MMWR News Synopsis for October 12, 2017

HIV Care Outcomes Among Hispanics or Latinos with Diagnosed HIV Infection — United States, 2015

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Improving health outcomes for Latinos living with HIV infection is necessary to achieve national HIV prevention goals in the United States. CDC researchers analyzed HIV surveillance data from 37 states and Washington, D.C., to determine recent HIV care outcomes among Latinos. Researchers found that 75 percent of Latinos ages 13 and older with diagnosed HIV infection in 2015 were linked to care within one month of diagnosis. Among Latinos ages 13 and older living with diagnosed HIV at year-end (2014) in the 37 states and Washington, D.C.:

• 70 percent received care.
• 58 percent were retained in care.
• 58 percent were virally suppressed.

Latinos had lower percentages of being linked to care; retained in care; and virally suppressed in comparison to non-Hispanic whites (80 percent; 59 percent; and 65 percent respectively).

Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2016–2017 School Year

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Getting vaccines at the recommended ages protects children from serious vaccine-preventable diseases before they start school. For the 2016-2017 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners remained high. Immunization programs conduct annual kindergarten vaccination assessments to monitor school entry vaccination coverage. For the 2016-17 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergartners remained high and exemptions remained low. Based on the data:

• Median vaccination coverage was 94.0 percent for two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; 94.5 percent for the state-required number of doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine; and 93.8 percent for two doses of varicella vaccine.
• Median exemption level was 2.0 percent.
• Median proportion of kindergartners under a grace period or provisional enrollment was 2.0 percent, the same as in 2015–16.

School assessment allows immunization programs to focus on schools with lower vaccination coverage and higher exemption levels, and encourages follow up with undervaccinated students to ensure kindergartners are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Notes from the Field:

• Multiple Cases of Seoul Virus Infection in a Household with Infected Pet Rats — Tennessee, December 2016–April 2017

Quick Stats:

• Percentage of Visits to Office-Based Physicians by Patients Aged ≥65 Years with Hypertension, by Sex and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) — National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2012–2015

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