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MMWR
Synopsis for May 19, 2000

MMWR articles are embargoed until 4 PM EST.

  1. Misdiagnoses of Tuberculosis Resulting from Laboratory Cross-Contamination of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Cultures — New Jersey, 1998
  2. Six-Year Cause-Specific Adult Mortality: Evidence from Community-Based Surveillance — Selected Sites, Tanzania, 1992–1998
  3. Prevalence of Leisure-Time and Occupational Physical Activity Among Employed Adults — United States, 1990
 

MMWR
Synopsis for May 19, 2000

Misdiagnoses of Tuberculosis Resulting from Laboratory Cross-Contamination of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Cultures — New Jersey, 1998

Patients in New Jersey were misdiagnosed with TB due to a laboratory error.

PRESS CONTACT: 
Office of Communications

CDC, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention
(404) 639–8895

 
Eleven people in New Jersey received unnecessary drug treatment for tuberculosis, when their TB test results were positive as a result of laboratory cross-contamination. Through DNA fingerprinting of the TB specimens, CDC’s National Tuberculosis Genotyping and Surveillance Network found that samples from 11 previously reported TB cases were caused by a strain of TB that does not cause the disease in humans. This strain, called H37Ra, is often used as a control or standard strain for testing the proficiency of laboratory operations. Four New Jersey laboratories (3 hospital labs and 1 commercial lab) processed the 11 contaminated specimens between February 1996 and October 1998. To avoid this type of misdiagnosis, healthcare providers should supplement lab findings with clinical symptoms and risk factors for TB. Further, DNA fingerprinting can confirm laboratory cross-contamination.

 

Six-Year Cause-Specific Adult Mortality: Evidence from Community-Based Surveillance — Selected Sites, Tanzania, 1992–1998

HIV/AIDS is causing increasing death among younger persons in Africa, especially among those who work and care for families.

PRESS CONTACT:
Scott McNabb, Ph.D.

CDC, Epidemiology Program Office
(770) 488–8355

 
The increase in orphans because of HIV/AIDS will greatly impact African society and has yet to be fully realized. The impact may be manifested not only in the loss of commercial production but also in increasing societal instability. In Tanzania, an Eastern African country, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among all women and men, followed by tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and diarrhrea. Young women aged 15-29 years and men aged 30-59 years have high HIV/AIDS-related death rates. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, young women aged 15-29 years have an HIV/AIDS-specific death rate of 325 per 100,000 population; men aged 30-59 have an HIV/AIDS-specific death rate of 1199 per 100,000 population.

 

 

Prevalence of Leisure-Time and Occupational Physical Activity Among Employed Adults — United States, 1990

Regular physical activity helps reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, some cancers, and musculoskeletal conditions.

PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Jones, Ph.D.

CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion
(770) 488–5820

 
If you are like half of US adults who have sedentary jobs, it is important for you to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week. National recommendations suggest that activities such as brisk walking, gardening and bicycling promote health benefits. This study shows that during leisure time approximately two-thirds of employed adults in the United States did not meet the current recommendations for moderate or vigorous physical activity. Half of these sedentary adults reported at least 1 hour of hard occupational activity per day. Occupational physical activity was higher among younger adults, men, minorities (African American and Hispanic), and those with lower education attainment.

 


 

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