Publications by authors named "Ginger Stringer"

The risk for transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus from dairy cows to humans is currently low; however, personal protective equipment (PPE) use during work activities on dairy farms has not been well described. PPE use can protect farmworkers when they are working with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1)-infected cows. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) offered PPE to all Colorado farms before or during an A(H5N1) outbreak in cows in 2024.

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Since April 2024, sporadic infections with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) viruses have been detected among dairy farm workers in the United States. To date, infections have mostly been detected through worker monitoring, and have been mild despite the possibility of more severe illness. During June-August 2024, CDC collaborated with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to implement cross-sectional serologic surveys to ascertain the prevalence of recent infection with HPAI A(H5) virus among dairy workers.

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Persons who work in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry that are infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus are at increased risk for infection. In July 2024, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment responded to two poultry facilities with HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in poultry. Across the two facilities, 663 workers assisting with poultry depopulation (i.

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SARS-CoV-2 infections among vaccinated nursing home residents increased after the Omicron variant emerged. Data on booster dose effectiveness in this population are limited. During July 2021-March 2022, nursing home outbreaks in 11 US jurisdictions involving >3 infections within 14 days among residents who had received at least the primary COVID-19 vaccine(s) were monitored.

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Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is spread primarily through exposure to respiratory droplets from close contact with an infected person. To inform prevention measures, we conducted a case-control study among Colorado adults to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection from community exposures.

Methods: Cases were symptomatic Colorado adults (aged ≥18 years) with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) reported to Colorado's COVID-19 surveillance system.

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Among nursing home outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with ≥3 breakthrough infections when the predominant severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant circulating was the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) variant, fully vaccinated residents were 28% less likely to be infected than were unvaccinated residents. Once infected, they had approximately half the risk for all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death compared with unvaccinated infected residents.

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Article Synopsis
  • A January-April 2021 study analyzed surface samples from 124 households with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, finding 27.8% of the samples were positive for the virus using RT-PCR testing.
  • Nightstands and pillows were the surfaces most frequently contaminated with the virus.
  • Despite the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on various surfaces, viable virus was detected in only 0.2% of samples, indicating that the risk of transmission via surfaces in households is low.
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Objectives: Although many people who are incarcerated have risk factors for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, the proportion of hepatitis A cases among people with a recent incarceration is unknown. We examined the relationship between recent incarceration and HAV infection during community-based, person-to-person outbreaks to inform public health recommendations.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed health departments in 33 jurisdictions reporting person-to-person HAV outbreaks during 2016-2020 on the number of outbreak-associated cases, HAV-infected people recently incarcerated, and HAV-associated hospitalizations and deaths.

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Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19 vaccination provides reduced infection and transmission rates, particularly in high-transmission environments like households during outbreaks of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant.
  • A study in San Diego and Denver during early 2021 examined 493 individuals from households with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, revealing that vaccinated individuals had significantly lower infection risks compared to their unvaccinated counterparts.
  • Results showed that unvaccinated household contacts had a 49% infection rate, while vaccinated contacts had only a 23% infection rate, demonstrating the effectiveness of vaccination in preventing household transmission.
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  • * During this period, 79 COVID-19 cases were reported among the responders, leading to 273 quarantines, prompting public health investigations and coordination with wildfire management teams to limit the outbreak.
  • * Analysis of the outbreak revealed eight different COVID-19 strains and identified transmission pathways within and between responder crews, suggesting the need for measures like symptom screening, education on COVID-19 and smoke inhalation symptoms, better crew distancing, and vaccinations.
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  • A study was conducted to assess the accuracy of home antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 during a patient's infection in comparison to RT-PCR tests and viral cultures.
  • Researchers evaluated 225 participants with confirmed infections from January to May 2021, focusing on daily test performance over a 15-day period.
  • Results showed that antigen tests had a sensitivity of 50% during the infectious period, peaking at 77% four days after illness onset, indicating they are less reliable than RT-PCR but still useful in certain timeframes.
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On May 5, 2021, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) identified the first five COVID-19 cases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.

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Preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in correctional and detention facilities* can be challenging because of population-dense housing, varied access to hygiene facilities and supplies, and limited space for isolation and quarantine (1). Incarcerated and detained populations have a high prevalence of chronic diseases, increasing their risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness and making early detection critical (2,3). Correctional and detention facilities are not closed systems; SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be transmitted to and from the surrounding community through staff member and visitor movements as well as entry, transfer, and release of incarcerated and detained persons (1).

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Introduction: Signal transducer and activator of transcripton-5a (Stat5a) and its close homologue, Stat5b, mediate key physiological effects of prolactin and growth hormone in mammary glands. In breast cancer, loss of nuclear localized and tyrosine phosphorylated Stat5a/b is associated with poor prognosis and increased risk of antiestrogen therapy failure. Here we quantify for the first time levels of Stat5a and Stat5b over breast cancer progression, and explore their potential association with clinical outcome.

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Purpose: To investigate nuclear localized and tyrosine phosphorylated Stat5 (Nuc-pYStat5) as a marker of prognosis in node-negative breast cancer and as a predictor of response to antiestrogen therapy.

Patients And Methods: Levels of Nuc-pYStat5 were analyzed in five archival cohorts of breast cancer by traditional diaminobenzidine-chromogen immunostaining and pathologist scoring of whole tissue sections or by immunofluorescence and automated quantitative analysis (AQUA) of tissue microarrays.

Results: Nuc-pYStat5 was an independent prognostic marker as measured by cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with node-negative breast cancer who did not receive systemic adjuvant therapy, when adjusted for common pathology parameters in multivariate analyses both by standard chromogen detection with pathologist scoring of whole tissue sections (cohort I; n = 233) and quantitative immunofluorescence of a tissue microarray (cohort II; n = 291).

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