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October 25, 2001/12:00 PM, ET Press ReleaseCDC Update: MMWR update, postal worker guidelines, flu vaccine, telebriefing, investigation updates (Florida and New Jersey) MMWR Update The October 26, 2001 edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) includes
the article, "Update: Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax and Interim
Guidelines for Exposure Management and Antimicrobial Therapy, October 2001." As of
October 24, investigations in the District of Columbia (DC), Florida, New Jersey, New York
City (NYC), Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have identified 15 (11 confirmed and four
suspected) cases of anthrax - including 3 deaths - according to the CDC surveillance case
definition. Guidelines for postal workers Q: Does CDC recommend getting an influenza immunization (flu shot) to reduce the number of flu-like illnesses that may raise concerns about possible anthrax-related illness? Influenza vaccine should be targeted toward groups that are at
increased risk of complications and toward health care workers. CDC recommends that these
groups be prioritized for vaccine available in October and that efforts to vaccinate these
groups continue throughout the influenza season. Lower influenza vaccine coverage of high risk
persons could lead to an increase in influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths. Receipt of
influenza vaccine in November and later is encouraged for those who live with high-risk
persons, for healthy people aged 50-64 years, and for others who wish to reduce their chances
of getting influenza. New Jersey- Postal workers at the Carteret Postal Facility begin a 10-day course of antibiotics as a precaution while the criminal and health investigation of anthrax continues. Carteret is the receiving station for mail coming from the Route 130 mail processing facility in Hamilton Township to Washington, D.C. and New York. Approximately 100 full-time and temporary workers are employed at Carteret. For the latest update on CDC activities and on-going anthrax investigations visit www.bt.cdc.gov/ or www.cdc.gov/media/. |
CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z This page last reviewed October 25, 2001 |