MMWR News Synopsis

Interval Since Last HIV Test for Men and Women with Recent Risk for HIV Infection — United States, 2006–2016

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

CDC recommends that people at higher risk for HIV be tested at least once a year, but too few people with HIV risk are screened this often. A new CDC analysis suggests that people who recently engaged in HIV risk behaviors are not tested for HIV as frequently as CDC recommends. Since 2006, CDC has recommended that all people ages 13 to 64 be tested for HIV at least once, and that people at higher risk for HIV be tested at least annually. CDC researchers analyzed findings from the General Social Survey and estimated that during 2006-2016, only about 40 percent of adults had ever been tested for HIV. Among those ever tested, the estimated median interval since last test was almost three years. Among people who reported HIV risk behaviors in the past year, the estimated median interval since last test was 1.4 years. Continued efforts are needed to achieve full implementation of annual screening recommendations.

Self-Reported Concussions from Playing a Sport or Being Physically Active Among High School Students — United States, 2017

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

High school students who play team sports are at higher risk for concussion, and playing on more than one team may further increase risk. CDC researchers analyzed data from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and found that 15 percent of students reported having a sports- and/or physical-activity-related concussion during the 12 months before the survey, and 6 percent reported having two or more concussions. A higher percentage of male students and students who play on sports teams reported concussions compared to female students and students who did not play on any teams. There is a need to expand programs, policies, and practices to ensure all students, parents, coaches, teachers, and health care providers know how to prevent, recognize, and manage concussions, and how best to return students to school and safe play after a concussion.

Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free Policies in Colleges and Universities ― United States and Territories, 2017

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Continued efforts to monitor, promote, implement, and enforce smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in U.S. colleges and universities — in coordination with continued implementation of proven population-based strategies and tobacco product regulation — can help reduce the burden of tobacco product use in these environments. The CDC and the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF) analyzed data from ANRF’s College Campus Tobacco Policy Database to determine the number of college and university campuses nationwide that were smoke free (completely prohibited smoking) or tobacco free (completely prohibited both smokeless tobacco use and combustible tobacco product smoking) in all indoor and outdoor areas. In 2017, among the 2,082 campuses with smoke-free policies, 84 percent were tobacco-free. By comparison, of the 774 smoke-free campuses in 2012, 73 percent were tobacco-free. Given that 99 percent of adult cigarette smokers first start smoking before age 26 years and many smokers transition to regular, daily use during young adulthood, colleges and universities are an important venue for having tobacco control policies that protect students, faculty, staff, and guests from secondhand smoke exposure.

Strategic Response to an Outbreak of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 2 — Syria, 2017–2018

The 2017 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV22) outbreak in Syria underscores the risk of emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses in settings of low oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage and also demonstrates the effectiveness of targeted vaccination using monovalent OPV type 2 in controlling cVDPV2 outbreaks. In areas with very low oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage, prolonged transmission of vaccine-associated viruses can lead to the emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs). In 2017, an outbreak of circulating VDPV type 2 (cVDPV2) occurred in Syria, resulting in 74 cases. Implementation of three rounds of monovalent OPV type 2 campaigns coupled with intensified surveillance interrupted the outbreak. A longstanding humanitarian crisis, precipitated by war and political unrest, has left much of Syria’s population vulnerable to recurrent disease outbreaks, including the recent cVDPV2 outbreak. Subnational gaps in acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance performance and delays in receiving laboratory results, due to difficulties transporting stool specimens, as a result of the country’s complex humanitarian emergency, contributed to the inability to detect the outbreak earlier.

• Changes in Late Preterm Birth Rates, by State — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2014 and 2016

###

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.