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QuickStats: Asthma* Death Rates, by Race and Age Group — United States, 2007–2009
Weekly
May 4, 2012 / 61(17);315
*Deaths from asthma are those coded J45–J46 in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision.
† 95% confidence interval.
In 2007–2009, the asthma death rate in the United States was higher for blacks than whites overall and for each age group, except persons aged ≥75 years, for whom the difference was not statistically significant. The rate for blacks aged 0–14 years was almost eight times greater than for whites in that age group. The rate for blacks aged 65–74 years was only approximately three times higher than for whites in that age group. Asthma death rates increased with age for blacks and whites.
Alternate Text: The figure above shows asthma death rates, by race and age group in the United States during 2007-2009. In 2007-2009, the asthma death rate in the United States was higher for blacks than whites overall and for each age group, except persons aged ≥75 years, for whom the difference was not statistically significant. The rate for blacks aged 0-14 years was almost eight times greater than for whites in that age group. The rate for blacks aged 65-74 years was only approximately three times higher than for whites in that age group. Asthma death rates increased with age for blacks and whites.
“…..NowClinic, which started in 2010 and has expanded into 22 states, is part of the explosion of Web- and telephone-based medical services that experts say are transforming the delivery of primary health care, giving consumers access to inexpensive, round-the-clock care for routine problems — often without having to leave home or work.
Insurers such as UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna, and large employers such as General Electric and Delta Air Lines are getting on board, pushing telemedicine as a way to make doctor “visits” cheaper and more easily available. Proponents also see it as an answer to a worsening doctor shortage.
But some physician and consumer groups worry about the trend….”
Officials said the plot, timed to occur about a year after the death of Osama bin Laden, involved a more advanced version of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate on a plane over Detroit in December 2009.
By Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzza, The Associated Press / May 7, 2012
“The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger’s underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S….”
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Release Number: R10-12-013
SEATTLE, Wash. — National Arson Awareness Week is being observed May 6-12. This year’s theme is Prevent Youth Firesetting. According to FEMA Regional Administrator Ken Murphy, we all need to join in a collaborative effortwith fire and emergency service departmentsto zero in on the importance of helping reduce the occurrenceof fires caused by children playing with fire.
It’s important to set a good example for our children,” said Murphy. Use matches, lighters, and fire carefully, as children will imitate adult behavior.”
According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), fires started by children playingaccounted for an average of 56,300 fires per year between 2005 and 2009, with associated annual losses of 110 deaths, 880 injuries and $286 million in direct property damage.
To help prevent children in your household from setting fires, never leave matches or lighterswithin their reach. Keep matches and lighters in high, locked cabinets. In addition, praise your child for practicing responsible behaviorand showing respect for fire.
For more information on Arson Awareness Week and youth firesetter prevention, visit the USFA website at www.usfa.fema.gov/aaw/.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Announcements: Drinking Water Week — May 6–12, 2012
Weekly
May 4, 2012 / 61(17);313
The United States has one of the safest public drinking water supplies in the world (1). Tap water not only provides water for daily activities such as drinking, bathing, and cooking, it also benefits the entire community by providing water to serve businesses, schools, and hospitals, and to promote overall health (2). May 6–12, 2012, is Drinking Water Week, an annual observance whose theme, “Water: Celebrate the Essential,” underscores the many services provided by public drinking water systems in the United States (3).
Disinfection and treatment practices, as well as the environmental regulation of water pollutants, have improved domestic water quality substantially during the past century and have led to a dramatic decrease in the incidence of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever (4–6). Despite these improvements, sources of drinking water still can become contaminated, leading to adverse health effects (7).
New challenges to the U.S. water supply include an aging drinking water infrastructure, the impact of climate change on water availability and quality, chemical contamination of water sources, emerging pathogens, and the development of new ways to obtain and use water. Drinking Water Week is a time to highlight the importance of safe drinking water and recognize that protecting and reinvesting in water infrastructure is crucial to the health of persons living in the United States.
Cutler D, Miller G. The role of public health improvements in health advances: the 20th century United States. Working paper 10511. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research; 2004. Available at http://www.nber.org/papers/w10511.pdf . Accessed April 24, 2012.
US Environmental Protection Agency. Drinking water contaminants. Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency; 2011. Available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html. Accessed April 24, 2012.
Announcements: National Nurses Week — May 6–12, 2012
Weekly
May 4, 2012 / 61(17);313
Credit: NIH
CDC and other public health agencies are honoring nurses during National Nurses Week, May 6–12, 2012. This year’s theme is “Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring.”
The nursing profession plays a critical role in improving patient outcomes, increasing access, coordinating care, and reducing health-care costs. The Affordable Care Act and the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing report place nurses at the center of health-care transformation in the United States. Numerous studies have shown that patients fare worse when nurse staffing is inadequate, with poorer health outcomes, more complications, less satisfaction, and greater likelihood of death. A 2011 report linked inadequate nurse staffing with increased patient mortality (1).
Hospitals remain the most common employment setting for registered nurses (RNs) in the United States, increasing from 57.4% of employed RNs in 2004 to 62.2% in 2008. Vaccination providers or those who supervise vaccination providers typically are nurses. In 2011, in the annual Gallup poll, nurses were rated the most trusted profession in United States for the 12th time in 13 years (2). Nurses’ honesty and ethics were rated “very high” or “high” by 84% of poll respondents.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — “U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security says she is monitoring the possibility of hijackers trying to smuggle bombs on aircraft by implanting explosives inside their bodies.
Janet Napolitano said….there was no imminent threat, but that the prospect was real…..”
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Credit: NIH
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