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Biomedical subjects

B P Bell

Publications and source records attributed to B P Bell.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

The diverse patterns of hepatitis A epidemiology in the United States-implications for vaccination strategies.

Hepatitis A is the most frequently reported vaccine-preventable disease in the United States. Hepatitis A incidence and risk factors during 1983-1995 were examined among cases reported to the study's Sentinel Counties: Denver County, Colorado; Pierce County, Washington; Jefferson County, Alabama; and Pinellas County, Florida. Of 4897 serologically confirmed cases, 611 patients (13%) were hospitalized and 9 (0.2%) died. The average incidence was 14.7/100, 000 (range, 0.6-100.7/100,000, depending on county and year). The frequency of reported sources of infection varied by county, but the largest single group overall (52%) did not report a source. During 3-year communitywide outbreaks in Denver (1991-1993) and Pierce (1987-1989) Counties, rates increased 4- and 13-fold, respectively, and increased in all age, racial/ethnic, and risk groups. During communitywide outbreaks, hepatitis A is not limited to specific risk groups; sustained nationwide reductions in incidence are more likely to result from routine childhood vaccination than from targeted vaccination of high-risk groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Use of hepatitis A vaccine in a community-wide outbreak of hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A outbreaks in communities are often difficult to control. From July 1994 through June 1995, 676 cases of hepatitis A were reported in Shelby County, Tennessee. With the licensure of a hepatitis A vaccine in February 1995, a new tool for outbreak control became available. During August-October 1995, a mass vaccination campaign was conducted. A total of 34,054 children received the first dose of hepatitis A vaccine. From December 1995 through December 1996, the number of hepatitis A cases reported inside the intervention area declined by 64%; outside the intervention area, the number of cases declined by 40%. The precise contribution of the vaccine campaign to the decline in the number of outbreak cases is difficult to quantify because community outbreaks often wane over time. The vaccine campaign may have hastened the decline of the number of outbreak cases. Future interventions should consider an earlier campaign with greater vaccine coverage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Predictors of hemolytic uremic syndrome in children during a large outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate risk factors for progression of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection to the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 278 Washington State children <16 years old who developed symptomatic culture-confirmed E coli O157:H7 infection during a large 1993 outbreak. The purpose of the study was to determine the relative risk (RR) of developing HUS according to demographic characteristics, symptoms, laboratory test results, and medication use in the first 3 days of illness. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (14%) children developed HUS. In univariate analysis, no associations were observed between HUS risk and any demographic characteristic, the presence of bloody diarrhea or of fever, or medication use. In multivariate analysis, HUS risk was associated with, in the first 3 days of illness, use of antimotility agents (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-7.5) and, among children <5.5 years old, vomiting (OR = 4. 2; 95% CI 1.4-12.7). Among the 128 children tested, those whose white blood cell (WBC) count was >/=13 000/microL in the first 3 days of illness had a 7-fold increased risk of developing HUS (RR 7. 2; 95% CI 2.8-18.5). Thirteen (38%) of the 34 patients with a WBC count >/=13 000/microL developed HUS, but only 5 (5%) of the 94 children whose initial WBC count was <13 000/microL progressed to HUS. Among children who did not develop HUS, use of antimotility agents in the first 3 days of illness was associated with longer duration of bloody diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Prospective studies are needed to further evaluate measures to prevent the progression of E coli O157:H7 infection to HUS and to assess further clinical and laboratory risk factors. These data argue against the use of antimotility agents in acute childhood diarrhea. Our finding that no intervention decreased HUS risk underscores the importance of preventing E coli O157:H7 infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Guidelines for prevention and control of hepatitis A in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

The Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service, South Dakota Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have collaborated since 1985 to investigate hepatitis A in Indian communities in the Northern Plains and to implement clinical trials of hepatitis A vaccine. After licensure of the hepatitis A vaccine in February 1995, community wide immunization programs have been implemented effectively in several communities experiencing hepatitis A outbreaks. The state health department, tribal health departments, Indian Health Service facilities, Head Start programs and schools have provided hepatitis A immunizations to children aged 2-12 years in each of these communities after obtaining parental consent. Culturally-specific educational materials were developed and extensive health education efforts were provided by IHS and tribal programs. Hepatitis A contacts age 2-12 were offered the hepatitis A vaccine at the same time they were offered passive immunization with immune globulin. To date over 70% of parents contacted by letter or in person have returned consent forms to have their children immunized. Higher response rates were obtained in communities where home visits were made to explain this program in more detail. The outbreaks appear to have stopped after 70% or more of the children aged 2-12 years were immunized. Immunization programs are being implemented in all Northern Plains Indian communities utilizing hepatitis. A vaccine from the Vaccine For Children Program. These efforts will likely eliminate hepatitis A as a health problem for Indian communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7-associated bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome from hamburgers. The Washington experience.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the source of and describe a large outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in Washington State. DESIGN: Case-control study; environmental investigation; provider-based surveillance for E coli O157:H7 infections. SETTING: Chain of fast-food restaurants, hospitals, physician offices, local laboratories, and local health departments. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with diarrhea and neighborhood controls. A case was defined as diarrhea with culture-confirmed E coli O157:H7 infection or postdiarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) occurring from December 1, 1992, through February 28, 1993, in a Washington State resident. Controls were age- and neighborhood-matched friends of the first 16 case patients. INTERVENTIONS: Announcement to the public; recall of implicated hamburger lots. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Abatement of outbreak due to E coli O157:H7. RESULTS: Infection was associated with eating at a fast-food chain (chain A) in the 10 days before symptoms began. Twelve (75%) of 16 case patients but no controls had eaten at chain A (matched odds ratio undefined; lower 95% confidence interval, 3.5; P < .001). In total, 501 cases were reported, including 151 hospitalizations (31%), 45 cases of HUS (9%), and three deaths. Forty-eight patients (10%) had secondary infections. Of the remaining 453 patients (90%), 398 (86%) reported eating at a Washington chain A restaurant; 92% of them reported eating a regular hamburger. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern of the E coli O157:H7 strains isolated from all regular hamburger lots of a single production date shipped to Washington was identical to that of the strains isolated from patients. Ten (63%) of 16 regular hamburgers cooked according to chain A policy had internal temperatures below 60 degrees C. Public health action removed more than 250,000 potentially contaminated hamburgers, preventing an estimated 800 cases. CONCLUSIONS: This E coli O157:H7 outbreak, the largest reported, resulted from errors in meat processing and cooking. Public health surveillance through state-mandated reporting of E coli O157:H7 infection as is carried out in Washington State was critical for prompt outbreak recognition and control. Measures should be developed to reduce meat contamination. Consumers and food service workers should be educated about cooking hamburger meat thoroughly.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Laboratory investigation of a multistate food-borne outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and phage typing.

Two hundred thirty-three isolates of Escherichia coli O157:H7 were analyzed by both pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and bacteriophage typing. All 26 isolates from persons whose illness was associated with a recent multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to the consumption of undercooked hamburgers and all 27 isolates from incriminated lots of hamburger meat had the same phage type and the same PFGE pattern. Twenty-five of 74 E. coli O157:H7 isolates from Washington State and 10 of 27 isolates from other states obtained during the 6 months before the outbreak had the same phage type as the outbreak strain, but only 1 isolate had the same PFGE pattern. PFGE thus appeared to be a more sensitive method than bacteriophage typing for distinguishing outbreak and non-outbreak-related strains. The PFGE patterns of seven preoutbreak sporadic isolates and five sporadic isolates from the outbreak period differed from that of the outbreak strain by a single band, making it difficult to identify these isolates as outbreak or non-outbreak related. Phage typing and PFGE with additional enzymes were helpful in resolving this problem. While not as sensitive as PFGE, phage typing was helpful in interpreting PFGE data and could have been used as a simple, rapid screen to eliminate the need for performing PFGE on unrelated isolates.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Methylene chloride exposure and birthweight in Monroe County, New York.

This study examined the relationship between birthweight and exposure to emissions of methylene chloride (DCM) from manufacturing processes of the Eastman Kodak Company at Kodak Park in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. County census tracts were categorized as exposed to high, moderate, low or no DCM based on the Kodak Air Monitoring Program (KAMP) model, a theoretical dispersion model of DCM developed by Eastman Kodak Company. Birthweight and information on variables known to influence birthweight were obtained from 91,302 birth certificates of white singleton births to Monroe County residents from 1976 to 1987. No significant adverse effects of exposure to DCM on birthweight were found. Adjusted birthweight in high exposure census tracts was 18.7 g less than in areas with no exposure (95% confidence interval for the difference between high and no exposure - 51.6, 14.2 g). Problems inherent in the method of estimation of exposure, which may decrease power or bias the results, are discussed. Better methods to estimate exposure to emissions from multiple industrial point sources are needed.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1991

Barriers to cholesterol testing in a rural community.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine whether residents in a rural community have their cholesterol tested. METHODS: A population-based survey was conducted in 1987 as part of a community-oriented primary care project that sought to define and address the causes of and burden caused by increased cardiovascular disease in an economically depressed agricultural region of New York. All of the residents living in two towns in the region who were over 16 years of age and who lived in their homes year-round were surveyed. Demographic information was obtained from the participants, as well as information about previous cholesterol testing and their cardiovascular-risk knowledge and behaviors. The serum cholesterol of each participant was measured. RESULTS: Of the 557 households contacted, 508 (91%) households participated. A total of 1063 persons over 16 years of age were surveyed, and 973 (92%) were screened for cholesterol. Overall, 24% reported prior cholesterol testing. Logistic regression analysis identified several independent factors that were associated with a reduced likelihood of ever having had a cholesterol test. These factors included: (1) age under 45 years, (2) having less than 12 years of education, (3) having an income of less than $10,000, (4) not having health insurance, (5) not having visited a physician within the previous year, and (6) practicing three or more high-risk cardiovascular behaviors. The participants' cardiovascular knowledge made no independent contribution to having had their cholesterol levels tested. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the factors that prevent cholesterol testing are socially determined. The results of this study suggest that financial and social barriers are two of the major obstacles to residents of rural communities having their cholesterol levels tested.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An outbreak of hepatitis A associated with an infected foodhandler.

OBJECTIVE: The recommended criteria for public notification of a hepatitis A virus (HAV)-infected foodhandler include assessment of the foodhandler's hygiene and symptoms. In October 1994, a Kentucky health department received a report of a catering company foodhandler with hepatitis A. Patrons were not offered immune globulin because the foodhandler's hygiene was assessed to be good and he denied having diarrhea. During early November, 29 cases of hepatitis A were reported among people who had attended an event catered by this company. Two local health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with two state health departments, undertook an investigation to determine the extent of the outbreak, to identify the foods and event characteristics associated with illness, and to investigate the apparent failure of the criteria for determining when immune globulin (IG) should be offered to exposed members of the public. METHODS: Cases were IgM anti-HAV-positive people with onset of symptoms during October or November who had eaten foods prepared by the catering company. To determine the outbreak's extent and factors associated with illness, the authors interviewed all case patients and the infected foodhandler and collected information on menus and other event characteristics. To investigate characteristics of events associated with transmission, the authors conducted a retrospective analysis comparing the risk of illness by selected event characteristics. To evaluate what foods were associated with illness, they conducted a retrospective cohort study of attendees of four events with high attack rates. RESULTS: A total of 91 cases were identified. At least one case was reported from 21 (51%) of the 41 catered events. The overall attack rate was 7% among the 1318 people who attended these events (range 0 to 75% per event). Attending an event at which there was no on-site sink (relative risk [RR] = 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 3.8) or no on-site kitchen (RR = 1.9, 95% Cl 1.1, 2.9) was associated with illness. For three events with high attack rates, eating at least one of several uncooked foods was associated with illness, with RRs ranging from 8 to undefined. CONCLUSION: A large hepatitis A outbreak resulted from an infected foodhandler with apparent good hygiene and no reported diarrhea who prepared many uncooked foods served at catered events. Assessing hygiene and symptoms s subjective, and may be difficult to accomplish. The effectiveness of the recommended criteria for determining when IG should be provided to exposed members of the public needs to be evaluated.

Adult↗