Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

About: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a government organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 58238 authors who have published 82592 publications receiving 4405701 citations. The organization is also known as: CDC & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Development of a preventive vaccine for Ebola virus infection in primates

Abstract: Outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus are associated with high mortality rates that are a distinguishing feature of this human pathogen. The highest lethality is associated with the Zaire subtype, one of four strains identified to date1,2. Its rapid progression allows little opportunity to develop natural immunity, and there is currently no effective anti-viral therapy. Therefore, vaccination offers a promising intervention to prevent infection and limit spread. Here we describe a highly effective vaccine strategy for Ebola virus infection in non-human primates. A combination of DNA immunization and boosting with adenoviral vectors that encode viral proteins generated cellular and humoral immunity in cynomolgus macaques. Challenge with a lethal dose of the highly pathogenic, wild-type, 1976 Mayinga strain of Ebola Zaire virus resulted in uniform infection in controls, who progressed to a moribund state and death in less than one week. In contrast, all vaccinated animals were asymptomatic for more than six months, with no detectable virus after the initial challenge. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to develop a preventive vaccine against Ebola virus infection in primates.

Toxoplasma gondii infection in the United States: seroprevalence and risk factors.

Abstract: Infection with Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe illness when the organism is contracted congenitally or when it is reactivated in immune-suppressed persons. To determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in a representative sample of the US population, the authors tested sera from participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) for immunoglobulin G antibodies to T. gondii. Of 27,145 persons aged > or =12 years, 17,658 (65%) had sera tested. The overall age-adjusted seroprevalence was 22.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 21.1, 23.9); among women aged 15-44 years, seroprevalence was 15.0% (95% CI: 13.2, 17.0). Age-adjusted seroprevalence was higher in the Northeast (29.2%) than in the South (22.8%), Midwest (20.5%), or West (17.5%) (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, risk for T. gondii infection increased with age and was higher among persons who were foreign-born, persons with a lower educational level, those who lived in crowded conditions, and those who worked in soil-related occupations, although in subset analyses risk categories varied by race/ethnicity. Nearly one quarter of adults and adolescents in the United States have been infected with T. gondii. Most women of childbearing age in the United States are susceptible to acute infection and should be educated about ways to minimize exposure to T. gondii.

Reducing antibiotic use in children: a randomized trial in 12 practices.

Abstract: Objective. To test whether an educational outreach intervention for families and physicians, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) principles of judicious antibiotic use, decreases antimicrobial drug prescribing for children younger than 6 years old. Setting. Twelve practices affiliated with 2 managed care organizations (MCOs) in eastern Massachusetts and northwest Washington State. Patients. All enrolled children younger than 6 years old. Methods. Practices stratified by MCO and size were randomized to intervention or control groups. The intervention included 2 meetings of the practice with a physician peer leader, using CDC-endorsed summaries of judicious prescribing recommendations; feedback on previous prescribing rates were also provided. Parents were mailed a CDC brochure on antibiotic use, and supporting materials were displayed in waiting rooms. Automated enrollment, ambulatory visit, and pharmacy claims were used to determine rates of antibiotic courses dispensed (antibiotics/person-year) during baseline (1996–1997) and intervention (1997–1998) years. The primary analysis (for children 3 to Results. The practices cared for 14 468 and 13 460 children in the 2 study years, respectively; 8815 children contributed data in both years. Sixty-two percent of antibiotic courses were dispensed for otitis media, 6.5% for pharyngitis, 6.3% for sinusitis, and 9.2% for colds and bronchitis. Antibiotic dispensing for children 3 to Conclusions. A limited simultaneous educational outreach intervention for parents and providers reduced antibiotic use among children in primary care practices, even in the setting of substantial secular trends toward decreased prescribing. Future efforts to promote judicious prescribing should continue to build on growing public awareness of antibiotic overuse.