Friday, January 30, 2004

This Week in the News

Foege WH et al.
International Journal of Epidemiology
1976; 5:29-37

Epi Update Managing Staff:


John Agwunobi, MD, MBA, Secretary,  Department of  Health 

Landis Crockett, MD, MPH, Director, Division of Disease Control 

Don Ward, 
Acting Bureau Chief, 
Epi Update Managing Editor 

Jaime Forth, Copy Editor/ Writer 

A R T I C L E S

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Overweight and obesity in Florida, as well as the nation, has become a public health crisis. The proportion of adults in Florida who are overweight or obese has grown by 63% since 1986. Minority populations are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity; however, little information has been provided about the specific health behaviors and conditions that are related to overweight and obesity among minorities. To address this issue, the Bureau of Epidemiology is pleased to announce the publication of two new reports from the 2002 County BRFSS: "Overweight and Related Risk Factors Among non-Hispanic Blacks" and "Overweight and Related Risk Factors Among Hispanics".   

In these reports, “overweight” is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25. Non-Hispanic black adults were more likely to report as overweight compared to Hispanic and non-Hispanic white adults. The prevalence of being overweight was 66.7% among non-Hispanic Blacks and was higher among non-Hispanic Blacks between 45 and 64 years old than among those between 18 and 44 years old. However, just over one-quarter (26.3%) of non-Hispanic black Floridians who were overweight received advice to reduce their body weight in the past 12 months. Being older and having a lower educational level was positively associated with receiving advice by a health professional to change one’s eating and physical activity behaviors. 

The prevalence of overweight was 55.9 % among Hispanics and was not significantly from the prevalence of overweight among non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic men were more likely to report as overweight than were Hispanic women. Only 29.2% of Hispanic Floridians who were overweight were advised by a health professional to reduce their body weight in the past 12 months. The prevalence of being advised by a health professional to be more physically active was higher among people aged between 45 and 64 years than among people aged between 18 and 44 years. Finally, the prevalence of eating more fruits and vegetables was higher among people 65 years of age and older than among young adults (age between 18 and 44 years).   

Both of these reports are available on our website at http://www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/epi/brfss/reports.htm, under the heading "2002 County BRFSS Special Reports."

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In a proactive effort to halt the spread of H5N1, the strain that has been detected in birds in six Asian countries causing illness in humans, laboratory scientists at the World Health Organization are collaborating with the experts at CDC to produce a seed virus for a possible vaccine. The A strain has proved resistant to one class of anti-influenza drugs, which includes Symmetrel and Flumadiine. The resistance appears to stem from a change in one of the many amino acids in the avian flu virus. Confirmatory testing will be performed to substantiate the findings.

Other tests will be performed on neuraminidase inhibitors to determine their effect on the avian flu strain. These tests are expected to show that this second class of antiviral medications are more powerful against the virus.

After a seed virus is ready, it will take several months to produce a vaccine and then test it, first in animals and then in humans. In the meantime, another strain of the virus, H5N2, has been reported in Taiwan, which is causing a mild illness among poultry there.

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In this issue, we introduce you to another of our newest staff members, Melissa Murray, who coordinates the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

In addition to planning and overseeing survey development, Melissa analyzes the data for trends and changes, and produces reports that are used to formulate youth education and prevention programs. She trains county coordinators on the administration of the surveys and is also responsible for guiding their contract development. Melissa's expertise in statistical analysis, demographics and changes in population serve as the foundation for her work on the Chronic Disease Surveillance and Epidemiology Section team.

Originally from Miami, Melissa earned her BS from FSU in economics and international affairs. She lived and studied in Florence, Italy, learning about comparative governments and development of the Italian economy, and studied briefly in London to learn about bi-regional cooperation between the European union and various regional organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Her Masters Degree is from FSU in International Affairs with a focus in population studies and regional development, with a minor in women's studies. She speaks plausible French and Italian.

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The CDC is preparing to develop a series of scenarios designed to test the readiness of public health and emergency departments to respond to biological terrorism, especially with regard to smallpox threats, according to Associate Director for Terrorism Preparedness and Response Joseph Henderson. 

The testing would be conducted in late 2004, and enable officials at the CDC to determine how well the nation’s medical community as a whole assimilated the guidelines promulgated by the agency after its smallpox immunization program was announced by President Bush in late 2002. 

Most states fell far short of the outcome the CDC hoped to achieve with its smallpox readiness campaign. As of November 30, 2003, only 38,908 persons in 50 states had been vaccinated. As a result, the agency has changed its focus to smallpox readiness and created a new benchmark; the ability to vaccinate the entire population within 10 days of an attack.

For further information on this program and its implications, visit the CDC Website at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp

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Since Epi Update went online in 2002, our readers may have noticed tweaks and changes to our look as we seek the best way to present our information.  And although we're proud of the functional and aesthetic improvements to our pages, it's content which has always driven the decisions we make at the editorial level.

We aspire to provide articles which are relevant, topical, and, of course, accurate. To help us accomplish this, we're always on the lookout for articles from our readers which can inform and inspire the public health community in Florida.  If you're considering submitting an article (because you should be sharing your knowledge, you know!) here are a few guidelines.

• Do use 11 point Arial font
• Do not underline, bold or highlight portions of your text
• Charts and graphs should be attached to the e-mail as separate documents
• Submit only the final version of your article, not a draft
• Include the author's name, title and contact information

Finally, authors are responsible for the integrity and veracity their own research. All documents, however, are edited and may therefore be altered to conform to APA publishing standards. The deadline for article submissions is 5:00 p.m. each Tuesday afternoon for that week's edition.

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A confirmed case of P. vivax was logged on EpiCom this week.

In addition, major changes are being made to the system which will greatly enhance the ability of users to peruse the site quickly and post activity easily. Look for these changes next week.

The Bureau of Epidemiology encourages Epi Update readers not only to register with the EpiCom system at https://www.epicomfl.net but to browse EpiCom and to contribute public health observations related to any suspicious or unusual situations or circumstances as appropriate.

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Weekly Update: No Florida counties are under medical alert. In areas with mosquitoes present, people are still encouraged to take precautions against mosquito bites. 

WN Virus activity: There were 7 seroconversions confirmed in sentinel chickens from Indian River (2), Manatee (2), Sarasota (1) and Volusia (2) counties. 

EEE Virus activity: Two EEE-infected horses were reported in Alachua and Clay counties.

Wild and Captive Birds**: For capture counts and historical data, go to http://www.pherec.org/DECS and click on “Arbovirus Ecology” to download the database, then the "Bird Serology" tab. 

See the web page for maps and summary information on 2003 activity: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/hsee/arbo/index.htm

Disclaimer: Please note that data is subject to change with confirmatory information. 

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