MMWR News Synopsis for August 27, 2015

 

National, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19-35 Months – United States, 2014

CDC Media Relations
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High coverage rates for childhood vaccines explain why most vaccine-preventable diseases are at record low levels. However, it is crucial to maintain these rates to prevent the occurrence of outbreaks. Vaccinating children according to the recommended schedule is one of the best ways to protect them from several harmful and potentially deadly diseases before their second birthday. Following the recommended immunization schedule protects as many children as possible and prevents many potentially life-threatening diseases. According to the 2014 National Immunization Survey, the majority of parents are vaccinating their children against potentially serious diseases. Nationally, there were no significant decreases in vaccination coverage among children ages 19-35 months for routinely recommended childhood vaccines in 2014. As in past years, lower coverage was observed for vaccines recommended during the second year of life. There are still opportunities for improvement. While national coverage was high for most vaccines routinely recommended for young children, vaccination coverage does vary by state and poverty status.

Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2014–15 School Year

CDC Media Relations
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Maintaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is critical for protecting children because diseases can quickly spread through schools and communities if children are unvaccinated. Nationally, for the 2014-2015 school year, most kindergarteners were up-to-date on their recommended vaccinations. For the 2014-2015 school year, median exemption levels were low, but vary by state. Although statewide levels of vaccination coverage were high, locally there may be clusters of under-vaccinated or unvaccinated students that put their schools or communities at a higher risk for an outbreak. Maintaining high vaccination coverage among school-age children is critical for protecting children because diseases can quickly spread through schools and communities if children are unvaccinated. CDC urges parents to give their children the best protection from vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and chicken pox by ensuring that their children are vaccinated according to the recommended immunization schedule.

School-Level Practices to Increase Availability of Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains and Reduce Sodium in School Meals — United States, 2014

CDC Media Relations
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Most schools in the U.S. are implementing healthy practices to help meet federal school meal standards by offering whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, and reducing sodium content. However, opportunities still exist to improve school nutrition services practices. Students consume almost half of their daily calories at school, often through federal school meal programs. In 2012, USDA published new requirements for school meals including serving more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and gradually reducing sodium over 10 years. This study found that most schools are implementing practices to help meet the standards, including offering a variety of fruits and vegetables each day at lunch, offering whole grain items each day at breakfast and lunch, and using purchasing and food preparation strategies to reduce sodium content of meals. Although U.S. schools are moving in the right direction, schools should continue striving to provide a quality nutrition environment for students.

Injuries from Methamphetamine-Related Chemical Incidents — Five States, 2001–2012

CDC Media Relations
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Recent trends in injuries related to illegal methamphetamine manufacture suggest a need for efforts to protect the general public, particularly children and law enforcement officials. Because individual state legislative actions can result in increased illegal meth production in neighboring states, a regional approach to prevention is recommended. Methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug, can be illegally manufactured using easily acquired chemicals. Meth production can cause fires, explosions, injuries, and environmental contamination. CDC analyzed injury incidence and trends by examining 2001-2012 data on 1,325 meth-related chemical incidents reported to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance system and National Toxic Substance Incidents Program by Louisiana, Oregon, Utah, New York, and Wisconsin. Meth-related chemical incidents increased with the drug’s popularity (2001–2004), declined with legislation limiting access to precursor chemicals (2005–2007), and increased again as drug makers circumvented precursor restrictions (2008–2012). Seven percent of meth-related chemical incidents resulted in injuries to 162 persons, mostly members of the general public, including children and law enforcement officials.

World Health Organization Guidelines for Biocontainment of Poliovirus Following Type-Specific Polio Eradication – Worldwide, 2015

CDC Media Relations
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After certification of wild poliovirus eradication, the use of all oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) will cease. Final containment of all polioviruses after polio eradication and OPV cessation will minimize the risk for reintroduction of poliovirus into a polio-free world. The containment of polioviruses in laboratories is a critical component of polio eradication. This report summarizes critical steps for essential laboratory and vaccine production facilities that intend to retain materials confirmed to contain or potentially containing wild poliovirus, vaccine-derived poliovirus, or OPV/Sabin viruses, as well as steps for nonessential facilities that process specimens that contain or might contain polioviruses. National authorities will need to certify that the essential facilities they host meet containment requirements. National authorities in all countries are currently tasked with completing a survey of laboratories and an inventory of where infectious and potentially infectious materials are held, and to prepare for the next phases of containment when only essential facilities will be able to hold such materials.

Notes from the Field:

• Snowstorm-Related Mortality — Erie County, New York, November 2014
• Increase in Reports of Strongyloides Infection — Los Angeles County, 2013–2014

QuickStats

• Percentage of Children and Adolescents Aged 5–17 Years with Diagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 1997–2014

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES