Contraceptive prescriptions for US servicewomen, 2008-2013.

Objective: To determine the proportion and characteristics of US servicewomen who were prescribed contraception between 2008 and 2013 and to estimate the prevalence of contraceptive utilization among women who deployed during the surveillance period.

Study Design: This is a descriptive study of all servicewomen of child-bearing potential serving in the active component of the US armed forces at any time between 2008 and 2013. We estimated contraceptive utilization status using pharmacy, procedural and diagnostic codes as recorded in the Defense Medical Surveillance System and Pharmacy Data Transaction Service.

Risk of Mental Health Disorders Following an Initial Diagnosis of Postpartum Depression, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 1998-2010.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common psychiatric conditions of the postpartum period. Several studies have found an association between PPD and other mental health disorders. The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) was used to identify a cohort of primiparous service women with PPD between 1998 and 2010 and match them by month of delivery to a cohort of women without PPD.

Notes from the field: investigation of contacts of a health care worker who worked while ill with pertussis--Maryland, August-September 2014.

On September 5, 2014, the public health department of a Maryland hospital was notified of a case of Bordetella pertussis infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a staff health care worker (HCW). The HCW experienced onset of diarrhea and malaise (nonrespiratory symptoms atypical of the catarrhal phase of pertussis) on August 26. By September 2, paroxysms of coughing led the HCW to consult a colleague, who ordered the PCR test, prescribed a 5-day course of azithromycin, and advised avoidance of patient care until treatment completion.