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Notice to Readers: Update on MMWR Table II: AIDS Surveillance Data
and Provisional Nationally Notifiable Disease Data
CDC has received inquiries about the absence of provisional 2004 AIDS surveillance data among National
Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) case report data presented in Table II of
MMWR (1). The AIDS case report data usually are updated monthly in this table. However, although states report data to CDC on a monthly basis, because of
an internal data processing problem, CDC did not publish 2004 data until last week
(2). If any delay occurs in presenting monthly updates in provisional AIDS case counts in Table II, CDC will add a footnote to explain the reason for the delay.
MMWR Table II includes cumulative (year-to-date) incidence data for selected nationally notifiable diseases for the
current and preceding year, by state. NNDSS data can be used to identify aberrations or discrepancies in reported disease
incidence, whether because of a true change in disease incidence or reporting artifacts. However, because of reporting delays,
data reported in the current year are only an estimate
of true disease incidence, whereas data with which they are compared
from the preceding year represent finalized (or nearly finalized) data that account for delayed case reporting from states to CDC
and include subsequent corrections. When current year-to-date provisional data indicate fewer cases than for the preceding
year, the difference might indicate 1) a real decrease in cases or 2) artifactual changes attributed to reporting delays in the
current year. The interpretation of provisional NNDSS weekly case counts also is complicated
because it differs by state and disease program and is highly subject to changes in state-specific surveillance system
policies and procedures.
Readers can send their comments on the use and display of provisional NNDSS data to CDC by telephone,
770-488-8359 or by e-mail, soib@cdc.gov.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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