Bat-Borne Pathogens and Public Health in Rural African Artisanal Gold Mines.

Marburg virus, the first filovirus discovered and a close cousin to the Ebola virus, is carried by the Egyptian rousette bat, a common cave-dwelling fruit bat endemic to sub-Saharan Africa whose populations can exceed 50 000 individuals. Community outbreaks of Marburg virus can result in high morbidity rates. In eastern Africa, favorite habitats of these bats include rural subterranean gold mines-sometimes worked illegally-that create environments conducive to zoonotic virus transmission.

Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic Influenza: Communication, Training, and Guidance Needs of Public Health Officials.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the needs of state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health officials in communicating, implementing, and monitoring nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during an influenza pandemic.

Methods: A Web-based survey collected data from a nonrandom sample of STLT health departments.

Results: A total of 267 of 346 public health officials responded (77.

Opioid Prescribing in the United States.

Evidence-based information for nurses on the risks and benefits of prescription opioids.

Keeping Recess in Schools.

forward to recess - the one or more breaks in the school day that allow them to get outside, spend time with friends, and be active. In a school with 300 students, 600 feet will be outside in the physical activity area or playground every day. If students are active for an average of 1,062 steps during recess (Erwin et al.

The role of primary care physician assistants in managing chronic hepatitis B.

This article informs physician assistants of an algorithm designed for primary care practice to guide the screening of patients for hepatitis B virus infection. The algorithm also provides guidance on evaluation, follow-up, and referral of patients who screen positive. The algorithm is a synthesis of several published, evidence-based practice guidelines and reports.

Consumer Support for Policies to Reduce the Sodium Content in School Cafeterias.

Purpose/objectives: The objective of this study was to assess consumer support for policies lowering the sodium content of cafeteria foods in schools.

Methods: Data were used from 9,634 adults aged ≥18 years who responded to questions about sodium in general and in school foods in a 2010 national mail panel survey. Prevalence of consumer support was determined and logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios.

Considerations in recruiting underscreened women to focus groups on screening for cervical cancer.

This article describes recruitment activities and costs from two independently conducted studies that used similar, systematic approaches to recruiting two subgroups of underscreened women, Black women and Mexican women. The studies varied in number of recruiters, venues of recruitment, and region of the country. The ratio of women approached to women who were underscreened was 4:1 for Black women and 10:1 for Mexican women.

Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure in Farmworker Family Members in Western North Carolina and Virginia: Case Comparisons.

Farmworkers and their family members are exposed to pesticides in their homes as well as at work. Using a sample of nine farmworker households in western North Carolina and Virginia, this analysis describes the organophosphate (OP) pesticide urinary metabolite levels of adults and children in these households, and compares these farmworker household OP metabolite levels to the national reference data. Data from survey and in-depth interviews are analyzed to find dwelling, household, and work characteristics related to OP metabolite levels.

Application of the transtheoretical model for HIV prevention in a facility-based and a community-level behavioral intervention research study.

This article describes the application of the transtheoretical model of behavior change to prevention programs for women at risk for or infected with HIV. The focus of these multisite demonstration projects was to increase condom and contraceptive use. The model was operationalized for use in the following two different intervention approaches: facility-based interventions (individual counseling for women in clinics, shelters, and drug treatment centers) and community-level interventions (including production of small media materials, street outreach, and community mobilization).