11 research outputs found
Pandemic Influenza as 21st Century Urban Public Health Crisis
Responses of Mexico City and New York City in spring 2009 illustrate the importance of advance planning
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Trends in the first ten years of AIDS in New York City
With over 37,000 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) reported by the end of 1991, New York City had reported nearly 20% of all US cases in the first decade of the AIDS epidemic. This report examines cases diagnosed through 1990 and reported through 1991 to describe rates and trends in the affected subpopulations. Case data were collected by the New York City Department of Health AIDS Surveillance Team, using a format standardized by the federal Centers for Disease Control. Deaths attributable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were examined using data provided by the New York City Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics. From 1981 through 1990, 37,436 cases of AIDS were diagnosed: 83% in men over the age of 19 years, 15% in women over 19, 2% in children under 13, and less than 1% in teenagers aged 13-19. Cumulative rates in New York City adults were as high as 100 per 10,000 in nine neighborhoods. Predominant trends included a sustained plateau in reported incidence in men who reported having sex with men and a continuing rise in cases in injection drug users and women infected through heterosexual intercourse. HIV-related deaths in men, women, and children were continuing to rise at the end of the decade. During the first decade of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, case surveillance in New York City measured the visible portion of the epidemic and provided important data on subepidemics
Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States, 2001: Epidemiologic Findings
In October 2001, the first inhalational anthrax case in the United States since 1976 was identified in a media company worker in Florida. A national investigation was initiated to identify additional cases and determine possible exposures to Bacillus anthracis. Surveillance was enhanced through health-care facilities, laboratories, and other means to identify cases, which were defined as clinically compatible illness with laboratory-confirmed B. anthracis infection. From October 4 to November 20, 2001, 22 cases of anthrax (11 inhalational, 11 cutaneous) were identified; 5 of the inhalational cases were fatal. Twenty (91%) case-patients were either mail handlers or were exposed to worksites where contaminated mail was processed or received. B. anthracis isolates from four powder-containing envelopes, 17 specimens from patients, and 106 environmental samples were indistinguishable by molecular subtyping. Illness and death occurred not only at targeted worksites, but also along the path of mail and in other settings. Continued vigilance for cases is needed among health-care providers and members of the public health and law enforcement communities