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PubMed2004

Transmission of hepatitis B virus in correctional facilities--Georgia, January 1999-June 2002.

Incarcerated persons have a disproportionate burden of infectious diseases, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Among U.S. adult prison inmates, the overall prevalence of current or previous HBV infection ranges from 13% to 47%. The prevalence of chronic HBV infection among inmates is approximately 1.0%-3.7%, two to six times the prevalence among adults in the general U.S. population. Incarcerated persons can acquire HBV infection in the community or in correctional settings. This report summarizes the results of 1) an analysis of hepatitis B cases among Georgia inmates reported to the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health (DPH) during January 1999-June 2002, including a retrospective investigation of cases reported during January 2001-June 2002; and 2) a prevalence survey conducted in prison intake centers during February-March 2003. These efforts identified cases of acute hepatitis B in multiple Georgia prisons and documented evidence of ongoing transmission of HBV in the state correctional system. The findings underscore the need for hepatitis B vaccination programs in correctional facilities.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

32-nucleotide deletion, associated with defence against hiv/aids, is a predominant mutation of CCR5 gene in the population of Georgia.

There is a special interest to investigate genetic peculiarities in the populations with a low HIV seroprevalence. Despite of presence of high-risk conditions for rapid spread of HIV/AIDS epidemics in Georgia, the prevalence of this infection in the country remains very low. We studied polymorphisms of CCR5 gene in Georgians. Blood samples from 190 women randomly selected from the cohort of pregnant women involved in the program of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Georgia have been investigated. Two-step PCR was used to amplify the whole CCR5 genetic sequence. Detection of mutations and polymorphisms was done by dHPLC. All samples showing specific patterns by dHPLC, were sequenced to identify the exact nature of the mutation. It was shown that CCR5-delta32 mutation is a predominant alteration of CCR5 gene among Georgians. All subjects bearing this mutation were heterozygotes. Frequency of delta32 CCR5 allele in the population of Georgia was equal to 5%. Only one case of R223Q mutation and two cases of mutations in the non-coding region of CCR5 gene were also found. Our findings differ from the existing data showing the absence of the CCR5-delta32 mutation among Georgians and provide further support to the hypothesis on a Northeastern European origin of this mutation and North to South gradient of its distribution.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

[Anthrax in Georgia: epidemiological situation and prognosis].

Anthrax, as an especially dangerous infection, needs permanent control from specialised institutions. The investigations became more important since the attempts to use Bacillus anthracis as the bioterrorism warfare. The issue is more acute for countries where the cases of anthrax are often registered. Cases of anthrax are registered whole around the territory of Georgia (69 regions). Analysis of morbidity during 1980-1989, 1990-1995 and 1996-2004 years showed the trend of increase of frequency of anthrax human cases. The territories where cases of anthrax are registered every year during last 10 years were established. Regions and towns of Georgia were ranged according to the frequency of anthrax cases. Physical -- geographical data and economic characteristics of regions with active hot beds of anthrax are presented. Some of isolates at the National Center for Disease Control and Medical Statistics (NCDC) of Georgia were investigated by molecular -- biological methods. Need for establishing and implementation of complex plan of measures for anthrax prevention is settled.

Anthrax↗
PubMed2006

Adolescents health in Georgia: a national portrait.

The aim of the study was to assess the basic indicators of health of adolescents in Georgia. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was adapted from the Swiss Survey (SMASH2002), translated into Georgian and other languages mainly used in schools (Russian, Armenian and Azeri). It contained 87 questions. Two-stage cluster sampling was devised. Weight was adjusted. A total of 599 classes were selected. All questionnaires before being processed into the Epidata (www.epidata.dk) were edited. The final data were analysed by SPSS 11.0. General health status was considered as excellent and very good by 34.0+/-0.8% of respondents. 21.5% claimed to never miss the school due to the illness. The frequencies of physical disability and chronic diseases were 8.0% and 5.0% correspondingly. Among health-related problems the most frequent are problems with teeth, headache and acne. 5.9% of girls had some kind of gynecological problems quite often and very often. Performed survey is a first one done among adolescents in Georgia. It gave us basic information for planning and implementation of necessary measures in order to improve the health of adolescents and raise awareness of professionals involved in health care and prevention settings for adolescents. The data can be also used for monitoring of health status of adolescents in Georgia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

[For periodization of history of fight against TB in Georgia].

Evolution of TB programs indicates the importance of analysis of existing experience and reasons of failure in planning of TB strategy for future. In spite of existing scientific researches in the field of history of fight against TB in Georgia, it turned out that the question is not mastered perfectly, various periods are not sorted out and the comparative analysis is not made. On account of this, a request was raised to elaborate a new periodization. The aim of our research is to work out a new variant of periodization of history of fight against TB in Georgia. Epidemic, literary and the official statistical data were worked out by the methods of historical analysis and standardization. According to the research, it turned out that the correlation exists between social -political state and the spreading of TB, which was reflected in our "step" pattern. It means to serve as criteria of spreading of tuberculosis and TB strategy. Concerning these criteria a new variant of periodization was elaborated and the separate stages were compared. It gives us opportunity to determine effective methods and measures and they should be envisaged in the condition of realisation DOTS strategy in Georgia.

Georgia (Republic)↗
PubMed1991

Breast-feeding among women attending women, infants, and children clinics in Georgia, 1987.

Breast-feeding is an important determinant of the health and nutritional status of children, particularly in lower socioeconomic populations. A major goal of the Georgia Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is to increase the practice of breast-feeding among the women it serves. Breast-feeding practices were determined among a random sample of 404 women from a cohort of 2010 who attended WIC prenatal clinics in Georgia in 1986 and were expected to deliver in February 1987. Respondents were interviewed 6 months postpartum. Of these women, 24% initially breast-fed, but only 6% continued for 6 months or longer. The initiation of breast-feeding was associated with greater maternal education and with being married. The adjusted odds of breast-feeding for mothers who were married or living as married were 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.7 to 5.3) times greater than for mothers who were not married or living as married. Mothers with more than 12 years, 12 years, or 10 to 11 years of education were 5.2 (1.8 to 15.3), 2.7 (1.0 to 6.9), and 2.5 (0.9 to 6.9) times more likely, respectively, to breast-feed than mothers with 9 or fewer years of education. After adjustment was made for marital status and education, the remaining variables (ethnicity, parity, age, and employment status) did not influence the initiation of breast-feeding in this low-income population. The need for vigorous promotion of breast-feeding by the Georgia WIC program is emphasized by the low rate of initiation and short duration of breast-feeding in this low-income population.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1990

The epidemiology of end-stage renal disease in Georgia.

We have examined the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Georgia in 1986 and 1987. We found high age-sex-race specific and total incidence rates compared to rates reported for other U.S. populations. Cause-specific and total ESRD incidence rates were significantly higher among blacks as compared to whites. In both races, the majority of new cases of ESRD occurring in Georgia during 1986 and 1987 can be attributed to diabetes or hypertension. Total ESRD rates were not uniform throughout the state; counties of the Coastal Plain (South) were significantly more likely to have higher rates than counties in the Piedmont Region (North). These patterns of ESRD in Georgia have implications for possible prevention efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The Georgia diabetic retinopathy screening study.

The diabetic retinopathy screening study represents a major collaborative effort of many volunteer groups interested in decreasing the risk of severe visual loss to Georgia citizens. Results of the present study have stimulated intense interest in screening more high risk persons, such as minorities, without the exclusion of whites. While age-related macular degeneration is the predominant cause of blindness in the U.S., diabetic retinopathy is a major new cause of blindness. With the continuation and completion of this study, we believe that many more of Georgia's citizens will seek ophthalmologic examinations and benefit from previous research regarding the use of laser photocoagulation and vitreoretinal surgery in preventing or reducing the risk of blindness. Since diabetic retinopathy requiring treatment can be present in patients with normal vision, such patients should obtain an annual dilated eye examination by an ophthalmologist. The value of statewide screening for undetected diabetic retinopathy, the determination of how and where to screen in order to give the most benefit to the potentially affected individuals and citizens of Georgia are only a few of the questions that may be answered when this study is completed. Moreover, to our knowledge this study is the first statewide screening for diabetic retinopathy in the United States.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A review of georgia SIDS autopsy reports for a 2-year period.

Procedures carried out in autosies of presumed sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) victims in Georgia during 1983-1984 were compared to standard criteria found in the literature and in a Georgia publication. One hundred fifty-one complete autopsy reports were available for the study. Although autopsies did not change the presumed cause of death for most SIDS victims, less than half the autopsies included what some experts believe to be an adequate basis for determining SIDS as the cause of death--a careful medical history, a thorough external and internal examination, selected histologic review, total body X-ray, and (perhaps) cultures of heart, blood, and lung tissue. The autopsies compared more favorably to a published Georgia standard that did not include the medical history, but they still over-utilized toxicology screening, underutilized microscopic study, and rarely recorded any rationale for performing ancillary procedures.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1996

Understanding and complying with the Georgia Health Records Act.

Most physicians are generally aware of the fact that, in some cases, under some circumstances, physicians are required to provide some patients with copies of some medical records. Surprisingly, however, most physicians are not aware of the fact that, since 1984, Georgia has had a statute on the books which imposes some fairly specific requirements on physicians and other healthcare providers, in terms of providing copies of medical records to patients. In this month's Legal Section, we take a closer look at the Georgia Health Records Act; we also describe the results of the first appellate-level case interpreting the provisions of that Act, recently decided by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Compliance↗
PubMed1996

Filariae of raccoons from southeast Georgia.

The prevalence of filariae in wild raccoons trapped in southeast Georgia was determined. Examination of blood samples revealed that 74 of 113 raccoons (66%) trapped in 6 southeastern Georgia counties were infected. Seventy-three of these raccoons (65%) were infected with Mansonella llewellyni and this parasite was observed in raccoons from every location examined. Dirofilaria tenuis was found in 22 raccoons (20%) and was observed in only 3 of the 6 counties surveyed. An adult specimen of Acanthocheilonema procyonis was found in the subcutaneous tissues of 1 of 5 necropsied raccoons. This is the first record of filariae in raccoons from Georgia. In addition, Dirofilaria-like larvae were found in Aedes taeniorhyncus mosquitoes collected in Liberty County.

Aedes↗
PubMed1996

Outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection--Georgia and Tennessee, June 1995.

On June 26, 1995, the Division of Public Health, Georgia Department of Human Resources (GDPH), was notified of three cases of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection among residents of a community in north Georgia who had onsets of illness within a 24-hour period (onset during June 19-20); in comparison, during 1993-1994, only two cases of this infection had been reported in the same community. Because of the proximity of this community to the Tennessee border, on June 28 GDPH notified the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) about these cases. TDH subsequently identified two confirmed cases with onsets of illness during June 23-24. Both of these cases were among persons residing in eastern Tennessee approximately 100 miles from the community in Georgia, and one occurred in an 11-year-old boy who was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This report summarizes the investigation of this outbreak, which implicated eating hamburgers purchased at a fast-food restaurant chain (i.e., chain A) as the source of infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Racial and urban/rural differences in cervical carcinoma in Georgia Medicaid recipients.

BACKGROUND: The authors conducted a study of racial and geographic differences in the occurrence of cervical carcinoma in a population of uniformly low economic status: Georgia Medicaid recipients. METHODS: Medicaid reimbursement claims data for 1992 were used to calculate counts, rates, and black-to-white risk ratios for newly and previously diagnosed cases of cervical carcinoma in metropolitan Atlanta and in the remainder of the state. RESULTS: Among 615,787 female Georgia Medicaid recipients in 1992, 2050 women (333 per 100,000) had a diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix. Of 111,208 women who had received Medicaid assistance continuously from 1988 to 1992 (5-year eligibles), a new claim for cervical carcinoma was submitted for 110 (99 per 100,000). In both analyses, rates were higher in metropolitan Atlanta than in the remainder of the state. Black women had significantly higher claims rates than white women only in metropolitan Atlanta; risk ratios were 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-10.8) for new claims among 5-year eligibles, and 3.5 (95% CI, 3.0-4.1) for prevalence. There was no racial disparity in cervical carcinoma rates in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The current study data suggest a high risk of cervical carcinoma among metropolitan Atlanta Medicaid recipients, particularly blacks. Data from rural Georgia (but not Atlanta) support the hypothesis that racial differences in cervical carcinoma rates would largely disappear in a population of uniform economic status.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Hypothermia-related deaths--Georgia, January 1996-December 1997, and United States, 1979-1995.

Although hypothermia-related deaths are prevalent during the winter in states that have moderately cold (e.g., Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania) to severely cold (e.g., Alaska and North Dakota) winters and in states with mountainous or desert terrain (e.g., Arizona, Montana, and New Mexico), hypothermia-related deaths also occur in states with milder climates (e.g., Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina), where weather systems can cause rapid changes in temperature. This report summarizes three hypothermia-related deaths in Fulton County, Georgia, representing persons in the highest risk groups for hypothermia; and summarizes hypothermia-related deaths in Georgia during January 1996-December 1997 and in the United States during 1979-1995.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2026

Healthcare Access and Safety Training Gaps Among H-2 A Visa Agricultural Workers in Georgia.

The H-2 A Temporary Agricultural Workers Program, which supplies seasonal labor essential to U.S. food security, has grown over 230% in the past decade but is excluded from the National Agricultural Workers Survey. Although safety training is federally mandated and H-2 A workers are eligible for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage, compliance and healthcare access among these workers remain poorly documented. The aim of this pilot study was to assess workplace safety training, heat acclimatization practices, health insurance awareness and enrollment, and healthcare utilization among H-2 A workers in Georgia. In summer 2024, bilingual research assistants orally administered a cross-sectional Spanish-language survey to 51 H-2 A workers at a South Georgia laundromat, in partnership with the Latino Community Fund Georgia. The survey assessed demographics, occupational characteristics, safety training, heat acclimatization, health insurance awareness and enrollment, and healthcare utilization. Findings are self-reported. Among participants, 41% reported not receiving federally mandated pesticide safety training, and 59% received heat illness prevention training. Heat acclimatization was inadequate for 53% (29% received none). Additionally, 53% did not know the nearest hospital, 43% reported having health insurance, and 25% were unsure of their health insurance status. Overall, 71% had never visited a doctor's office, and of 22 insured workers, only 1 (2%) had used benefits this season. Substantial gaps in workplace safety training, heat acclimatization, and healthcare access were observed in this pilot study, consistent with prior evidence of persistent disparities in this population. Community-based outreach, bilingual health navigation, and market-based labor accountability models warrant further investigation to improve protections for H-2 A workers.

Agricultural workers↗
PubMed2005

Historical trends in mercury sedimentation and mixing in the Strait of Georgia, Canada.

Seventeen sediment cores collected in the Strait of Georgia reveal a history of mercury contamination that began in the 1860s and include episodic contamination during World War II and in the late 1960s. Surface sediment mercury concentrations ranged from 60 to 420 ng/g dry weight and the current fluxes to sediments are estimated at 5-181 ng cm(-2) a(-1). In one location in Port Moody Arm, a Hg spill seems to have sufficiently poisoned the sediments to eliminate biomixing for about 20 years. Although the surface concentration of Hg is likely to decrease at all stations in coming years, sites in the industrialized Vancouver Harbor and Port Moody Arm will continue to be sufficiently contaminated to endanger benthic organisms. Variations in sedimentation and mixing rates among sites result in surface sediment Hg concentration patterns that do not reflect accurately the distribution of Hg flux. In particular, the concentration of Hg in sediments near the mouth of the Fraser River is low, despite the high Hg load of that river, because of dilution by other particles. A preliminary Hg budget indicates that most of the Hg enters the Strait of Georgia via the Fraser River (2090 kg a(-1)), and that, while burial in Strait of Georgia sediments is a major sink (1800 kg a(-1)), there may be a significant outflow of Hg through Juan de Fuca Strait (approximately 3400 kg a(-1)).

British Columbia↗
PubMed2005

Persistent organic pollutants in the diet of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) inhabiting Puget Sound, Washington (USA), and the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (Canada): a food basket approach.

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) inhabiting Puget Sound (WA, USA) recently were found to be seven times more contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) than those inhabiting the adjacent Strait of Georgia (BC, Canada). We carried out a food basket approach to approximate realistic dietary exposures of both new (e.g., polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs]) and legacy (e.g., dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT]) persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for these harbor seals. Food basket homogenates, each consisting of over 200 individual prey items, were constructed using documented dietary preferences for harbor seals in these basins, and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, flame retardants, and other persistent contaminants. Concentration rankings for the major contaminant classes in the Puget Sound food basket were sigmaPCBs > sigmaPBDEs > sigmaDDT, and for the Strait of Georgia food basket were sigmaPCBs > sigmaDDT > sigmaPBDEs, highlighting the emergence of PBDEs as a significant concern in the regional environment. Consistent with observations in harbor seals, PCB concentrations in the Puget Sound food basket were seven times higher than in its Strait of Georgia counterpart. Based on our food basket results, the estimated daily intake of sigmaPCB toxic equivalents to dioxin by Puget Sound harbor seals exceeds some wildlife consumption guidelines for PCBs. Our results indicate that both legacy and new POPs present a health risk to these marine mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Genotype-specific carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in Georgia counties with hyper- and hyposporadic rates of meningococcal disease.

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in a Georgia county with hypersporadic incidence of meningococcal disease ("hypersporadic county") and in a county with no cases of meningococcal disease was determined by a cross-sectional pharyngeal culture study of high school students. Among 2730 students from whom culture samples were obtained, meningococcal carriage was 7.7% (140/1818) in the hypersporadic county and 6.1% (56/912) in the comparison county. Carriage rates by serogroup and genetic type (i.e., electrophoretic type [ET]) did not differ significantly between counties, but apartment or mobile home residency was a risk factor for carriage in the hypersporadic county. Although most cases of meningococcal disease in the hypersporadic county were caused by members of the serogroup C ET-37 clonal group, no ET-37 meningococcal isolates were recovered from carriers in this county. However, 38% of all meningococcal isolates recovered from carriers in both counties were members of the serogroup Y ET-508 clonal group, an emerging cause of meningococcal disease in Georgia and throughout the United States during 1996-2001. Shifts in carriage and transmission of meningococcal strains with different pathogenic potential are important determinants of meningococcal disease incidence.

Adolescent↗