MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Work-Related Deaths of Hispanic Workers – United States, 1992-2006

PRESS CONTACT: CDC
Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

Hispanic workers experience elevated risks for injury death in comparison to other workers. Preventing work-related injury deaths among Hispanic workers will require employers to provide safe work environments that comply with existing regulations, and increased education and training of Hispanic workers that is linguistically and culturally appropriate. This article characterizes work-related injury deaths among Hispanic workers who are among the fastest growing segments of the U.S. workforce. Data demonstrate that rates of work-related injury death among Hispanic workers exceed those for all U.S. workers, non-Hispanic white workers, and non-Hispanic black workers. Further, these disparities in risk are persistent over time. Foreign born workers are at especially high risk, and a large proportion of deaths occur in the construction industry. Contributors to the high risk of injury death for Hispanic workers include work in riskier jobs, inadequate control of recognized safety hazards, and inadequate training and supervision of workers, often exacerbated by different languages and literacy levels of Hispanic workers. Efforts are needed to reduce the risks for deaths among Hispanic workers./p>

Hospital-Acquired Pertussis Among Newborns – Texas, 2004

Winifred King
Media Relations, Cook Children’s Medical Center
(682) 885-4107

Hospitals should be aware of the risk of spreading Pertussis and use the Tap vaccine for healthcare workers. A unique event has shown that Pertussis, or whooping cough, can be spread from an adult to a large number of infants. This occurred in a healthcare setting where workers and their patients can be protected from Pertussis with the Tdap vaccine. Efforts should be made to educate teens, adults and healthcare workers about Tdap vaccine.

False-Positive Laboratory Test Result for Brucella – Florida, 2005

PRESS CONTACT: CDC
Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

CDC recommends that all Brucella antibody test results obtained using non-reference methods such as the EIA be confirmed by BMAT which is offered by local and state health laboratories and at CDC. In January 2005, a woman aged 35 years who lived in Nassau County, Florida, was diagnosed with brucellosis based on results of anti-Brucella Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) performed in a commercial laboratory, prompting an investigation of dairy products in two other states. The EIA result was later determined to be a false positive upon confirmatory testing by the reference method, the Brucella microagglutination test (BMAT). CDC recommends that the EIA for detection of Brucella antibody be considered a screening, rather than a confirmatory test and that positive Brucella EIA test results should be confirmed by the BMAT, a modified form of standard tube agglutination test. Decisions to test persons with compatible signs and symptoms of brucellosis should be supported by a thorough history that shows likely exposure such as travel to areas with high disease occurrence, consumption of an unpasturized dairy product, hunting potentially infected wildlife or occupational exposure. The BMAT is offered by several state and local laboratories. Any lab not having access to BMAT testing should send samples to CDC through the usual specimen submission route (DASH) for confirmation testing.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES