Assessing functional needs sheltering in Pike County, Kentucky: using a community assessment for public health emergency response.

Objective: During 2009-2011, Pike County, Kentucky, experienced a series of severe weather events that resulted in property damage, insufficient potable water, and need for temporary shelters. A Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) survey was implemented for future planning. CASPER assesses household health status, preparedness level, and anticipated demand for shelters.

Tightly clustered outbreak of group A streptococcal disease at a long-term care facility.

Objective: To describe investigation of a tightly clustered outbreak of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease associated with a high mortality rate in a long-term care facility (LTCF).

Design: Cross-sectional carriage survey and epidemiologic investigation of LTCF resident and employee cohorts.

Setting: A 104-bed community LTCF between March 1 and April 7, 2004.

Contribution of second stool specimen to increased sensitivity of poliovirus detection in India, 1998-2000.

Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance data from India were analysed to examine sensitivity of poliovirus isolation from stool specimens and the added sensitivity obtained from collection of a second stool specimen. Analysis was restricted to Indian AFP cases, 1998-2000, with two adequate stool specimens. The proportion of cases confirmed with wild poliovirus isolation by the second specimen only was calculated, regardless of specimen quality.

Outbreak of poliomyelitis due to type 3 poliovirus, northern India, 1999-2000: injections a major contributing factor.

Background: A large outbreak of poliomyelitis due to poliovirus type 3 (P3) occurred in India in 1999. This raised concerns about oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) effectiveness, particularly the type 3 component, in preventing clinical disease and offered an opportunity to describe the epidemiology of a P3 outbreak.

Methods: We reviewed data collected by the National Polio Surveillance Project to describe the outbreak and conducted a case-control study to determine risk factors for the development of paralytic poliomyelitis.

Compatible poliomyelitis cases in India during 2000.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of compatible poliomyelitis cases and to assess the programmatic implications of clusters of such cases in India.

Methods: We described the characteristics of compatible poliomyelitis cases, identified clusters of compatible cases (two or more in the same district or neighbouring districts within two months), and examined their relationship to wild poliovirus cases.

Findings: There were 362 compatible cases in 2000.