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PRESS CONTACT: |
Despite longstanding national recommendations calling for routine chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under the age of 26, a new CDC analysis released today shows that screening rates in young women remain low.
Only 26 percent of women enrolled in commercial health plans who were eligible for chlamydia screening were screened in 2001. Of young eligible women enrolled in Medicaid plans, 38 percent were screened that year. Because up to 70 percent of chlamydial infections in women are asymptomatic, routine screening and treatment of infected women are essential to avoid the serious, costly outcomes of untreated chlamydia, including infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and perinatal infection. Authors note that several factors may contribute to low screening rates. Providers may underestimate the prevalence of asymptomatic infection or lack screening reminder systems. Additionally, patients may not request screening. However, several interventions can increase screening rates in health plans.
Public health officials in the Netherlands have noted a sharp increase in cases of the sexually transmitted disease (STD), Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), among men who have sex with men (MSM).
PRESS CONTACT: |
Thirty cases of LGV were reported among MSM in the Netherlands in 2003, and 62 cases have been reported so far in 2004. Preliminary analyses indicate that most of the men were HIV positive, and almost all the men reported risk behavior such as unprotected anal intercourse in the past year. LGV is a little-known infection caused by certain types of the chlamydia bacterium, C. trachomatis. Symptoms of these LGV cases included gastrointestinal problems such as bleeding and inflammation of the colon and rectum 鈥?symptoms not commonly associated with STDs or with LGV, which is rarely diagnosed in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. Researchers believe that MSM in the U.S. are probably at risk for LGV, due in part to contact with MSM from Europe, where LGV outbreaks have also been noted. Thus, U.S. health care providers should be aware of the symptoms of LGV among MSM and evaluate and treat these patients appropriately.
Chemoprophylaxis should be recommended for laboratory manipulations or accidents that result in exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei-containing aerosols or droplets, or contact with nonintact skin, and for persons with risk factors for septicemic disease.
PRESS CONTACT: |
Melioidosis is an infection caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. Culture isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei from clinical specimens of a patient who died of melioidosis were manipulated by laboratory workers at a clinical laboratory in Los Angeles County. Because laboratory-acquired infections have been reported in the literature, CDC was asked to assist the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to investigate. This report summarizes the results of that investigation, which included assessment of laboratory exposures, postexposure chemoprophylaxis, and serologic testing of exposed lab workers. The findings underscore the need to reinforce proper laboratory practices and the potential benefits of chemoprophylaxis after laboratory exposures.
By quickly and accurately identifying the presence of poliovirus in samples taken from acute flaccid paralysis cases, the WHO global polio laboratory network has played an essential role in monitoring the progress of the polio eradication effort.
PRESS CONTACT: |
In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a global laboratory network to ensure that specimens from acute flaccid paralysis cases undergo appropriate processing and testing to detect the presence of poliovirus. The network currently includes 123 national laboratories, 15 regional reference laboratories, and 7 global specialized laboratories. Between January 2003 and June 2004, the network tested 104,946 specimens. The network analyses the genetic data from all wild poliovirus isolates to determine their relatedness and infer common sources and chains of transmission. Six wild poliovirus genotypes were detected between January 2003 and June 2004. The network has also played a role in detecting the circulation of vaccine-derived poliovirus, which has the potential to cause outbreaks of poliomyelitis. The network is playing a key role in the global eradication of polio.
PRESS CONTACT: |
No summary available.
| PRESS CONTACT: CDC, Office of Communications Division of Media Relations (404) 639-3286 |
No summary available.
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