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Communicable Disease Update
as of 12/10/2005:
Weekly Overview: Reports
received this week included: 2 pertussis
cases (1 in Gallatin (Bozeman), 1 in Flathead (Kalispell) County). Other
cases of interest included 2 salmonella
cases in Missoula County (not directly associated with their recent
restaurant outbreak) and a few enterics conditions in several counties.
Additional information on recent communicable disease activity/issues is
below and in the attached spreadsheet. No new outbreaks or clusters were
identified during the week.
Pertussis Treatment
Guidelines: A Must Read: The CDC has just issued a
document titled Recommended Antimicrobial
Agents for Treatment and Post Exposure Prophylaxis of Pertussis
that can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/rr5414.pdf. This document provides a
great summary of each drug currently used for treatment and prophylaxis of
pertussis. This item is good supplement to the pertussis outbreak
guidelines distributed earlier.
Influenza:
Influenza activity continues to be modest in MT (see attachment) and the US
with most areas indicating sporadic or no activity. Only Nebraska is
reporting anything more significant- "local" activity.
Please remember to fax you surveillance reports weekly- even in
the absence of cases to ensure we can provide a complete picture of what is
occurring. The weekly U.S. surveillance map is at:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/. The DPHHS site and update can be found
at:
http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/PHSD/Communicable-disease/commun-disease-influenza-resources.shtml.
Please see the attached pdf file or spreadsheet for details on other
reports. NOTE: The spreadsheet has
multiple pages, each indicated by a tab in the bottom left corner.
Tab 1 reflects all cases YTD, tab 2 outbreaks, tab 3 this week, the four an
STD summary. Please take a moment to review and compare your
stats to ours and contact us with any concerns.
In general, the characteristics of HIV/AIDS
cases we receive have changed little over time. The infection still impacts
men who have sex with men and individuals who use injecting drugs most often
(76% of our cases). Approximately 87% of our cases are males, 87% are white
and most reside in our larger cities/counties at the time of diagnosis (see
map attached). We continue to watch for any significant changes in
transmission among women, minorities and youth closely. To date, aside from
a slight increase in the number of women being newly diagnosed with HIV, no
other significant changes have been noted with respect to the
characteristics of our cases. In other words: age, race, risk, etc. of those
individuals reported have been fairly consistent over time.
Influenza:
The Montana Public Health Laboratory has confirmed a handful of influenza
cases from Gallatin, Cascade and Missoula counties.
Please remember to fax you surveillance reports weekly- even in
the absence of cases to ensure we can provide a complete picture of what is
occurring. The weekly U.S. surveillance map is at:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ and we'll have our DPHHS site up soon but
a sample of what we'll offer each week is attached.
If your area has not had a specimen confirmed
by the state lab, we are still interested! To definitively diagnose the
presence of influenza and better characterize what is circulating, it is
important to confirm the first few positive influenza cases in each county
or tribal area by culture and/or PCR. We are asking local health
authorities to encourage providers and labs to submit samples on individuals
strongly suspected of having influenza (people testing positive on rapid
tests are ideal candidates) to our lab for more complete testing. The cost
for testing will be supported until two
specimens from each county/tribal area are confirmed at the state
laboratory. After two cases from each area are confirmed, your agency will
be notified that further testing will not be provided free of charge.
Despite the availability of rapid diagnostic tests, collecting clinical
specimens for viral culture is critical, because only culture isolates can
provide specific information regarding circulating strains and subtypes of
influenza viruses.
Please see the attached pdf file or
spreadsheet for details on other reports.
NOTE: The spreadsheet has multiple pages, each indicated by a tab in the
bottom left corner. Tab 1
reflects all cases YTD, tab 2 outbreaks, tab 3 this week, the four an STD
summary. Please take a moment to review and compare your stats
to ours and contact us with any concerns.
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Documents: