MMWR News Synopsis for July 6, 2017

Tobacco Use in Top-Grossing Movies — United States, 2010–2016

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Reducing tobacco use in movies rated as appropriate for young people could help prevent the initiation of tobacco use. The Surgeon General has concluded that depictions of smoking in the movies causes young people to begin smoking. The findings in this report show that despite previously reported declines in youth-rated movies that contained tobacco use during 2005–2010, progress in reducing tobacco incidents in youth-rated movies has stopped since 2010. Although there were fewer top-grossing movies depicting tobacco use in 2016 compared with 2010, there was an increase in the number of tobacco incidents, thereby concentrating exposure to tobacco use in fewer films. An increase in the total number of tobacco-use incidents in PG-13 movies is of particular public health concern because these films are rated appropriate for youth.

Babesiosis Surveillance — Wisconsin, 2001–2015

Jennifer Miller
Department of Health Services
Office of the Secretary
JenniferC.Miller@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Office: 608-267-9735
Media Line: 608-266-1683

Accurate surveillance in states where babesiosis is endemic is necessary to estimate the increasing burden of babesiosis and other tickborne diseases and to develop appropriate public health interventions for prevention and practice. Babesiosis is an emerging tickborne disease endemic to the northeastern United States and the upper Midwest. Many infected people are asymptomatic but the disease can be life-threatening, especially among older and immunocompromised persons. In Wisconsin, babesiosis became officially reportable in 2001. Wisconsin babesiosis surveillance data for 2001–2015 were analyzed in three-year intervals to compare demographic, epidemiologic, and laboratory features among patients with cases of reported babesiosis, as well as to examine trends in electronic laboratory reporting and diagnosis by polymerase chain reaction testing (PCR) that might have contributed to the increase in reported Babesia infection. Babesiosis cases in Wisconsin are increasing in number and geographic range. These trends might be generalizable to other states with endemic disease, similar suburbanization and forest fragmentation patterns, and warming average temperatures.

Outbreak of Trichinellosis Linked to Consumption of Walrus Meat — Alaska, 2016

Rebecca Lynch
Public information officer
Rebecca.lynch@alaska.gov
907.269.3495
907.351.7269

The majority of cases of trichinellosis in the United States are associated with consumption of undercooked meat from wild game. The risk of infection can be greatly reduced by fully cooking meat at 160°F (71°C). During July 2016–May 2017, the Alaska Division of Public Health investigated two outbreaks of trichinellosis in the Norton Sound region associated with consumption of raw or undercooked walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) meat. Ten cases were identified. These were the first multi-case outbreaks of walrus-associated trichinellosis in Alaska since 1992. Walrus are important subsistence resources for the nutritional, cultural, and economic wellbeing of many coastal communities in northern and western Alaska. These outbreaks underscore the importance of inquiring about consumption of personally harvested meats when evaluating suspected trichinellosis cases, especially in areas where consumption of wild game in association with recreational or subsistence hunting is common, and highlight the importance public health messaging that is sensitive to traditional practices.

Notes from the Field:

• An Outbreak of Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli O121 Infections Associated with Flour — Canada, 2016–2017

Quick Stats:

• Percentage of Children and Teens Who Missed >10 School Days in the Past 12 Months Because of Illness or Injury, by Sex and Age — National Health Interview Survey, 2013–2015

###

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety, and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, stem from human error or deliberate attack, CDC is committed to respond to America’s most pressing health challenges.