MMWR News Synopsis for May 26, 2016

Fatal Abusive Head Trauma among Children Aged <5 years — United States, 1999–2014

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

While the decline in deaths from abusive head trauma is good news, prevention efforts remain important. Children continue to suffer abusive head trauma and other forms of child abuse. Through family-based interventions and policies that create safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments, we can work to prevent child abuse. Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a leading cause of death from child maltreatment, accounting for one-third of such deaths. CDC examined fatal AHT rates between 1999 and 2014 and found they declined 13 percent, specifically in the last five years (2009-2014) of the study period. The 2013 and 2014 fatal AHT rates were the lowest in the 16-year study period. While this decline is encouraging, more can be done to prevent deaths by using data to inform community action and using individual, family-based, community, and societal interventions that create safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children.

Sodium in the Store and Restaurant Food Environments — Guam, 2015

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Evidence links excess sodium intake to high blood pressure and other health problems. Improving the availability, pricing, and promotion of lower-sodium foods in stores and restaurants could help to decrease sodium intakein the people of Guam – and ultimately contribute to improved heart and brain health across the island. Those efforts, however, will require support from manufacturers, vendors, and the general public. New research into Guam’s nutrition environment reveals opportunities to offer more low-sodium alternatives in local stores and restaurants. Recognizing that food availability could contribute to a higher burden of chronic disease, the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services– with support from CDC – recently analyzed sodium-related data from 100 stores and 62 restaurants across the island. In surveyed stores, lower-sodium foods were not as widely available as regular-sodium choices, and small stores were significantly less likely than large stores to offer certain lower-sodium products. In addition, few restaurants engaged in practices such as labeling sodium content on menus, but many managers expressed support for sodium reduction efforts. This report is the first of its kind to examine sodium in Guam’s nutrition environment.

Notes from the Field:

• Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease Outbreak at a University — California, 2016
• Expanded Chemoprophylaxis Offered in Response to a Case of Meningococcal Meningitis — Indiana, 2015

QuickStats:

• Age-Adjusted Prevalence of Hypertension Awareness among Adults with Hypertension, by Sex and Race/Hispanic Origin — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2011–2014

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES