About the Guardian
The Guardian of Public Health is a monthly newsletter from the Bureau of EMS, Trauma, and Preparedness (BETP) within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Guardian aims to provide its readers with relevant content on topics that affect the public health of citizens and communities in Michigan. For questions or comments please contact Kerry Chamberlain at chamberlaink2@michigan.gov.
Hepatitis A Increase in Southeast
Michigan
Danielle
Donovan and Tiffany Henderson, Bureau of Epidemiology, Michigan Department of
Health and Human Services
Since late July 2016, 58 lab-confirmed cases of hepatitis A
have been reported in four counties in Southeast Michigan. This is about 10 times the number of cases
that the City of Detroit, Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties combined
typically see between July and December months. The distribution of cases has
been slanted towards males, contributing to 65.5% of the total cases. The median age is 46.5 years, with an age
range of 24–83 years. Many of the sick individuals have presented with severe
illness. The overall hospitalization rate is over 87% and three deaths have
been reported. According to national
surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the hospitalization rate for hepatitis A is 11-22%. The Michigan Department of Health and Human
Services (MDHHS), the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MDARD), and the CDC have been assisting the local health departments with
their investigations.
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Protecting
Children in Michigan from Disease
Stefanie Cole, RN, BSN, MPH, Pediatric
Immunization Nurse Educator, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
(MDHHS), Division of Immunization
When the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) released the 2015 National Immunization Survey (NIS) data last
year, Michigan was ranked 44th in the nation for pediatric
immunization coverage. Only 67.6 percent of Michigan children aged 19-35 months-old
are fully immunized with the 4313314 series, compared to 72.2 percent
nationally.1 While this represents a modest improvement from the
previous year (ranked 47th in the nation with 65.0 percent series
coverage), it is unacceptable that 32.4 percent of our young children are not protected
from vaccine preventable diseases.
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Assessing Sensitivity and Specificity of Surveillance Case Definitions for Zika Virus Disease
Researchers evaluated the performance of 5 Zika case definitions recommended by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, European Centers for Disease Control, and the Singapore Ministry of Health. They utilized these definitions for Zika virus disease surveillance in a human cohort of 359 adult patients with suspected Zika virus disease during an outbreak in Singapore, August 26–September 5, 2016. Because laboratory tests are largely inaccessible, use of case definitions that include rash as a required clinical feature are useful in identifying this disease.
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