Antibiotic use and upper respiratory infections: a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and experience in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Background: Public attitudes and expectations contribute to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic resistance. This study assessed knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding antibiotic use for respiratory infection or illness.

Methods: Random-digit-dialing telephone surveys of adults and parents of children <5 years old were conducted in Wisconsin and Minnesota during 1999.

Population-based incidence of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in northwestern Wisconsin, 1997-1999.

The incidence of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) in the upper Midwest is uncertain. Active surveillance for suspected HGE was conducted from 1997 through 1999 in a 13-county region of northwestern Wisconsin. Suspected HGE cases were classified, according to the national case definition, as confirmed, probable, or not HGE.

A community intervention trial to promote judicious antibiotic use and reduce penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage in children.

Objective: Inappropriate use of antibiotics is common in primary care, and effective interventions are needed to promote judicious antibiotic use and reduce antibiotic resistance. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of parent and clinician education on pediatric antibiotic prescribing and carriage of penicillin-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae in child care facilities.

Methods: A nonrandomized, controlled, community intervention trial was conducted in northern Wisconsin Clinicians.

A randomized trial of zinc nasal spray for the treatment of upper respiratory illness in adults.

Purpose: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of 0.12% zinc sulfate nasal spray for reducing the duration and severity of acute upper respiratory infections.

Subjects And Methods: Patients with acute onset of upper respiratory illness of less than 24 hours' duration were eligible for the study.

Tickborne infections as a cause of nonspecific febrile illness in Wisconsin.

Lyme disease, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), and babesiosis are tickborne infections that are indigenous to Wisconsin. To assess their importance as a cause of nonspecific fever, we recruited patients with febrile illness at 10 clinics in northwestern Wisconsin from May through August of both 1997 and 1998. Eligible patients had a temperature >38.

Antibiotic susceptibility of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae in Wisconsin, 1999.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of community acquired infections in the United States, and rates of antibiotic resistance have increased dramatically in the past decade. Statewide rates of pneumococcal resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics have not been previously reported in Wisconsin. To determine these rates, we assessed invasive pneumococcal isolates for reduced susceptibility to nine different antibiotics.