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Biomedical subjects

G L Hoff

Publications and source records attributed to G L Hoff.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

HIV surveillance: a dynamic, not static, process to assure accurate local data.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Accurate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) surveillance data is critical for the allocation of resources for care services and community prevention planning efforts. GOAL OF THIS STUDY: To validate HIV status of women and assess risk factor information on all persons reported with either heterosexual transmission or no identifiable risk factor. STUDY DESIGN: The surveillance database is updated continually as additional information is received on all cases allowing continual monitoring of pregnant and nonpregnant women. Repeated queries of various record systems were employed to validate or reclassify reported heterosexual or no identifiable risk factor information for both men and women. RESULTS: Four pregnant women (24%) and one nonpregnant woman (0.4%) initially meeting HIV surveillance criteria were demonstrated not to be infected. Risk factors were validated or reclassified for 77 (58%) patients initially reported with heterosexual transmission or no identifiable risk. CONCLUSION: HIV surveillance should be a dynamic process and continual updating of case reports provides the most accurate information on which to base service and prevention decisions.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Companion animal issues and the physician.

BACKGROUND: The companion animal population in the United States is both large in numbers and diverse in composition. Nearly 60% of households have one or more animals. Associated with this large and diverse group of animals are considerable risks for injuries and transmission of infections to humans. METHODS: Through a review of the relevant literature and our collective professional experience in public health and veterinary medicine, we framed issues regarding companion animals and human health and safety. RESULTS: We placed the identified issues in general contexts that could be applied to varying circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians, veterinarians, public health officials, and others need to work together to ensure that animal ownership is as risk free for people as possible.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Salmonella outbreaks in the Kansas City metropolitan area: varying presentations.

Four outbreaks of Salmonella in the Kansas City metropolitan area between 1996 and 1998 are used to illustrate changes in the epidemiology of foodborne diseases and recognition by public health authorities. Physicians are the critical link in the recognition of foodborne outbreaks, and that linkage is tied directly to their index of suspicion and the appropriate collection and testing of specimens from their patients, as well as notification of the local health department.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMed1999

Tuberculosis screening in Kansas City homeless shelters.

Voluntary tuberculin skin testing, coupled with on-site radiographic examination of persons with indurations > or = 10 mm, was conducted in five home-less shelters in Kansas City. Of 856 skin tests administered, 654 were read and 89 (13.6%) were positive. Males were nearly four times as likely to have a positive skin test than females. None of the positive individuals had abnormal chest radiographs. Of 42 persons who initiated preventive therapy, only eight completed the course of treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Bats, cats, and rabies in an urban community.

Bats are the primary vectors of rabies in humans in the United States. In the urban environment they generally are found within buildings where they may bite people or be attacked by cats or dogs. Given the high probability that any bat that bites a person may be rabid, antirabies prophylaxis should be administered as soon as possible after the incident. This should not be delayed pending laboratory results on the bat. Children should be taught to avoid contact with moribund bats. Cats are more likely to be involved with rabid bats than dogs, but they are less likely to be vaccinated against rabies. The occasional rabid cat in an urban community may have acquired its infection from a bat. Therefore, it is vital that communities enforce rabies vaccination for cats as well as dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence surveys.

The seroprevalence surveys being conducted in the Kansas City area have to date tested 15,778 persons and resulted in 85 seropositive HIV tests. The sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveys and women's surveys fall in the lowest quartile of the combined national surveys. The drug treatment (IVDU) survey data were comparable to the median national seroprevalence of 3.8%. Seroprevalence rates in the STD surveys were 41 times that of women's surveys, and the IVDU surveys were 104 times that of the women's surveys. Based on three years of data from clinics with stable populations presenting for treatment, no trends in the demographics of those being found seropositive were identified to be statistically significant. This lack of trends has been presented as the normal findings of surveys nationally. The data does not show an acceleration of new infections based on seropositives being identified in the survey sites.

Community Health Centers↗
PubMed1991

Voluntary human immunodeficiency virus testing: acceptance levels and identification of seropositive individuals.

Of 4340 clients of a clinic for those with sexually transmitted diseases who were eligible for voluntary, confidential, serologic testing for the human immunodeficiency virus, 4246 (97.8%) consented to testing; 23 (0.5%) were seropositive. Of 94 persons who declined voluntary testing but who were tested in a blinded study, nine (9.6%) were seropositive. Seropositive persons who declined voluntary testing did not conceal their association with a risk group, while only 61% of seropositive individuals who accepted voluntary testing admitted to inclusion in a risk group before the test. Voluntary testing appears to be insufficient, because 28% of the seropositive individuals were not identified as being seropositive; also, there was a significant deficiency associated with identification of risk at pretest counseling among persons agreeing to voluntary testing.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1991

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sero-prevalence in sexually transmitted disease clinic populations.

Two HIV sero-prevalence surveys conducted during 1989 in public sexually transmitted disease clinics in the Kansas City SMSA tested 1,561 males and 1.043 females. There were 23 sero-positive males; no sero-positive females. The rate for males using the Missouri clinic was nearly triple that of males using the Kansas clinic. Among males the sero-prevalence rate for white males was 8.4 times that for black males. Of the 14 HIV sero-positive males for whom risk factor information was available, 12 were gay or bisexual and two were heterosexual intravenous drug users.

Adult↗