Mobile Version - January - February 2017
From the Director Dr. Jonathan Mermin
Happy New Year! In 2016, our work resulted in numerous achievements, including publishing a new YRBS data report that included data specific to lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and highlighting health risks faced by all young people; producing results from the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project that provided in-depth information on antimicrobial susceptibility of cases of gonorrhea; highlighting data that having access to syringe services programs is associated with a lower risk of HIV infection for persons who inject drugs; awarding funds to improve hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing, linkage to care, and treatment services; and having CDC´s work support a USPSTF recommendation encouraging providers to test for latent TB infection in populations at increased risk. These are great achievements, and there is much more to do. I look forward to working with you in 2017, a time of transition and change, but one during which NCHHSTP will thrive.
Annual TB Surveillance Report
CDC released the annual TB surveillance report, Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2015. Key findings from the report include: a total of 9,557 TB cases reported in the United States in 2015, which represents a 1.6% increase from 2014; overall annual TB incidence remained level at approximately 3.0 cases per 100,000 persons; people born outside of the United States continue to bear the burden of TB, largely because of reactivation of latent TB infection that occurred in their country of origin. The increase in TB cases underscores the need for more comprehensive public health approaches in TB prevention and control, including an expanded approach to test and treat latent TB infection, and strengthen existing systems to stop TB transmission. CDC has developed a slide set, fact sheet, infographic, and web graphics to support TB education and outreach to clinicians, health care agencies, and community organizations. To learn more, visit the CDC TB website.
AtlasPlus Launch
CDC will soon release AtlasPlus, an enhanced version of the original Atlas that includes better visuals of CDC´s most current data on HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs, and TB by county, state, or national level; side-by-side maps and charts; tables based on the exact subset of data to be analyzed; line graphs by year; pie charts by sex; bar charts by age, race/ethnicity, transmission category, country of birth, state and country; and myriad other combinations. AtlasPlus is also ready for the mobile user with a new responsive design.