Just two years ago, an influenza pandemic swept the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths in the United States alone, including the deaths of an estimated 1,280 children.
Draft guidelines on organ transplants call for more thorough donor screening and more advanced organ testing to help protect patients from infections transmitted through transplants.
Public Health Preparedness: 2011 State-by-State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning
The rates of new lung cancer cases in the United States dropped among men in 35 states and among women in 6 states between 1999 and 2008, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although children and teenagers rarely die from flu-related causes, many of the deaths could have been prevented if the children had been vaccinated against the flu, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Babesia, a tickborne parasite of red blood cells, is being transmitted through blood transfusions, according to results of a collaborative study, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of data from the past three decades.
Fewer American adults are smoking cigarettes, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, daily smokers are smoking fewer cigarettes each day, it says.
A laboratory diagnostic kit to diagnose human infections with seasonal influenza viruses and novel influenza A viruses with pandemic potential has been authorized for use by Food and Drug Administration.
Immunization rates for children 19-35 months of age for most vaccine-preventable diseases are increasing or being sustained at high levels, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is the focus of a special issue of the British medical journal Lancet. The issue features an article by Ali S. Khan, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.
The report, Mental Illness Surveillance Among Adults in the United States, appears as a supplement in today's issue of the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
CDC will host a telephone-only media availability to discuss the new Vital Signs report on cigarette smoking among adults.
CDC report finds people live longer if they practice one or more healthy lifestyle behaviors
CDC will host a telebriefing regarding this season's influenza vaccination recommendations and influenza vaccination coverage among health-care personnel and pregnant women.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $613 million to strengthen all-hazards emergency preparedness in the 50 states, four large metropolitan areas, and eight U.S. territories and Pacific island areas.
Holding alcohol retailers liable for injuries or damage done by their intoxicated customers can reduce motor vehicle deaths, homicides, injuries, and other alcohol-related problems, according to the Community Preventive Services Task Force.
Breastfeeding protects against childhood obesity, yet less than 4 percent of U.S. hospitals provide the full range of support mothers need to be able to breastfeed, according to the most recent Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Improving rates of breastfeeding by providing better hospital support to mothers and babies is an important strategy to improve children's h…
On this first World Health Organization (WHO)-sponsored World Hepatitis Day, July 28, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joins the world in reflecting on the remarkable successes and enormous challenges in the global effort to prevent and control viral hepatitis.
The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) today issued the First Periodic Review of Scientific and Medical Evidence Related to Cancer for the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program. This first periodic review provides a summary of the current scientific and medical findings in the peer-reviewed literature about exposures resulting from the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York C…
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials are warning people to stay cool, hydrated and informed to prevent illnesses and injuries as cities across the Midwest, South and East Coast continue to issue heat warnings and watches. Extreme heat can lead to very high body temperatures, brain and organ damage, and even death.
Obesity has become a problem in every state, according to data analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No state reported that less than 20 percent of adults were obese in 2010, which means that no state met the national Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15 percent within the past decade, CDC researchers say.
Medical care in outpatient settings has surged in recent years, yet in many cases, adherence to standard infection prevention practices in outpatient settings is lacking. To protect patients and help educate clinicians about minimum expectations of safe care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released a new, concise guide and checklist specifically for health care providers in outpatient care set…
Americans who eat a diet high in sodium and low in potassium have a 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and about twice the risk of death from heart attacks, according to a study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study was conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University and Harvard University.
Today's World Health Organization (WHO) Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2011 documents that in the past two years, more than 1 billion people around the world have been newly protected by tobacco control interventions, including mass media campaigns, graphic health warnings, and smoke-free policies. In addition, there has been significant progress toward protecting children and adults from tobacco in countrie…
The No. 2 cancer killer in the United States, colorectal cancer, could get bumped down from its ranking if more people get screened. The rate of adults developing and dying from colorectal cancer has decreased, according to a new Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC will host a telephone-only media briefing to discuss the new Vital Signs report on colorectal screening, incidence and mortality.
Global public health advances during the first 10 years of the 21st century resulted in longer lives worldwide, increasing the average life expectancy at birth in low-income countries from 55 to 57 years, and in high-income countries from 78 to 80 years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) begins this week a health survey regarding diseases that may be associated with chemical exposures related to water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) develops written recommendations for the routine administration of vaccines to children and adults in the civilian population; recommendations include age for vaccine administration number of doses and dosing interval, and precautions and contraindications.
Salmonella infections have not decreased during the past 15 years and have instead increased by 10 percent in recent years, according to a new Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC will host a telephone-only media briefing to discuss the new Vital Signs reports on food safety and the annual FoodNet data.
Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women and Art is a multi-media contemporary art exhibition that promotes awareness and fosters dialogue about violence against women and its effects on victims, families, and communities. The exhibit features 28 international artists, including Yoko Ono, Louise Bourgeois, Wangechi Mutu, Mona Hatoum and Hank Willis Thomas.
To help us educate swimmers, CDC's Healthy Swimming Program is asking the public to make short, creative videos that feature simple steps everyone can take to ensure a healthy and illness-free swimming experience.
Students who report being gay, lesbian or bisexual and students who report having sexual contact only with persons of the same sex or both sexes are more likely than heterosexual students and students who report having sexual contact only with the opposite sex to engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and violence, according to a…
This week marks 30 years since the first report of a mysterious and deadly new syndrome that would come to be known as AIDS was published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). At the time, no one could have predicted the enormous toll the disease would take-claiming the lives of more than 500,000 Americans and many millions worldwide. Today we remember those we have lost, and honor them by recommitt…
CDC is following a large outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104, or STEC O104, infections currently going on in Germany. As of May 31, 2011, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's disease control and prevention agency, has confirmed six deaths and 373 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome, or (HUS) (kidney failure), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infections.
Health warnings on cigarette packages prompt smokers to think about quitting, according to a 14-nation study. Effective warning labels as a component of comprehensive tobacco control can help save lives by reducing tobacco use, said a report released by CDC.
In recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds Americans to learn about this common tickborne disease and take steps to protect themselves if they live in or visit areas with Lyme disease activity.
Swimmer's ear leads to about 2.4 million doctor visits each year and is responsible for nearly $500 million dollars in annual health care costs, according to estimates released by CDC on Thuday. The report, published in CDC's MMWR, is the first national study to estimate healthcare costs associated with this common ailment.
The major public health achievements of the first 10 years of the 21st century included improvements in vaccine preventable and infectious diseases, reductions in deaths from certain chronic diseases, declines in deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes, and more, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC welcomes the report today from NIH that early HIV treatment can dramatically reduce the risk that an HIV-positive person will transmit the virus to their heterosexual partner. The study, known as HPTN 052, showed that early initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-positive people who were heterosexual led to a dramatic reduction in HIV transmission to the HIV-uninfected partner.
Motor vehicle crash-related deaths in the United States resulted in an estimated $41 billion in medical and work loss costs in a year, according to state-based estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of this cost ($20.4 billion) was in 10 states, the report says.
Dr. Thomas Frieden will participate in the May 11 launch of the first-ever United Nations-sanctioned Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020). To coincide with the launch, CDC is releasing 50 state-specific fact sheets that detail the costs of motor vehicle crash deaths.
CDC's 2012 edition Yellow Book, the definitive health guide for international travel, will feature new sections on traveling to mass gatherings, preparing for study abroad, military deployments, and six new popular travel itineraries.
People diagnosed with asthma in the United States grew by 4.3 million between 2001 and 2009, according to a new Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC will host a telephone-only media briefing to discuss the new Vital Signs reports on asthma prevalence.
Young people with diabetes face substantially higher medical costs than children and teens without the disease, according to a CDC study published in the May issue of the journal Diabetes Care. The study found annual medical expenses for youth with diabetes are $9,061, compared to $1,468 for youth without the disease.
States can do more to improve food access, regulations and policies to promote healthy eating and fight childhood obesity, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2011 Children's Food Environment State Indicator Report also notes that the communities, child care facilities and schools all have roles to play.
As National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) 2011 kicks off Saturday (April 23), Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, is reminding all parents to make certain their children are up-to-date on their vaccinations.
By 2020 or sooner, the entire nation could have laws banning smoking in all indoor areas of private sector worksites, restaurants and bars, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. These places are major sources of secondhand smoke exposure.
The overall suicide rate rises and falls in connection with the economy, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released online today by the American Journal of Public Health.
Teen birth rates have decreased by 37 percent in the last two decades, though U.S. rates are up to nine times higher than in other developed countries, according to the latest CDC Vital Signs report.
CDC will host a telephone-only media briefing to discuss the new Vital Signs reports on teen pregnancy.
New guidelines outline steps to eliminate catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), one of the most deadly and costly threats to patient safety. Released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), the guidelines were developed by a working group led by clinical scientists from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center C…
Rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2003 and 2007, the most recent reporting period available, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The report also finds that the overall rate of new cancer diagnoses for men and women combined decreased an average of slightly less than 1 percent per year for the same period.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased its investment in improving public health services by announcing today more than $34 million in additional Affordable Care Act funding through the National Public Health Improvement Initiative.
Public health departments can now strive for national accreditation more typical of universities and hospital systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is supporting a national voluntary accreditation program for public health agencies.
The age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 - 2.3 percent lower than the 2008 rate, according to preliminary 2009 death statistics released today by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. This marks the 10th year in a row that U.S. deaths rates have declined.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding $10 million for new research to five academic medical centers as part of its Prevention Epicenter grant program, which supports efforts to develop and test innovative approaches to reducing infections in health care settings.
Critical gaps exist between older Americans who receive potentially lifesaving preventive services and those who do not, according to a new report from agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.