions when cleaning.
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Contact Us This page last reviewed
June 8, 2006
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention |
