Early Identification and Prevention of the Spread of Ebola in High-Risk African Countries.

In the late summer of 2014, it became apparent that improved preparedness was needed for Ebola virus disease (Ebola) in at-risk countries surrounding the three highly affected West African countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia). The World Health Organization (WHO) identified 14 nearby African countries as high priority to receive technical assistance for Ebola preparedness; two additional African countries were identified at high risk for Ebola introduction because of travel and trade connections. To enhance the capacity of these countries to rapidly detect and contain Ebola, CDC established the High-Risk Countries Team (HRCT) to work with ministries of health, CDC country offices, WHO, and other international organizations. From August 2014 until the team was deactivated in May 2015, a total of 128 team members supported 15 countries in Ebola response and preparedness. In four instances during 2014, Ebola was introduced from a heavily affected country to a previously unaffected country, and CDC rapidly deployed personnel to help contain Ebola. The first introduction, in Nigeria, resulted in 20 cases and was contained within three generations of transmission; the second and third introductions, in Senegal and Mali, respectively, resulted in no further transmission; the fourth, also in Mali, resulted in seven cases and was contained within two generations of transmission. Preparedness activities included training, developing guidelines, assessing Ebola preparedness, facilitating Emergency Operations Center establishment in seven countries, and developing a standardized protocol for contact tracing. CDC's Field Epidemiology Training Program Branch also partnered with the HRCT to provide surveillance training to 188 field epidemiologists in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal to support Ebola preparedness. Imported cases of Ebola were successfully contained, and all 15 priority countries now have a stronger capacity to rapidly detect and contain Ebola.The activities summarized in this report would not have been possible without collaboration with many U.S and international partners (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/partners.html).

Trends in the Mexican infant mortality paradox over the past two decades.

PURPOSE: Mexicans in the United States have lower rates of several important population health metrics than non-Hispanic whites, including infant mortality. This mortality advantage is particularly pronounced among infants born to foreign-born Mexican mothers. However, the literature to date has been relegated to point-in-time studies that preclude a dynamic understanding of ethnic and nativity differences in infant mortality among Mexicans and non-Hispanic whites. METHODS: We assessed secular trends in the relation between Mexican ethnicity, maternal nativity, and infant mortality between 1989 and 2006 using a linked birth-death data set from one US state. RESULTS: Congruent to previous research, we found a significant mortality advantage among infants of Mexican relative to non-Hispanic white mothers between 1989 and 1991 after adjustment for baseline demographic differences (relative risk = 0.78, 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.98). However, because of an upward trend in infant mortality among infants of Mexican mothers, the risk of infant mortality was not significantly different from non-Hispanic white mothers in later periods. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the "Mexican paradox" with respect to infant mortality is resolving. Changing sociocultural norms among Mexican mothers and changes in immigrant selection and immigration processes may explain these observations, suggesting directions for future research.

Update on cases of delayed hemolysis after parenteral artesunate therapy for malaria - United States, 2008 and 2013.

Parenteral artesunate, a first-line treatment for severe malaria in several countries, is associated with increased survival and has a better safety profile compared with parenteral quinine or quinidine. However, parenteral artesunate has been associated with delayed hemolysis, leading to concerns about drug toxicity. Postartemisinin delayed hemolysis (PADH) can occur 1-3 weeks after initiation of treatment with artemisinin-based antimalarials such as artesunate and is characterized by a decline in hemoglobin levels amid hemolysis. CDC conducted a literature review and identified 18 cases of PADH since 2012, mostly in European travelers. In addition, malaria case reports were reviewed retrospectively, and active surveillance was implemented in the United States, identifying two additional PADH cases, for a total of 20. A few patients with PADH required blood transfusions, but among patients where complete follow-up information was available, all made a full recovery. Results from this review suggest that PADH occurs because of delayed clearance of once-infected erythrocytes, probably as a result of a pharmacologic effect of parenteral artesunate and not drug-related toxicity. Therefore, parenteral artesunate can still be considered a safe treatment for severe malaria and should remain an option for its treatment.

Depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder as determinants of preference weights for attributes of obstetric care among Ethiopian women.

BACKGROUND: Mental health, specifically mood/anxiety disorders, may be associated with value for health care attributes, but the association remains unclear. Examining the relation between mental health and attributes in a context where quality of care is low and exposure to suboptimal health conditions is increased, such as in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), may elucidate the association. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We assessed whether preference weights for obstetric care attributes varied by mental health among 1006 women from Jimma Zone, Ethiopia, using estimates obtained through a discrete choice experiment (DCE), a method used to elicit preferences. Facilities were described by several attributes including provider attitude and performance and drug/equipment availability. Mental health measures included depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used Bayesian models to estimate preference weights for attributes and linear models to investigate whether these weights were associated with mental health. We found that women with high depressive symptoms valued a positive provider attitude [ß = -0.43 (95% CI: -0.66, -0.21)] and drug/equipment availability [ß = -0.43 (95% CI: -0.78, -0.07)] less compared to women without high depressive symptoms. Similar results were obtained for PTSD. Upon adjusting for both conditions, value for drug/equipment availability was lower only among women with both conditions [ß = -0.89 (95% CI -1.4, -0.42)]. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We found that women with psychopathology had lower preference weights for positive provider attitude and drug/equipment availability. Further work investigating why value for obstetric care attributes might vary by psychopathology in SSA is needed.

A complex systems approach to evaluate HIV prevention in metropolitan areas: preliminary implications for combination intervention strategies.

BACKGROUND: HIV transmission among injecting and non-injecting drug users (IDU, NIDU) is a significant public health problem. Continuing propagation in endemic settings and emerging regional outbreaks have indicated the need for comprehensive and coordinated HIV prevention. We describe the development of a conceptual framework and calibration of an agent-based model (ABM) to examine how combinations of interventions may reduce and potentially eliminate HIV transmission among drug-using populations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multidisciplinary team of researchers from epidemiology, sociology, geography, and mathematics developed a conceptual framework based on prior ethnographic and epidemiologic research. An ABM was constructed and calibrated through an iterative design and verification process. In the model, "agents" represent IDU, NIDU, and non-drug users who interact with each other and within risk networks, engaging in sexual and, for IDUs, injection-related risk behavior over time. Agents also interact with simulated HIV prevention interventions (e.g., syringe exchange programs, substance abuse treatment, HIV testing) and initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a stochastic manner. The model was constructed to represent the New York metropolitan statistical area (MSA) population, and calibrated by comparing output trajectories for various outcomes (e.g., IDU/NIDU prevalence, HIV prevalence and incidence) against previously validated MSA-level data. The model closely approximated HIV trajectories in IDU and NIDU observed in New York City between 1992 and 2002, including a linear decrease in HIV prevalence among IDUs. Exploratory results are consistent with empirical studies demonstrating that the effectiveness of a combination of interventions, including syringe exchange expansion and ART provision, dramatically reduced HIV prevalence among IDUs during this time period. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Complex systems models of adaptive HIV transmission dynamics can be used to identify potential collective benefits of hypothetical combination prevention interventions. Future work will seek to inform novel strategies that may lead to more effective and equitable HIV prevention strategies for drug-using populations.

Community and health system factors associated with facility delivery in rural Tanzania: a multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Tanzania, a country with high maternal mortality, has many primary health facilities yet has a low rate of facility deliveries. This study estimated the contribution of individual and community factors in explaining variation in the use of health facilities for childbirth in rural Tanzania. METHODS: A two-stage cluster population-based survey was conducted in Kasulu District, western Tanzania with women with a recent delivery. Random intercept multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess the association between individual- and village-level factors and likelihood of facility delivery. RESULTS: 1205 women participated in the study. In the fully adjusted two-level model, in addition to several individual factors, positive village perception of doctor and nurse skills (odds ratio (OR) 6.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.47-18.31) and negative perception of traditional birth attendant skills (OR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04-0.40) were associated with higher odds of facility delivery. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that community perceptions of the quality of the local health system influence women's decisions to deliver in a clinic. Improving quality of care at first-level clinics and communicating this to communities may assist efforts to increase facility delivery in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the neighborhood and depressive symptoms.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The present review focuses on recent findings about the relation between neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms with particular attention paid to methodologic issues including application of theory, study design, and trajectories of depression. RECENT FINDINGS: The majority of recent studies found that deprivation, residential segregation, and residential instability were associated with increased depressive symptoms or depression independent of individual level characteristics, whereas a minority of studies suggested that individual level characteristics explained away the association between neighborhood level factors and depression. Of note was an increased application of longitudinal designs compared with previous studies. SUMMARY: Current research suggests that findings regarding the association between neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms remain unclear. We recommend a more rigorous approach to empirically test the theories that may explain the relation between neighborhood conditions and depression. Such an approach will highlight which neighborhood characteristics are important to consider analytically and the ways in which they are associated with depression. We may also learn whether contradictory findings reflect population differences or whether they are a result of measurement and statistical issues.