Cdc

The number of young children deemed at risk of lead poisoning in Maryland and nationwide expanded drastically Wednesday as a federal health agency declared it would effectively cut in half its threshold for diagnosing the environmental illness. Acknowledging mounting evidence that children can suffer lasting harm from ingesting even minute amounts of lead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would reduce the level at which it recommends that doctors, families and health authorities act to lower a child's exposure to the toxic metal.

The reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut its threshold for lead poisoning from 10 micrograms per deciliter to 5 micrograms were something of a simplification. What the CDC said, after years of study and discussion, was that no level of lead exposure for children is safe. The 5-microgram level was set somewhat arbitrarily as the point at which doctors and public health officials would recommend parents take action to reduce their children's risk, but there is ample evidence to show that levels of 3 or 4 micrograms - and perhaps even lower - are associated with learning and attention deficit disorders later in life.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched an ad campaign to show the damage done from smoking to smokers and their families. The ads began March 19 on television, radio, online and billboards, as well as in theaters, magazines and newspapers nationwide. Called “Tips from Smokers,” the campaign will show former smokers living with diseases and disabilities. Specifically, the smokers suffer from lung and throat cancer, heart attacks, strokes and other diseases.

The number of young children deemed at risk of lead poisoning in Maryland and nationwide expanded drastically Wednesday as a federal health agency declared it would effectively cut in half its threshold for diagnosing the environmental illness. Acknowledging mounting evidence that children can suffer lasting harm from ingesting even minute amounts of lead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would reduce the level at which it recommends that doctors, families and health authorities act to lower a child's exposure to the toxic metal.

The current wave of pandemic H1N1 flu appears to have peaked, with four weeks of declines in several key indicators, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Despite those declines, the outbreak is continuing to take a heavy toll of hospitalizations and deaths, especially among children. Widespread activity of swine flu was reported in 32 states in the week ending Nov. 21, down from 43 states in the week before and 48 a month ago. Between Aug. 30 and Nov. 21, there were 29,348 laboratory-confirmed swine flu hospitalizations and 1,224 deaths in the United States, although those numbers are generally assumed to be very low. New figures are expected in a couple of weeks, but two weeks ago the CDC estimated that at least 4,000 people had died from swine flu, 98,000 had been hospitalized and 22 million had contracted the virus.

LOS ANGELES -- Men undertaking risky homosexual activity are fueling a sharp increase in the incidence of syphilis and a smaller but concerning rise in gonorrhea resistant to commonly used antibiotics, federal researchers said yesterday. Those increases come at a time when venereal disease rates among historically important risk groups, especially women and minorities, have been declining, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. San Francisco, as in previous years, had the highest incidence of syphilis, with a rate of 45.9 cases per 100,000 people.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Infection-control techniques used by a Florida dentist did not measure up to national Centers for Disease Control standards and may have led to AIDS infections in three of his patients, according to the final draft of a CDC report to be published tomorrow.Genetic tests "strongly suggest" that Dr. David Acer somehow infected three of his patients, including Kimberly Bergalis, 22, who is suing her insurance provider for sending her to Dr. Acer, Ms. Bergalis' lawyers said.

The state medical society says it will move forward slowly to take on a leadership role to implement federal guidelines that yesterday urged doctors who perform "invasive" procedures and dentists who pull teeth and do root canals to quit if they become infected by the AIDS virus."

Just five weeks after launching an $800,000 campaign featuring explicit ads on condom use, the lead federal agency for AIDS prevention is backing away from TV and radio commercials and looking for additional ways of getting out the safe-sex message.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began exploratory discussions with communications experts yesterday about how to incorporate AIDS-prevention messages in prime-time television shows.Agreeing with an advisory panel, the CDC now acknowledges that public-service spots, no matter how frank, have minimal impact on sexual behavior.

ATLANTA - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is building a computerized network designed to provide an early warning of any bioterror attack by monitoring visits to doctors offices and emergency rooms and drugstore sales in major U.S. cities. Although the CDC has not disclosed the cost and location, the initial effort is expected to be concentrated in eight or 10 U.S. cities that also will have the Environmental Protection Agency's new Bio-Watch air quality monitors. The EPA monitors are designed to provide 24-hour notice of any release of anthrax, smallpox or other deadly germs.

One in 88 American children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to a new estimate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate is 23 percent higher than one the agency released three years ago. Federal officials said some of the increase is attributable to better diagnoses, though it's not clear how much. "We don't know what causes autism, but a lot of children have autism," said Li-Ching Lee, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health and the principal investigator for the CDC's Maryland data.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched an ad campaign to show the damage done from smoking to smokers and their families. The ads began March 19 on television, radio, online and billboards, as well as in theaters, magazines and newspapers nationwide. Called “Tips from Smokers,” the campaign will show former smokers living with diseases and disabilities. Specifically, the smokers suffer from lung and throat cancer, heart attacks, strokes and other diseases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally served formal notice of what has been widely speculated - that the federal government is cutting off the grants it's been giving states to fight childhood lead poisoning. In a March 7 letter

When children are abused, the human costs are high, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : Children who were physically, sexually or psychologically abused are more likely to have poorer health, social and emotional difficulties and lower economic productivity. But the abuse also substantially impacts the nation's health care, education, criminal justice and welfare systems - the costs from abuse and neglect are approximately $124 million just from one year's worth of cases over the abused lifetimes, the CDC says in a new report.

More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink four times a month, more than previously thought, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The reports says that young adults up to age 34 binge drink the most, but of the seniors who binge drink, they do more often, an average of five to six times a month. (Binge drinking is 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women in a short amount of time.) It's most common in people who household income is over $75,000 but those with incomes of less than $25,000 drink the most per occasion.

A top federal scientist says more research is needed into possible health and environmental effects from shale gas drilling. Dr. Christopher Portier, director of the National Center for Environmental Health, said in an email to the Associated Press that studies to date have failed to settle questions about the potential impact of shale gas drilling and the hydraulic fracturing technique being used to extract the gas. “Studies should...

Atlanta - Evidence is mounting that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the so-called yuppie flu, is a physical illness, not a psychological one, despite the skepticism of some physicians.The earmarks of a real disease include a drug to treat it, the identification of an agent that may cause it and a Centers for Disease Control study to determine how many people have the disease and what its impact is.CDC officials in Atlanta asked doctors in four cities -- Atlanta; Reno, Nev.; Wichita, Kan.; and Grand Rapids, Mich.

Students entering high school and college should be vaccinated against meningitis using a new longer-lasting vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended yesterday. The announcement significantly strengthens the CDC's recommendation five years ago that college students consider being vaccinated. The earlier advisory also did not cover children. Each year, about 3,000 Americans contract meningococcal disease - a range of brain, spinal and blood infections that includes meningitis.

Maryland will get $12.5 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund HIV prevention activities in the counties this year, down about $604,000 from last year, according to state health officials. The money comes from a $339 million pot of money doled out to states and a small number of cities according to their disease burden. And while Maryland's HIV caseload remains high, the grant dropped some because a share of the money was peeled off so the CDC could offer additional grants for innovative projects, which will be awarded in March.

The Baltimore City Health Department will receive a $1.75 million federal grant to help prevent teen dating violence. The grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be used to develop a program to stop teen dating violence before it happens. It is part of CDC initiative called Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships. Three other cities will also participate in the five-year initiative. The CDC will use the results from the cities to look at the cost, feasibility, sustainability and effectiveness of a comprehensive approach to teen dating violence.