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U.S. CDC
continues to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners
to closely monitor Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV),
including the cases of MERS-CoV infection recently reported by China and the
Republic of Korea.
US CDC recently issued an
advisory to update guidance to health care providers in the evaluation of
patients for MERS-CoV infection. It is available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00380.asp
Health care providers and public
health officials should maintain awareness of the need to consider MERS-CoV
infection in ill persons who have recently traveled from countries in or near
the Arabian Peninsula or in the Republic of Korea as outlined in the
guidance.
U.S. CDC has
released the Sexually Transmitted Disease Treatment Guidelines for
2015. The STD Treatment Guidelines were developed through a
rigorous peer-review process and were created to give clinicians and other
health care providers updated testing, treatment and prevention
recommendations. In the United States, there are more than 20
million STDs diagnosed annually.
The updated guidance includes:
- alternative treatment regimens for Neisseria
gonorrhoeae,
- updated HPV vaccine recommendations and counseling
messages,
- screening recommendations for gonorrhea and chlamydia,
-
screening recommendations, including hepatitis C, for
men who have sex with men, and
- information on the clinical management of transgender
individuals.
For more guidance and
information visit: http://www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/default.htm
The updated treatment
guidelines app is now available in the Apple iTunes store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/std-tx-guide/id655206856?mt=8
Ticks are generally found
in brushy or wooded areas, near the ground; they cannot jump or fly. Ticks are
attracted to a variety of host factors, including body heat and carbon dioxide.
They will transfer to a potential host when one brushes directly against them
and seek a site for attachment.
Ticks cause a variety of
diseases, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis,
Powassan and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, all of which are reportable in Maine.
More than 1,395 cases of Lyme
disease were reported statewide in 2014, a record high for Maine. So far
in 2015, there have been 149 reported cases of Lyme disease.
Other case counts for tickborne
diseases reported in Maine so far in 2015 include:
- 38 cases of anaplasmosis, compared to 191 for all of
2014
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Three
cases of babesiosis, compared to 42 cases for all of 2014
For more information:
Cases of pertussis
(whooping cough) continue to be reported statewide.
As of June 23, 179 cases
have been reported in Maine this year, and the majority
of the cases are in school-aged children.
Maine CDC encourages providers
who see patients for cough in an outbreak area to test for pertussis and
treat empirically. (Providers do not need to wait for positive results to
return or a two-week history of cough in order to treat.)
DTaP vaccine is recommended for
all infants and children. Tdap vaccine is recommended for all preteens, teens
and adults, including health care providers. According to the American
Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Tdap is also recommended in the
third trimester of every pregnancy.
For more guidance and
information, visit http://go.usa.gov/dCO
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