MMWR – Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report
MMWR News Synopsis for February
27, 2014
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for the full MMWR articles. If you have any questions about these summaries,
please contact media@cdc.gov.
1. Histoplasmosis
Associated with a Bamboo Bonfire — Arkansas, October 2011
When physicians see an individual with an illness consistent with
histoplasmosis, they should ask about potentially ill contacts to be assured
that the patient is not a member of an outbreak. Human infection with
Histoplasma
capsulatum occurs sporadically and in outbreaks in endemic areas along the
Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri River valleys. Outbreaks classically have been
observed in situations where individuals come in contact with disturbed ground,
bird feces or bat guano. This outbreak report highlights a cluster of acute
histoplasmosis cases among persons who attended a bonfire where bamboo,
previously used as a blackbird roost, was burned. Observations from this
outbreak raise the question whether exposure to a bonfire might be a newly
recognized risk factor for histoplasmosis infection.
2.
Multiple-Serotype Salmonella Outbreaks in Two State Prisons —
Arkansas, August 2012
Ensuring prison staff and inmates involved in food service receive
training and comply with state and local food preparation guidelines is key in
preventing the occurrence and spread of foodborne outbreaks in prisons. Salmonella
is the most common cause of bacterial foodborne outbreaks in the United
States. Two outbreaks of
Salmonella among nearly 600 inmates and staff
in two Arkansas prisons were linked to deficiencies in safe food preparation
practices and to eggs produced in the Arkansas correctional system. An
investigation conducted by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) revealed
infections with 15 different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of
Salmonella. To prevent future outbreaks, ADH recommended training in
food safety for correctional staff and inmates involved with food preparation,
adherence to state guidelines for safe food preparation in prison kitchens, and
inspection of prisons by health department staff to ensure staff follow food
preparation standards equivalent to commercial food establishments.
3. Two-Dose
Varicella Vaccination Coverage among Children Aged 7 years — Six Sentinel
Sites, United States, 2006–2012
Substantial progress has been made towards ensuring as many children as
possible are protected against varicella. Adoption of two-dose varicella
vaccination school entry requirements by more states will help further increase
the number of children protected against the disease. In 2007, the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended a routine
second dose of varicella vaccine for children at age 4-6. The number of states
with a two-dose varicella vaccine elementary school entry requirement has
increased from four in 2007 to 36 in 2012. Two-dose varicella vaccination
coverage levels among children aged 7 years in six Immunization Information
System sentinel sites increased from a range of 3.6 percent to 8.9 percent in
2006 to a range of 79.9 percent to 92.0 percent in 2012 and are approaching
levels of two-dose measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) coverage, which ranged from
81.9 percent to 94.0 percent in 2012. These increases suggest substantial
progress in implementing the routine two-dose varicella vaccination program in
the 6 years since its recommendation by ACIP.
4. Notes from the
Field
- Emergence of Wildlife
Rabies on an Island Free from Canine Rabies for 52 Years — Taiwan, 2013
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