Transactions of the Plague Control Conference of the United States Public Health Service and Twelve Western States

The plague problem is potentially of grave public health importance. The history of this disease over a period of centuries shows that it has several times assumed epidemic proportions, especially in cities. History also shows that when the disease appears in bubonic form contracted from rat fleas, it sooner or later may assume the pneumonic type and be spread from person to person with fatal results. From the evidence presented to the conference it appears that complete control of plague is not economically feasible without a great increase in Federal, State, and local expenditures. It is recommended that funds are made available for adequate survey and control work, an educational campaign to bring about greater appreciation of the dangers inherent in infected rodents habitat, and rat-proofing and eradicative measures to be taken in all cities and population centers

Guidelines for testing and counseling blood and plasma donors for human immunodeficienty virus type 1 antigen

The Public Health Service (PHS) has recommended a multifaceted approach to blood safety in the United States that includes stringent donor selection practices and the use of screening tests. Blood donations in the United States have been screened for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) since March 1985 and type 2 (HIV-2) since June 1992. An estimated one in 450,000 to one in 660,000 donations per year (i.e., 18-27 donations) are infectious for HIV but are not detected by currently available screening tests. Because maintaining a safe blood supply is a public health priority, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended in August 1995 that all donated blood and plasma also be screened for HIV-1 p24 antigen, effective within 3 months of licensure of a test labeled for such use. Donor screening for p24 antigen is expected to reduce the number of otherwise undetected infectious donations by approximately 25% per year. Routine testing for p24 antigen in settings other than blood and plasma centers as a method for diagnosing HIV infection is discouraged because the estimated average time from detection of p24 antigen to detection of HIV antibody is 6 days, and not all recently infected persons have detectable levels of p24 antigen. Among children > or = 18 months of age and adults, diagnostic testing for HIV infection, including confirmatory testing, should routinely be performed with FDA-licensed assays for antibodies to HIV-1; p24-antigen tests alone should not be used for diagnosing HIV infection. This report provides PHS guidelines for a) interpreting p24-antigen-assay results, b) counseling and follow-up of blood donors who have positive or indeterminate p24-antigen-test results, and c) using p24-antigen testing in settings other than blood banks.Introduction -- P24-antigen\ue2\u20ac\u201ctest algorithm and interpretation of test results -- donor counseling, follow-up, and deferral -- implications for other HIV test sites -- Conclusions -- References.March 1, 1996.The following CDC staff members prepared this report: Eve M. Lackritz, Robert S. Janssen, Helene D. Gayle, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for Prevention Services; Charles A. Schable, Harold W. Jaffe, Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research, National Center for Infectious Diseases.Includes bibliographical references (p. 8-9)

Promoting health, preventing disease: objectives for the nation

Based on a conference held June 13-14, 1979, in Atlanta, Ga, organized by the Center for Disease Control and the Health Resources Administration."Fall 1980.

Guidelines for the prevention of opportunistic infections in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus

In 1994, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recognized that, although strategies were available to reduce the frequency of opportunistic infections in patients who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, information regarding prevention of both exposure and disease often was published in journals not regularly reviewed by health-care providers. In response, USPHS/IDSA developed comprehensive guidelines for health-care providers and patients that consolidated information pertaining to the prevention of opportunistic infections in persons infected with HIV. The resulting USPHS/IDSA guidelines were published in 1995 in the MMWR, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and the Annals of Internal Medicine, with an accompanying editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The response to the 1995 guidelines (e.g., the many requests for reprints and observations from health-care providers) suggests that they have served as a valuable reference against which local policies regarding prevention of opportunistic infections could be compared. Because recommendations were rated on the basis of the strength of the evidence supporting them, readers were able to assess for themselves to which areas adherence was most important. In the United States, opportunistic infections continue to produce morbidity and mortality among the estimated 650,000\ue2\u20ac\u201c900,000 persons who are infected with HIV, especially among the estimated 200,000\ue2\u20ac\u201c250,000 persons who are severely immunosuppressed (i.e., persons who have a CD4+ T-lymphocyte count of <200 cells/mL). However, surveillance data indicate that the incidence of opportunistic infections has been changing in the United States. In HIV-infected men who have sex with men, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), toxoplasmic encephalitis, fungal infections, and disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease have decreased in incidence. Prophylactic regimens against opportunistic pathogens and more potent antiretroviral drugs appear to be important factors influencing this decline in incidence. However, these decreases have not been observed among HIVinfected injecting-drug users, suggesting that more emphasis should be placed on providing currently recommended chemoprophylactic agents to all persons who have HIV infection and who meet appropriate criteria for prophylaxis for opportunistic infections. The surveillance data also indicate that the incidence of some opportunistic infections is not decreasing among either men who have sex with men or injectingdrug users, indicating that preventive strategies need to be developed and applied to a wider spectrum of opportunistic infections. Because much new data concerning the prevention of opportunistic disease have emerged since 1994, the USPHS and the IDSA reconvened a working group on November 7-8, 1996, to determine which recommendations needed to be changed. Participants included representatives from federal agencies, universities, and professional societies, as well as community health-care providers and patient advocates. Most attention was focused on recent data related to chemoprophylaxis against disseminated MAC disease, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and fungal infections and to immunization against Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, data concerning all the common acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated pathogens were reviewed, as appropriate. Factors considered in revising guidelines included: Incidence of disease; Severity of disease in terms of morbidity and mortality; Level of immunosuppression at which disease is most likely to occur; Feasibility, efficacy, and cost of preventive measures; Impact of intervention on quality of life; Toxicities, drug interactions, and the potential for drug resistance to develop. Consultants reviewed published manuscripts, abstracts, and material presented at professional meetings. However, guidelines were revised only if complete manuscripts providing data were available for review. A review of the data that served as the basis for the revisions, as well as the additional information discussed at the meeting but not deemed appropriate to justify a revision of the recommendations, will be published elsewhere. The guidelines developed by the USPHS/IDSA working group were made available for public comment by an announcement in the Federal Register and in the MMWR, and the final document was approved by the USPHS and the IDSA, as well as by the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists of America, and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Preface -- How to use the information in this report -- Categories reflecting strength and quality of evidence -- Disease-specific recommendations -- Immunologic categories for hiv-infected children -- Drug regimens for adults and adolescents -- Drug regimens for children -- Prevention of exposure recommendations -- Costs of drugs and vaccines -- References.June 27, 1997.The following CDC staff member prepared this report: Jonathan E. Kaplan, M.D., National Center for Infectious Diseases Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research and National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Surveillance, and Epidemiology in collaboration with Henry Masur, M.D., National Institutes of Health, King K. Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., University of Washington, USPHS/IDSA Prevention of Opportunistic Infections Working Group.Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46)

Ohio River Pollution Survey

Ohio River Pollution Survey of 1939 that includes a survey of the 1924 water treatment plant and map of the water and sewer systems

Report of the Surgeon General

Cover title.Shipping list no.: 1994-0111-P.Also available via Internet from the NIH Web site. Address as of 8/26/04: http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/C/F/T/%5F/nnbcft.pdf; current access available via PURL.Also available on the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 11)

Preventing tobacco use among young people: a report of the Surgeon General

Health consequences of tobacco use by young people -- Health consequences of smoking among young people -- Adult health implications of smoking among young people -- Nicotine addiction in adolescence -- Smoking as a risk factor for other drug use -- Health consequences of smokeless tobacco use among young people -- Epidemiology of tobacco use among young people in the United States -- Cigarette smoking among young people in the United States -- Smokeless tobacco use among young people in the United States -- Psychosocial risk factors for initiating tobacco use -- Initiation of cigarette smoking -- Initiation of smokeless tobacco use -- Implications of research for preventing tobacco use: modifying psychosocial risk -- Tobacco advertising and promotional activities -- Role of advertising and promotion in the marketing of tobacco products -- History of cigarette advertising to the young -- Historical content analyses of cigarette advertising -- Promotional efforts of the tobacco industry -- Research on the effects of cigarette advertising and promotional activities on young people --Efforts to prevent tobacco use among young people -- Public opinion about preventing tobacco use among young people -- Educational efforts to prevent tobacco use among young people -- Public policies to prevent tobacco use among young people.Constitutes the 1994 Surgeon general's report on the health consequences of smoking. Cf. Foreword and transmittal letter from Donna E. Shalala.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references and index

Health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, a report of the Surgeon General

Prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General.Mode of access: Internet from the Surgeon General's web site. Address as of 6/29/06: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/secondhandsmoke.pdf; current access is available via PURL

Reducing tobacco use: a report of the Surgeon General : executive summary

Shipping list no.: 2000-0350-P.Published also as Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports ; v. 49, no. RR-16.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22)

The Surgeon General's call to action to support breastfeeding

"For nearly all infants, breastfeeding is the best source of infant nutrition and immunologic protection, and it provides remarkable health benefits to mothers as well. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and obese. Many mothers in the United States want to breastfeed, and most try. And yet within only three months after giving birth, more than two-thirds of breastfeeding mothers have already begun using formula. By six months postpartum, more than half of mothers have given up on breastfeeding, and mothers who breastfeed one-yearolds or toddlers are a rarity in our society. October 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the release of the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding, in which former Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., reiterated the commitment of previous Surgeons General to support breastfeeding as a public health goal. This was the first comprehensive framework for national action on breastfeeding. It was created through collaboration among representatives from medical, business, women's health, and advocacy groups as well as academic communities. The Blueprint provided specific action steps for the health care system, researchers, employers, and communities to better protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. I have issued this Call to Action because the time has come to set forth the important roles and responsibilities of clinicians, employers, communities, researchers, and government leaders and to urge us all to take on a commitment to enable mothers to meet their personal goals for breastfeeding. Mothers are acutely aware of and devoted to their responsibilities when it comes to feeding their children, but the responsibilities of others must be identified so that all mothers can obtain the information, help, and support they deserve when they breastfeed their infants. Identifying the support systems that are needed to help mothers meet their personal breastfeeding goals will allow them to stop feeling guilty and alone when problems with breastfeeding arise. All too often, mothers who wish to breastfeed encounter daunting challenges in moving through the health care system. Furthermore, there is often an incompatibility between employment and breastfeeding, but with help this is not impossible to overcome. Even so, because the barriers can seem insurmountable at times, many mothers stop breastfeeding. In addition, families are often unable to find the support they need in their communities to make breastfeeding work for them. From a societal perspective, many research questions related to breastfeeding remain unanswered, and for too long, breastfeeding has received insufficient national attention as a public health issue. This Call to Action describes in detail how different people and organizations can contribute to the health of mothers and their children. Rarely are we given the chance to make such a profound and lasting difference in the lives of so many. I am confident that this Call to Action will spark countless imaginative, effective, and mutually supportive endeavors that improve support for breastfeeding mothers and children in our nation." - p. vThe Importance of breastfeeding -- Rates of breastfeeding -- Barriers to breastfeeding in the United States -- Breastfeeding from the public health perspective -- A Call to action -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Appendix 1. Actions to improve breastfeeding -- Appendix 2. Excess health risks associated with not breastfeeding -- Appendix 3. Development of the call to action -- Appendix 4. Abbreviations and acronyms"The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding was prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office on Women's Health under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General. These three agencies are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which published the Call to Action." -p. 69"CS213420"Also available via the World Wide Web.as an Acrobat .pdf file (903.73 KB, 100 p.).Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-68).U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General; 2011