Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with mask use and vaccines for COVID-19 prevention at 13 colleges and universities, April 2021.

To understand college and university student knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) regarding COVID-19 prevention strategies. Thirteen colleges and universities volunteered to conduct an anonymous electronic survey in April 2021 to assess students' KAB about mask use and vaccination to prevent COVID-19. Three-quarters of students indicated they "Always" wore a mask correctly when in public indoor places.

High rates of observed face mask use at Colorado universities align with students' opinions about masking and support the safety and viability of in-person higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities have focused on creating policies, such as mask mandates, to minimize COVID-19 transmission both on their campuses and in the surrounding community. Adherence to and opinions about these policies remain largely unknown.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a cross-sectional study, the Mask Adherence and Surveillance at Colleges and Universities Project (MASCUP!), to objectively and inconspicuously measure rates of mask use at institutes of higher education via direct observation.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Essential Public Health Services and Online Health Communication-Appalachian Kentucky, March-December 2020.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic posed many challenges for local health departments (LHDs). This study examines how stay-at-home orders impacted the provision of essential public health services and subsequent increased use of online health communication by LHDs for rural populations in Appalachian Kentucky during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A survey to gather information about provision of essential public health services was administered to five LHDs representing 13 counties between June 2020 and December 2020.

Observed Face Mask Use at Six Universities - United States, September-November 2020.

Approximately 41% of adults aged 18-24 years in the United States are enrolled in a college or university (1). Wearing a face mask can reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (2), and many colleges and universities mandate mask use in public locations and outdoors when within six feet of others. Studies based on self-report have described mask use ranging from 69.

Mitigating a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Major League Baseball Players - United States, 2020.

Mass gatherings have been implicated in higher rates of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and many sporting events have been restricted or canceled to limit disease spread (1). Based on current CDC COVID-19 mitigation recommendations related to events and gatherings (2), Major League Baseball (MLB) developed new health and safety protocols before the July 24 start of the 2020 season. In addition, MLB made the decision that games would be played without spectators.

Cholera Epidemic - Lusaka, Zambia, October 2017-May 2018.

On October 6, 2017, an outbreak of cholera was declared in Zambia after laboratory confirmation of Vibrio cholerae O1, biotype El Tor, serotype Ogawa, from stool specimens from two patients with acute watery diarrhea. The two patients had gone to a clinic in Lusaka, the capital city, on October 4. Cholera cases increased rapidly, from several hundred cases in early December 2017 to approximately 2,000 by early January 2018 (Figure).

Status of HIV Epidemic Control Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women Aged 15-24 Years - Seven African Countries, 2015-2017.

In 2016, an estimated 1.5 million females aged 15-24 years were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Eastern and Southern Africa, where the prevalence of HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women (3.4%) is more than double that for males in the same age range (1.

Carbon monoxide poisoning after an ice storm in Kentucky, 2009.

Objectives: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality during natural disasters. On January 26-27, 2009, a severe ice storm occurred in Kentucky, causing widespread, extended power outages and disrupting transportation and communications. After the storm, CO poisonings were reported throughout the state.

Maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and the secondary sex ratio: an occupational cohort study.

Background: Though commercial production of polychlorinated biphenyls was banned in the United States in 1977, exposure continues due to their environmental persistence. Several studies have examined the association between environmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and modulations of the secondary sex ratio, with conflicting results.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the association between maternal preconceptional occupational polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and the secondary sex ratio.

Health effects of exposure to water-damaged New Orleans homes six months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Objectives: We investigated the relation between respiratory symptoms and exposure to water-damaged homes and the effect of respirator use in posthurricane New Orleans, Louisiana.

Methods: We randomly selected 600 residential sites and then interviewed 1 adult per site. We created an exposure variable, calculated upper respiratory symptom (URS) and lower respiratory symptom (LRS) scores, and defined exacerbation categories by the effect on symptoms of being inside water-damaged homes.

Resident cleanup activities, characteristics of flood-damaged homes and airborne microbial concentrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 2005.

Background: Flooding in the greater New Orleans (GNO) area after the hurricanes caused extensive mold growth in homes resulting in public health concerns.

Objectives: We conducted an environmental assessment of homes to determine the extent and type of microbial growth.

Methods: We randomly selected 112 homes, stratified by water damage, and then visually assessed mold growth.

Hematogenous infection of Sprague-Dawley rats with Mycoplasma pulmonis: development of a model for maternal and fetal infection.

Objectives: The specific objective of this study was to conduct a dose response experiment with Mycoplasma pulmonis in Sprague-Dawley rats to develop a reproducible animal model of maternal and fetal infection that would provide a versatile mechanism to address the innate fetal immune response during intrauterine infection.

Study Design: Pregnant rats were infected intravenously at gestation day 14 with 0 (control), 10(1), 10(3), 10(5), and 10(7) colony forming units of M. pulmonis and necropsied at gestational day 18.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to mold exposure among residents and remediation workers in posthurricane New Orleans.

To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to mold exposure in postflood New Orleans, the authors surveyed 159 residents and 76 remediation workers, using logistic regression to explore associations. Nearly all answered "yes" to the questionnaire item, "Do you think mold can make people sick?" and most knew respirators were recommended for cleaning mold. Residents (87%) and workers (47%) said they believed that television or radio were the best ways to communicate information about mold.

Respirator donning in post-hurricane New Orleans.

We evaluated correctness of N95 filtering facepiece respirator donning by the public in post-hurricane New Orleans, where respirators were recommended for mold remediation. We randomly selected, interviewed, and observed 538 participants, using multiple logistic regression for analysis. Only 129 (24%) participants demonstrated proper donning.

Characterization of airborne molds, endotoxins, and glucans in homes in New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused breeches in the New Orleans, LA, levee system, resulting in catastrophic flooding. The city remained flooded for several weeks, leading to extraordinary mold growth in homes. To characterize the potential risks of mold exposures, we measured airborne molds and markers of molds and bacteria in New Orleans area homes.

The association of psychosocial stress and bacterial vaginosis in a longitudinal cohort.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the association of psychosocial stress with bacterial vaginosis in a longitudinal sample of nonpregnant women.

Study Design: A 1-year prospective longitudinal design was used. Nonpregnant women (n = 3614) aged 15 to 44 years were recruited at routine health care visits.