MMWR News Synopsis for March 3, 2016

 

leah.bucco-white@nebraska.go

To prevent human disease caused by M. bovis, all milk and dairy products should be pasteurized and people should avoid consumption of unpasteurized milk or dairy products made from unpasteurized milk. Mycobacterium bovis is a bacterium that typically causes disease in cattle, but can also cause tuberculosis infection in persons who consume unpasteurized milk (or dairy products made from unpasteurized milk) in or imported from countries with affected cattle herds. This article reports findings of a large contact investigation in Nebraska around two Hispanic patients with M. bovis tuberculosis with possible spread to persons who had contact with either of them. The results strengthen evidence for person-to-person transmission of this disease. DNA analysis demonstrated that both patients were infected with a similar strain of M. bovis with a foreign origin. The ongoing incidence of M. bovis TB in people substantiates the need to control bovine tuberculosis globally and to promote pasteurization of all milk and dairy products.

Cluster of Ebola Virus Disease Linked to a Single Funeral — Moyamba District, Sierra Leone, 2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

To maintain Sierra Leone at zero new Ebola infections, community-based surveillance strategies will need to be comprehensive and capable of quickly identifying and responding to high-risk events. A single, traditional funeral for a person infected with Ebola led to a sharp increase in Ebola cases in a rural district in Sierra Leone. Among people who attended the funeral, at least 28 became infected with Ebola and eight died, an extremely high rate of secondary transmission. The District’s comprehensive response likely reduced ongoing transmission. This study highlights the importance of single-source cases and events in amplifying the Ebola epidemic.

Progress toward Measles Elimination — Nepal, 2007–2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

To achieve and maintain measles elimination, additional measures are needed: 1) strengthen routine immunization services to increase coverage with first dose of measles vaccine  (MCV1) and a recently introduced 2nd dose of MCV to greater than or equal to 95 percent in all districts, and 2) enhance sensitivity of measles case-based surveillance by adopting a more sensitive case definition, expanding case-based surveillance sites nationwide, and ensuring timely transport of specimens to the accredited national laboratory. In 2013, Nepal adopted a goal for national measles elimination by 2019. This report updates a previous report and summarizes progress toward measles elimination in Nepal during 2007–2014. During 2007–2014, estimated coverage with the  first MCV dose (MCV1) increased from 81 percent to 88 percent. Approximately 3.9 to 9.7 million children were vaccinated in supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) conducted in 2008 and 2014, respectively. Reported suspected measles incidence declined by 13 percent during 2007–2014, from 54 to 47 cases per million population.

QuickStats:

• Age-Adjusted Death Rates, By Sex — United States, 1979–2014

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES