Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

During the past few decades, wide disparities in tobacco product use have been documented among the largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States; however, little is known about tobacco product use among youths from racial/ethnic groups other than whites, blacks, and Hispanics.

August 31, 2018, is International Overdose Awareness Day, a global event to raise awareness that death from drug overdose is preventable.

In 2016, 63,632 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States, 42,249 (66.4%) of which involved opioids.

In May 2017, the Alaska Section of Epidemiology (SOE) was notified of an Anchorage resident with laboratory-confirmed mumps who reported exposure to an out-of-state visitor with mumps-like symptoms.

In January 2017, two local health departments notified the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of three cases of coccidioidomycosis among workers constructing a solar power installation (solar farm) in southeastern Monterey County. Coccidioidomycosis, or Valley fever, is an infection caused by inhalation of the soil-dwelling fungus Coccidioides, which is endemic in the southwestern United States, including California.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known cause of cervical cancer, as well as some oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, penile, and anal cancers. To assess trends, characterized by average annual percent change (AAPC), in HPV-associated cancer incidence during 1999-2015, CDC analyzed data from cancer registries covering 97.8% of the U.S. population

In 2016, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 5.87 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

In 2017, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists performed its sixth periodic Epidemiology Capacity Assessment, a national assessment that evaluates trends in workforce size, funding, and epidemiology capacity among state health departments.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine vaccination of persons aged 11-12 years with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY), and tetanus and reduced diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap).

The opioid epidemic affects multiple segments of the U.S. population.

August 20-24, 2018, marks the fifth annual Contact Lens Health Week.

Persons with disabilities face greater barriers to health care than do those without disabilities.

Contact lenses, when worn and cared for properly, are a safe and effective form of vision correction used by an estimated 45 million Americans.

Several countries in Europe and Australia are reporting an increasing incidence of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W (NmW) as a consequence of the rapid expansion of a single NmW clone belonging to clonal complex 11.

Ensuring access to and promoting use of effective contraception have been identified as important strategies for preventing unintended pregnancy.

In recent decades, public health awareness of health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations has increased.

In 2016, four in 10 adult day services centers had services that were designed to meet both the social and medical needs of their enrolled participants equally.

In the report "Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication --- Afghanistan, January 2017--May 2018," multiple incorrect spellings occurred because of a spell-check error. The errors are corrected online.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), ubiquitous in soil and water, usually infect immunocompromised persons.

Opioid use by pregnant women represents a significant public health concern given the association of opioid exposure and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, including preterm labor, stillbirth, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and maternal mortality.

As the opioid epidemic in the United States has continued since the early 2000s, most descriptions have focused on misuse and deaths. Increased cooperation with state and local partners has enabled more rapid and comprehensive surveillance of nonfatal opioid overdoses.

In 2016, the death rate in the United States for motor vehicle traffic injury was 11.7 per 100,000 standard population.

Zika virus infection can occur as a result of mosquitoborne or sexual transmission of the virus.

Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects, including structural abnormalities of the brain and eye.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria remain the only countries where transmission of endemic wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) continues.

During 2001-2016, the lung cancer death rates for the total population declined from 55.3 to 38.3 as well as for each racial/ethnic group shown.

Angiostrongyliasis is caused by infection and migration to the brain of larvae of the parasitic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis, or rat lungworm.

Three powerful and devastating hurricanes from the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season (Harvey [August 17-September 1], Irma [August 30-September 13], and Maria [September 16-October 2]) resulted in the deaths of hundreds of persons.

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is a preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust that can lead to premature death.

Children spend the majority of their time at school and are particularly vulnerable to the negative emotional and behavioral impacts of disasters, including anxiety, depressive symptoms, impaired social relationships, and poor school performance.

Tianeptine (marketed as Coaxil or Stablon) is an atypical tricyclic drug used as an antidepressant in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Vibrio cholerae serogroups O1 and O139 are toxigenic strains associated with epidemic cholera; however, other Vibrio cholerae serogroups, such as O75 and O141, can also produce cholera toxin, leading to a cholera-like illness identified as vibriosis.

Known foodborne disease agents are estimated to cause approximately 9.4 million illnesses each year in the United States.

From February to April 2016, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) confirmed mumps outbreaks at four universities (three public and one private).

Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

During 2010-2016, use of firearms was the most common method in the United States, followed by the use of instruments for cutting and piercing and then suffocation.

Approximately 11 million U.S. adults with a usual source of health care have undiagnosed hypertension, placing them at increased risk for cardiovascular events.