Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Efforts From Health Departments in the United States, November 2020 to December 2021.

Background: Sixty-four state, local, and territorial health departments (HDs) in the United States report monthly performance metrics on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case investigation and contact tracing (CI/CT) activities. We describe national CI/CT efforts from 25 October 2020 through 24 December 2021, which included 3 peaks in COVID-19 case reporting.

Methods: Standardized CI/CT data elements submitted by the 64 HDs were summarized as monthly performance metrics for each HD and the nation.

Salmonella and the changing environment: systematic review using New York State as a model.

Salmonella is a public health concern, for which a complex interplay between host, agent, and environment exists. An improved understanding of causal processes can be used to better gauge the causes and trajectory of Salmonella in a changing environment. This would be useful in determining the impact of climate change on the New York State (NYS) environment, the effect of climate change on Salmonella in NYS, factors contributing to Salmonella vulnerability in humans, and aspects of climate change and Salmonella which necessitate further research.

Impact of the US Maternal Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccination Program on Preventing Pertussis in Infants <2 Months of Age: A Case-Control Evaluation.

Background: Infants aged <1 year are at highest risk for pertussis-related morbidity and mortality. In 2012, Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis) vaccine was recommended for women during each pregnancy to protect infants in the first months of life; data on effectiveness of this strategy are currently limited.

Methods: We conducted a case-control evaluation among pertussis cases <2 months old with cough onset between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2014 from 6 US Emerging Infection Program Network states.

Reduced Severity of Pertussis in Persons With Age-Appropriate Pertussis Vaccination-United States, 2010-2012.

Background: In 2012, >48000 pertussis cases were reported in the United States. Many cases occurred in vaccinated persons, showing that pertussis vaccination does not prevent all pertussis cases. However, pertussis vaccination may have an impact on disease severity.

Generalisability of vaccine effectiveness estimates: an analysis of cases included in a postlicensure evaluation of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the USA.

Objectives: External validity, or generalisability, is the measure of how well results from a study pertain to individuals in the target population. We assessed generalisability, with respect to socioeconomic status, of estimates from a matched case-control study of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine effectiveness for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children in the USA.

Design: Matched case-control study.

Impact of pregnancy on observed sex disparities among adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza, FluSurv-NET, 2010-2012.

Introduction: Previous FluSurv-NET studies found that adult females had a higher incidence of influenza-associated hospitalizations than males. To identify groups of women at higher risk than men, we analyzed data from 14 FluSurv-NET sites that conducted population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations among residents of 78 US counties.

Methods: We analyzed 6292 laboratory-confirmed, geocodable (96%) adult cases collected by FluSurv-NET during the 2010-12 influenza seasons.

Influenza Vaccination Modifies Disease Severity Among Community-dwelling Adults Hospitalized With Influenza.

Background: We investigated the effect of influenza vaccination on disease severity in adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza during 2013-14, a season in which vaccine viruses were antigenically similar to those circulating.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2013-14 influenza season and used propensity score matching to account for the probability of vaccination within age strata (18-49, 50-64, and ≥65 years). Death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and hospital and ICU lengths of stay (LOS) were outcome measures for severity.

Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food and the Effect of Increasing Use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests on Surveillance - Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2013-2016.

Foodborne diseases represent a substantial public health concern in the United States. CDC's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) monitors cases reported from 10 U.S.

Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigation Training Needs: A Survey Among State Public Health Staff in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States.

Context: In 2011, the Food Safety and Modernization Act established Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence across the United States to train, educate, and enhance the skill of foodborne illness outbreak investigation teams. To target regional training efforts, the New York Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence (NYCoE) identified training needs in food safety and foodborne illness investigations among public heath staff in 11 states and 1 large metropolitan area in the Northeast.

Objective: To identify topics so as to develop training materials relevant to food safety and foodborne disease outbreaks in order to improve and impact foodborne outbreak investigations regionally and nationally.

Increased Antiviral Treatment Among Hospitalized Children and Adults With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza, 2010-2015.

(See the Editorial Commentary by Martin on pages 368-9.)Using population-based surveillance data, we analyzed antiviral treatment among hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza. Treatment increased after the influenza A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic from 72% in 2010-2011 to 89% in 2014-2015 (P < .

Case-Control Study of Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Hospitalizations in Older Adults, United States, 2010-2011.

Background:  Older adults are at increased risk of influenza-associated complications, including hospitalization, but influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) data are limited for this population. We conducted a case-control study to estimate VE to prevent laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations among adults aged ≥50 years in 11 US Emerging Infections Program hospitalization surveillance sites.

Methods:  Cases were influenza infections (confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction) in adults aged ≥50 years hospitalized during the 2010-2011 influenza season, identified through Emerging Infections Program surveillance.

Penicillin Use in Meningococcal Disease Management: Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Sites, 2009.

In 2009, in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites, penicillin was not commonly used to treat meningococcal disease. This is likely because of inconsistent availability of antimicrobial susceptibility testing and ease of use of third-generation cephalosporins. Consideration of current practices may inform future meningococcal disease management guidelines.

Bias with respect to socioeconomic status: A closer look at zip code matching in a pneumococcal vaccine effectiveness study.

In 2010, 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced in the US for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children. Individual-level socioeconomic status (SES) is a potential confounder of the estimated effectiveness of PCV13 and is often controlled for in observational studies using zip code as a proxy. We assessed the utility of zip code matching for control of SES in a post-licensure evaluation of the effectiveness of PCV13 (calculated as [1-matched odds ratio]*100).

Utility of Keywords from Chest Radiograph Reports for Pneumonia Surveillance Among Hospitalized Patients with Influenza: The CDC Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, 2008-2009.

Objective: Transcripts from admission chest radiographs could aid in identification of pneumonia cases for public health surveillance. We assessed the reliability of radiographic data abstraction and performance of radiographic key terms to identify pneumonia in patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection.

Methods: We used data on patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection from October 2008 through December 2009 from 10 geographically diverse U.

Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food and the Effect of Increasing Use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests on Surveillance--Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2012-2015.

To evaluate progress toward prevention of enteric and foodborne illnesses in the United States, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) monitors the incidence of laboratory-confirmed infections caused by nine pathogens transmitted commonly through food in 10 U.S. sites.

Effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children in the USA: a matched case-control study.

Background: In 2010, 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was licensed and recommended in the USA for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children. Licensure was based on immunogenicity data comparing PCV13 with the earlier seven-valent formulation. Because clinical endpoints were not assessed for the new antigens, we did a postlicensure matched case-control study to assess vaccine effectiveness.

Prevention of Antibiotic-Nonsusceptible Invasive Pneumococcal Disease With the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

Background: Antibiotic-nonsusceptible invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) decreased substantially after the US introduction of the pediatric 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in 2000. However, rates of antibiotic-nonsusceptible non-PCV7-type IPD increased during 2004-2009. In 2010, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) replaced PCV7.

Benefit of Early Initiation of Influenza Antiviral Treatment to Pregnant Women Hospitalized With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza.

Background: We describe the impact of early initiation of influenza antiviral treatment among pregnant women hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2010-2014 influenza seasons.

Methods: Severe influenza was defined as illness with ≥1 of the following: intensive care unit admission, need for mechanical ventilation, respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism, sepsis, or death. Within severity stratum, we used parametric survival analysis to compare length of stay by timing of antiviral treatment, adjusting for underlying conditions, influenza vaccination, and pregnancy trimester.

Influenza-Related Hospitalizations and Poverty Levels - United States, 2010-2012.

Annual influenza vaccine is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months in the United States, with recognition that some persons are at risk for more severe disease (1). However, there might be previously unrecognized demographic groups that also experience higher rates of serious influenza-related disease that could benefit from enhanced vaccination efforts. Socioeconomic status (SES) measures that are area-based can be used to define demographic groups when individual SES data are not available (2).