MMWR News Synopsis for September 30, 2015

 

Frequency of Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Preventing youths from initiating the use of any tobacco product is important to tobacco-use prevention and control strategies in the United States. Monitoring the frequency and patterns of tobacco use among middle- and high-school students, including the use of two or more tobacco products, is important to inform evidence-based interventions to prevent and reduce all forms of tobacco use. Among current or past-30-day tobacco users in high school, frequent use (>20 days during the preceding 30 days) was most prevalent among smokeless tobacco users (42.0 percent), followed by cigarette smokers (31.6 percent), e-cigarette users (15.5 percent), and cigar smokers (13.1 percent). A similar pattern was observed for students who used tobacco on all of the past 30 days. Among current users in middle school, frequent use was greatest among smokeless tobacco users (29.2 percent), followed by cigarette smokers (20.0 percent), cigar smokers (13.2 percent) and e-cigarette users (11.8 percent). Current use of two or more types of tobacco products was common, even among students who used the following tobacco products 1–5 days during the preceding 30 days: 77.3 percent for cigar smokers, 76.9 percent for cigarette smokers, 63.4 percent for smokeless tobacco users, and 54.8 percent for e-cigarettes users.

Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2014.

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

In 2014, millions of middle- and high-school students were exposed, through inhalation or oral absorption, to nicotine and harmful constituents from tobacco products. A substantial proportion of this exposure was due to use of flavored tobacco products. Sustained efforts to implement proven tobacco control policies and strategies are necessary to prevent all forms of tobacco use, including flavored tobacco products, among U.S. youth. In 2014, among middle and high school students, 1.58 million e-cigarette users, 1.02 million hookah users, and 910,000 cigar smokers used flavored varieties of these products within the past 30 days. Among past-30-day tobacco users, 70.0 percent reported using at least one flavored tobacco product; 63.5 percent of cigar smokers, 63.3 percent of e-cigarette users, and 60.6 percent of hookah users reported using flavored varieties of these tobacco products in the past 30 days. There is growing concern that widely marketed flavored tobacco products may appeal to youth and could be contributing to recent increases in the use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and hookah, among youth.

Q Fever Outbreak Among Travelers to Germany Who Received Live Cell Therapy — United States and Canada, 2014

Misha Robyn, Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer
Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health
518-486-5245
mrobyn@cdc.gov

A practice known as live cell therapy may expose persons to zoonotic infections. There is no published clinical evidence supporting therapeutic claims for these practices. U.S. residents may be exposed to zoonotic diseases when receiving a treatment known as live cell therapy. In 2014, the New York State Department of Health was notified of five New York state residents who tested positive for Q fever, a reportable disease caused by infection with a bacteria usually found in sheep, goats, and cattle. These patients had all traveled to Germany to receive live cell therapy, which involved injections of fetal sheep cells. Although live cell therapy is advertised to treat a variety of health conditions, there is no published evidence supporting these claims and serious adverse events have been reported.

Estimated Lifetime Medical and Work-Loss Costs of Fatal Injuries — United States, 2013

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The total medical and work-loss costs of injuries in the United States was $671 billion in 2013, with fatal injuries making up one third of these costs. In 2013, unintentional injury was the fourth leading cause of death, suicide was the tenth, and homicide was the sixteenth. Over 187,000 people died from these three causes alone. Combined lifetime medical and work loss costs from all fatal injuries were $214 billion in 2013. The magnitude of costs associated with injury deaths underscores the need for effective prevention.

Estimated Lifetime Medical and Work-Loss Costs of Emergency-Department–Treated Nonfatal Injuries — United States, 2013

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Costs associated with nonfatal injuries in the United States create a substantial, yet preventable, economic burden. More than 3 million people are hospitalized and 27 million people are treated and released in emergency departments (ED) for unintentional and violence-related injuries each year. Combined medical and work-loss costs for ED-treated injuries were $457 billion in 2013. The vast majority of ED-treated injuries are unintentional and include falls (37 percent) and transportation-related injuries (21 percent). Expanded implementation of evidence-based programs and strategies to prevent injuries and violence can reduce the pain and suffering of victims as well as the costs to society.

Ebola Virus Disease in Health Care Workers — Guinea, 2014

No Summary Available

Measles Outbreak Associated with Vaccine Failure in Adults — Federated States of Micronesia, February–August 2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Even in areas where transmission has not occurred for years, maintaining high 2-dose measles-containing-vaccine coverage through routine and supplemental immunization is needed to prevent outbreaks resulting from increased measles susceptibility in the population. After 20 years with no measles, the Federated States of Micronesia experienced a large outbreak. Although measles outbreaks usually affect unvaccinated children and adolescents, in this atypical outbreak two thirds of cases occurred among adults, half of whom had received at least two doses of vaccine. The unusual amount of vaccine failure among adults may have been the result of historical lapses in the vaccine “cold chain,” which is the continuous maintenance of vaccines at refrigerator temperatures to protect their potency. Childhood vaccination coverage achieved in recent years provided excellent protection, as younger age groups had limited cases and minimal vaccine failure. This suggests the cold chain has been adequate in recent years and highlights the importance of maintaining high coverage to protect children from measles, even in areas when measles has not been seen for years.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES