MMWR News Synopsis

Articles

Health Care Utilization and Outcomes Associated with Accidental Poisonous Mushroom Ingestions — United States, 2016–2018

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In 2016, there were about 1,300 emergency department visits associated with accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms in the US. People should not eat wild mushrooms unless an expert identifies them. Accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms can cause severe illness and death. CDC authors estimated the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations from accidental poisonous mushroom ingestions and determined how often severe illness occurred. During 2016, an estimated 1,328 ED visits in the US were associated with accidentally ingesting poisonous mushrooms. During 2016–2018, nearly 1 in 10 patients seeking health care for an accidental poisonous mushroom ingestion had a serious adverse outcome, including arrythmia (irregular heartbeat), kidney failure, liver failure, and seizures. Distinguishing poisonous mushrooms from non-poisonous mushrooms is difficult, and cooking mushrooms does not remove or inactivate toxins. People should not eat wild mushrooms unless an expert identifies them. Increasing public awareness about the potential dangers of wild mushroom poisoning may help prevent serious illness.

Screening for HIV Among Patients at Tuberculosis Clinics —Results from Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment Surveys, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, 2015–2016

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Although the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal HIV screening at tuberculosis (TB) clinics, regardless of diagnosis, there are gaps in the implementation of its guidelines. Analysis of data from population-based HIV impact assessments conducted in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia from 2015 through 2016 identified gaps in HIV screening at TB clinics despite WHO and national guidelines recommending HIV testing and counseling for all clients. Among HIV-positive adults surveyed who were not tested for HIV at their TB clinic visit, 16% to 29% were unaware of their HIV status at the TB clinic visit. HIV-positive adults who visited a TB clinic had higher levels of awareness of their HIV status, antiretroviral use, and viral load suppression than those who never visited a TB clinic. TB clinics, like antenatal care (care before the birth of a child) services, may serve as entry points to help with diagnosing HIV and starting treatment.

First Identified Cases of SARS-CoV-2 Variant P.1 in the United States — Minnesota, January 2021 (Early Release March 3, 2021)

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Travel from the United Kingdom to the United States by a Symptomatic Patient Infected with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Variant — Texas, January 2021 (Early Release March 3, 2021)

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Association of State-Issued Mask Mandates and Allowing On-Premises Restaurant Dining with County-Level COVID-19 Case and Death Growth Rates — United States, March 1–December 31, 2020 (Early Release March 5, 2021)

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Body Mass Index and Risk for COVID-19–Related Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, Invasive Mechanical Ventilation, and Death — United States, March–December 2020 (Early Release March 8, 2021)

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• Opioid Overdose Deaths Before, During, and After an 11-Week COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order — Cook County, Illinois, January 1, 2018–October 6, 2020

The average number of fatal opioid overdoses in Cook County, Illinois increased during an 11-week COVID-19 stay-at-home order in the state last spring. Maintaining and expanding access to substance use disorder treatment – including online counseling, telehealth, and online support groups – are important to prevent overdose during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to curb the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, Illinois enacted a stay-at-home order March 21, 2020 and lifted it May 30, 2020. Investigators analyzed data from the Cook County medical examiner’s office to look at overdoses before, during, and after the stay-at-home order in Cook County. The number of weekly deaths were calculated for the weeks between January 2018 and October 2020. A total of 3,843 opioid overdose deaths occurred in Cook County in that time, with the weekly count of deaths ranging from 12 to 52. Between January 1, 2018 and December 14, 2019, there was an average of 23 opioid overdose deaths per week. However, during the subsequent 16 weeks, beginning in December 2019, the average number of deaths increased to 35 deaths per week, followed by a more pronounced increase during the 11-week stay-at-home order with an average of 43 deaths per week. In the 18 weeks after the stay-at-home order was lifted, the average weekly deaths sharply declined to 31 deaths per week.  Whether the observed increase during the stay-at-home order was a continuation of increases begun in the 16 weeks before the stay-at-home order or a spike temporally associated with the stay-at-home order is unclear. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, outreach, treatment, and recovery organizations have been able to resume some services and initiate others, including online counseling, expanded options for and access to medication for opioid use disorder via telehealth, expanded naloxone (a medication for overdose reversal) distribution, and creation of online support groups for persons in recovery. These measures might help prevent opioid overdoses and deaths, especially in the event of another stay-at-home order.

• Rates of Firearm-Related Deaths Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Selected Intent and Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2019

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