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There are firing ranges in Alaska (and perhaps the rest of the US) that are unregulated by OSHA. Such ranges may not have adequate lead control programs and users of these ranges may become exposed to lead.
| PRESS CONTACT: Marc Chimonas, MD, MPH EIS Officer CDC, Epidemiology Program Office (907) 269-8090 |
The Alaska Division of Public Health, Environmental Public Health Program (EPHP) performed a statewide investigation of junior shooting programs between 2002 and 2005. EPHP found that many teams held practice at volunteer-operated firing ranges. Because ranges without paid employees are not regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health administration, some of these ranges did not have lead control programs. EPHP determined that elevated blood lead levels occurred among many of the children using these firing ranges.
The results of the serosurvey are reassurring: If vaccination rates remain high, the risk of a poliomyelitis outbreak in this community in Puerto Rico is low. However, until all threats of poliovirus are eliminated globally, high rates of vaccination among preschool children must continue to prevent outbreaks of paralytic poliomyelitis from any source (imported wild poliovirus, laboratory strains, or vaccine-derived poliovirus) in the United States and its territories.
| PRESS CONTACT: Fransico Alvarado-Ramy, M.D. or Eduardo Segarra, MPH Medical Epidemiologist Puerto Rico Department of Health CDC, Division of Public Health Partnerships (787) 274-5527 |
In response to an outbreak of 21 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis associated with type 1 oral polio vaccine on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) during 2000-2001, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC assessed the seroprevalence of poliovirus antibodies among 180 children in a community in Puerto Rico with a high proportion of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Results of the study, conducted in 2002, show high levels of seropositivity (immunity) for all 3 poliovirus serotypes; 162 (90 percent) of the 180 children studied had antibodies to all 3 polioviruses, and only 3 (1.7 percent) children were negative to all 3 serotypes.
Measles is a highly contagious and potentially lethal disease which was responsible for tens of thousands of measles cases and hundreds of measles deaths annually in Zambia prior to 2003. In Zambia, implementation of accelerated measles control strategies that include wide-age-range mass measles immunization campaigns, improved routine immunization services, and enhanced surveillance has led to greater than 85 percent reduction in the number of reported measles cases and less than 98 percent reduction in the number of reported measles deaths relative to the pre-campaign period.
| PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Cairns, M.D., MPH Medical Epidemiologist Office of Communications CDC, Division of Media Relations (404) 639-3286 |
Zambia, a southern African country, reported 1,698 23,518 measles cases annually during 1991-1999. During this time, measles was considered one of the five major causes of morbidity and mortality among children aged less than 5 years. During 1999-2004, Zambia tried several different strategies to control measles. In 2003, the country adopted a strategy of accelerated measles control. As part of this approach, a nationwide campaign targeting all children aged 6 months 14 years was conducted in July 2003. As a result, Zambia has seen greater than 85 percent reduction in reported measles cases and greater than 98 percent reduction in reported measles deaths. In 2004, 3,425 suspected measles cases were reported of which 831 were serologically tested for measles and 34 (4 percent) were positive for measles. During this year there were only 3 reported measles deaths.
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| Privacy Policy | Contact Us This page last reviewed June 16, 2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
