MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

1. Violence-Related Firearm Deaths Among Residents of Metropolitan Areas and Cities — United States, 2006–2007

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Media Relations
(770) 488-4902

Data from CDC's National Vital Statistics System for 2006 and 2007 show that rates of firearm homicide were generally higher among residents of the nation's largest metropolitan areas than for the U.S. overall, with rates for central cities often among the highest. Rates of firearm homicide among youth 10-19 years old often exceeded rates for residents of all ages in these areas. In contrast, firearm suicides often occurred at lower rates among residents in the nation's largest metropolitan areas and central cities than for the nation overall. Firearm homicide rates tended to be higher for metro areas in the Midwest and South than in the Northeast and West. Firearm suicide rates tended to be higher for metro areas in the South than in other regions, however, some of the highest rates were in the West. Youth in central cities are disproportionately impacted by gun violence. There are a number of effective strategies for prevention, which include programs that enhance youth skills and motivation to behave nonviolently and resolve conflicts peacefully; promote positive relationships between youth and adults; and influence the social, environmental, and economic characteristics of neighborhoods in ways that could be implemented more broadly in U.S. cities to reduce the likelihood of youth violence.

2. Neisseria gonorrhoeae with Reduced Susceptibility to Azithromycin — San Diego County, California, 2009

Lisa Contreras
County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
(619) 515-6579

Although antibiotics can successfully cure gonorrhea, drug resistant strains of gonorrhea have been identified throughout the world. CDC estimates that more than 700,000 people in the U.S. get new gonorrheal infections each year, and recommends a two drug treatment (dual therapy) to adequately treat gonorrhea and delay the emergence of antibiotic resistance. CDC conducts ongoing surveillance for drug resistant gonorrhea at sexually transmitted disease clinics throughout the U.S. This report details the identification of five gonorrhea cases in San Diego County with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin, one of the antibiotics in the recommended dual therapy. The infections were in men who have sex with men, who had no known connections to each other, suggesting that the gonorrhea strains with reduced drug susceptibility might be widespread in the community. Continued surveillance for antibiotic resistance is essential for detecting resistance and guiding treatment.

3. Progress Toward Interruption of Wild Poliovirus Transmission — Worldwide, January 2010–March 2011

CDC Division of News and Electronic Media
(404) 639-3286

By 2006, the efforts of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative had led to the successful interruption of the transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus (WPV) in all but four countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nigeria). However, since that time, 39 previously polio-free countries experienced outbreaks following importation of WPV and transmission became reestablished in Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Sudan. A total of 1,291 WPV cases with onset of paralysis in 2010 were reported worldwide, a 19 percent decrease from 2009, which included a more than 94 percent reduction in reported cases in India and Nigeria and the lowest level of WPV type 3 cases worldwide ever reported. Although there has been great progress toward polio eradication in 2010, during January 2011–March 2011, the number of WPV cases in Chad, DRC, and Pakistan was substantially higher than in the same period of 2010, and three new outbreaks had been reported. Although successful interruption of WPV transmission in India in 2011 is in sight and possible in Nigeria, the goal set in 2009 of interrupting all WPV transmission globally by the end of 2012 is in jeopardy based on current trends. Prompt and substantial commitments by the governments of polio-affected countries and increased efforts of polio-eradication partners are needed to achieve this goal.

 

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES