Publication of CDC Surveillance Summaries

Since 1983, CDC has published the CDC Surveillance Summaries under separate cover as part of the MMWR series. Each report published in the CDC Surveillance Summaries focuses on public health surveillance; surveillance findings are reported for a broad range of risk factors and health conditions.

Summaries for each of the reports published in the most recent (December 1991) issue of the CDC Surveillance Summaries (1) are provided below. All subscribers to MMWR receive the CDC Surveillance Summaries, as well as the MMWR Recommendations and Reports, as part of their subscriptions.

BEHAVIORAL RISK FACTOR SURVEILLANCE, 1986-1990

Since 1984, an increasing number of states (including the District of Columbia) have participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This report provides state-specific estimates of the prevalence of selected health-risk behaviors for the years 1986 through 1990. Apparent trends and progress toward several of the year 2000 national health objectives are discussed, both for the entire adult population (persons ages greater than or equal to 18 years) and selected high-risk demographic subgroups. Now that BRFSS includes 45 states and covers over 90% of the nation's adult population, it can be used both as a measure of state-specific risk factor prevalence and an indicator of national trends. Authors: Paul Z. Siegel, M.D., M.P.H., Robert M. Brackbill, Ph.D., M.P.H., Emma L. Frazier, Ph.D., Peter Mariolis, Ph.D., Lee M. Sanderson, Ph.D., Michael N. Waller, State BRFSS Coordinators, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Branch, Office of Surveillance and Analysis, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.

RESULTS OF TESTING FOR INTESTINAL PARASITES BY STATE DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES, UNITED STATES, 1987

Results of 216,275 stool specimens examined by the state diagnostic laboratories in 1987 were analyzed; parasites were found in 20.0%. Percentages were highest for protozoans Giardia lamblia (7.2%), Entamoeba coli and Endolinax nana (4.2% each), Blastocystis hominis (2.6%), Entamoeba histolytica (0.9%), and Cryptosporidium species (0.2%). Identifications of G. lamblia increased broadly from the 4.0% average found in 1979, with 40 states reporting increases and seven decreases. Most states that identified Giardia in more than 9% of specimens were located around the Great Lakes or in the Northwest. Seasonally, Giardia identifications increased in the summer and fall, especially in northern states.

The most commonly identified helminths were nematodes: hookworm (1.5%), Trichuris trichiura (1.2%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (0.8%). Other less commonly identified helminths include Clonorchis and Opisthorchis species (0.6%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.4%), Hymenolepis nana (0.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.4%), and Taenia species (0.1%). Tape tests for Enterobius, reported for 35 states, were positive for 11.4% of 9597 specimens. Nine states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin) reported hookworms in more than 2% of specimens; none were states traditionally associated with indigenous transmission.

Cryptosporidium diagnoses, reported by 25 of 49 states, were recorded for the first time in a national survey and showed no significant regional clustering. The Giardia data revealed changes in rates of identification and in geographic patterns compared with state laboratory data collected a decade earlier (1976-1978). Authors: Karl K. Kappus, Ph.D., Dennis D. Juranek, D.V.M., M.Sc., Jacqueline M. Roberts, M.Sc., Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC.

Reference

1. CDC. CDC surveillance summaries. MMWR 1991;40(no. SS-4).

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