The Context of Sexual Risk among African-American Female College Students

Objective: To assess the sexually transmitted infection (STI) awareness, sexual risk behaviors, and related contextual factors of African-American female college students. Participants: Eighty-nine African-American first year female students attending a majority public four-year college in the southern U.S. participated in the study in Spring, 2006. Methods: Participants completed an anonymous self-administered paper-and-pencil survey and received a $15 cash incentive. Results: Participants were highly knowledgeable and aware about STIs and their consequences. While this awareness translated into low levels of risk for many, still others engaged in behaviors and maintained beliefs that could potentially put them at high risk for contracting STIs. Conclusions: Given the disproportionate rates of STIs among young African-American females, researchers must not ignore the non-behavioral factors (i.e. beliefs and perceptions) that may influence sexual risk behaviors to help in determining optimal methods for intervention and prevention among young African-American females

The associations of income and Black-White racial segregation with HIV outcomes among adults aged ≥18 years-United States and Puerto Rico, 2019.

Objective(s)To examine associations between Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) measures for economic and racial segregation and HIV outcomes in the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico.MethodsCounty-level HIV testing data from CDC's National HIV Prevention Program Monitoring and Evaluation and census tract-level HIV diagnoses, linkage to HIV medical care, and viral suppression data from the National HIV Surveillance System were used. Three ICE measures of spatial polarization were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey: ICEincome (income segregation), ICErace (Black-White racial segregation), and ICEincome+race (Black-White racialized economic segregation). Rate ratios (RRs) for HIV diagnoses and prevalence ratios (PRs) for HIV testing, linkage to care within 1 month of diagnosis, and viral suppression within 6 months of diagnosis were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to examine changes across ICE quintiles using the most privileged communities (Quintile 5, Q5) as the reference group.ResultsPRs and RRs showed a higher likelihood of testing and adverse HIV outcomes among persons residing in Q1 (least privileged) communities compared with Q5 (most privileged) across ICE measures. For HIV testing percentages and diagnosis rates, across quintiles, PRs and RRs were consistently greatest for ICErace. For linkage to care and viral suppression, PRs were consistently lower for ICEincome+race.ConclusionsWe found that poor HIV outcomes and disparities were associated with income, racial, and economic segregation as measured by ICE. These ICE measures contribute to poor HIV outcomes and disparities by unfairly concentrating certain groups (i.e., Black persons) in highly segregated and deprived communities that experience a lack of access to quality, affordable health care. Expanded efforts are needed to address the social/economic barriers that impede access to HIV care among Black persons. Increased partnerships between government agencies and the private sector are needed to change policies that promote and sustain racial and income segregation

Escherichia coli O157 Outbreaks in the United States, 2003–2012

Infections with the Shiga toxin–producing bacterium Escherichia coli O157 can cause severe illness and death. We summarized reported outbreaks of E. coli O157 infections in the United States during 2003–2012, including demographic characteristics of patients and epidemiologic findings by transmission mode and food category. We identified 390 outbreaks, which included 4,928 illnesses, 1,272 hospitalizations, and 33 deaths. Transmission was through food (255 outbreaks, 65%), person-to-person contact (39, 10%), indirect or direct contact with animals (39, 10%), and water (15, 4%); 42 (11%) had a different or unknown mode of transmission. Beef and leafy vegetables, combined, were the source of >25% of all reported E. coli outbreaks and of >40% of related illnesses. Outbreaks attributed to foods generally consumed raw caused higher hospitalization rates than those attributed to foods generally consumed cooked (35% vs. 28%). Most (87%) waterborne E. coli outbreaks occurred in states bordering the Mississippi River

Listeriosis Outbreaks and Associated Food Vehicles, United States, 1998–2008

Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterial foodborne pathogen, can cause meningitis, bacteremia, and complications during pregnancy. This report summarizes listeriosis outbreaks reported to the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during 1998–2008. The study period includes the advent of PulseNet (a national molecular subtyping network for outbreak detection) in 1998 and the Listeria Initiative (enhanced surveillance for outbreak investigation) in 2004. Twenty-four confirmed listeriosis outbreaks were reported during 1998–2008, resulting in 359 illnesses, 215 hospitalizations, and 38 deaths. Outbreaks earlier in the study period were generally larger and longer. Serotype 4b caused the largest number of outbreaks and outbreak-associated cases. Ready-to-eat meats caused more early outbreaks, and novel vehicles (i.e., sprouts, taco/nacho salad) were associated with outbreaks later in the study period. These changes may reflect the effect of PulseNet and the Listeria Initiative and regulatory initiatives designed to prevent contamination in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products