MMWR News Synopsis

Human Rabies — Utah, 2018

Becky Ward
Educator/Public Information Officer Liaison
801-538-6682
rward@utah.gov

Dallin Peterson
Vectorborne/Zoonotic Disease Epidemiologist
801-538-6333
ddpeterson@utah.gov

Human rabies is preventable by early recognition of potential exposures and receipt of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). Bats are the main source of rabies in the United States. Delayed recognition of a human rabies case in Utah resulted in the possible exposure of 279 people, including 242 health care workers. Exposures were evaluated through an online tool that provided a rapid exposure assessment with minimal personnel time; 74 (31%) potentially exposed health care workers and 30 family and community members received PEP. To prevent human rabies cases and reduce the number of possible secondary exposures and the subsequent need for administering PEP if a case occurs, it is essential to educate the general public about the risk of rabies from bat exposure and to advise health care providers to consider rabies in the differential diagnosis of unexplained neurologic symptoms.

Carfentanil Outbreak — Florida, 2016–2017

Mallory Olson
Senior Information Specialist, University of Kentucky Public Relations & Marketing
859-257-1076
828-280-6480
Mallory.Olson@uky.edu

The increased availability of fentanyl-like drugs, including carfentanil, has significantly contributed to overdose deaths in the U.S. Recently, scientists from University of Kentucky and University of Florida uncovered a carfentanil-involved fatal overdose outbreak that began in June 2016 and ended abruptly in August 2017. The U.S. needs earlier warning signals to detect these drugs in the illicit supply. Illicitly-manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs are quickly becoming the deadliest drugs in the United States. Carfentanil – which is used to quickly immobilize large animals – has no approved therapeutic use in humans, but is a main culprit in the rise of fatal overdoses. A carfentanil-involved fatal overdose outbreak began in the Sarasota area of Florida in June 2016, lasted for at least a year, and abruptly ended in the Sarasota area epicenter by August 2017. Law enforcement and the media provided early signals of the severity before mortality data was available, highlighting the need to communicate and share local public health data across multiple agencies to inform a quick, data-driven response.

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger — United States, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The child and adolescent immunization schedule is updated every year, and provides a guide for health care providers to make sure children from birth through age 18 get all the vaccines they need when they need them. The child and adolescent immunization schedule for 2020 includes several changes from 2019. The 2020 schedule has been revised to include updated information for hepatitis A, influenza, meningococcal B, Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis), DTaP (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY), and poliovirus vaccines. The immunization schedule is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and approved by the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and, for the first time, the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immunization Schedule for Adults Aged 19 Years or Older — United States, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The adult immunization schedule is updated every year, and provides a guide for health care providers to make sure adults ages 19 years or older get all the vaccines they need when they need them. The adult immunization schedule for 2020 includes several changes from 2019. The 2020 adult immunization schedule includes updates to the hepatitis A vaccine (HepA); the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; the influenza vaccine; the serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine; the pneumococcal vaccine; and the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap). The immunization schedule is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and approved by the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Licensure of a Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis, Inactivated Poliovirus, Haemophilus influenzae Type b Conjugate, and Hepatitis B Vaccine, and Guidance for Use in Infants

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

A new combination vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Haemphilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease, and hepatitis B has been licensed, but won’t be available before 2021. In late 2018, the Food and Drug Administration licensed a new combination vaccine that protects against six diseases. In June 2019, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to include this vaccine, known as Vaxelis, in the federal Vaccines for Children Program. Vaxelis provides protection against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Haemphilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease, and hepatitis B. This vaccine is licensed for use in children 6 weeks through 4 years old and is indicated for use in infants at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. Although licensed, the manufacturer has stated that the vaccine will not be commercially available in the United States before 2021.

Initial Public Health Response and Interim Clinical Guidance for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak — United States, December 31, 2019, February 3, 2020

• Percentage of Adults Aged 18–64 Years with a Usual Place for Health Care, by Race/Ethnicity — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2008 and 2018

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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.