Surveillance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in US Children Aged 5-11 Years Who Received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, November 2021 through March 2022.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection; in the United States, reporting of MIS-C after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is required for vaccine safety monitoring. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for children aged 5-11 years on 29 October 2021. Covering a period when approximately 7 million children received vaccine, surveillance for MIS-C ≤ 90 days postvaccination using passive systems identified 58 children with MIS-C and laboratory evidence of past/recent SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 4 without evidence. During a period with extensive SARS-CoV-2 circulation, MIS-C illness in children after COVID-19 vaccination who lacked evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was rare (<1 per million vaccinated children).

US Case Reports of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis With Thrombocytopenia After Ad26.COV2.S Vaccination, March 2 to April 21, 2021.

Importance: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with thrombocytopenia, a rare and serious condition, has been described in Europe following receipt of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (Oxford/AstraZeneca), which uses a chimpanzee adenoviral vector. A mechanism similar to autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) has been proposed. In the US, the Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine (Janssen/Johnson & Johnson), which uses a human adenoviral vector, received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on February 27, 2021. By April 12, 2021, approximately 7 million Ad26.COV2.S vaccine doses had been given in the US, and 6 cases of CVST with thrombocytopenia had been identified among the recipients, resulting in a temporary national pause in vaccination with this product on April 13, 2021. Objective: To describe reports of CVST with thrombocytopenia following Ad26.COV2.S vaccine receipt. Design, Setting, and Participants: Case series of 12 US patients with CVST and thrombocytopenia following use of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine under EUA reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from March 2 to April 21, 2021 (with follow-up reported through April 21, 2021). Exposures: Receipt of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine. Main Outcomes and Measures: Clinical course, imaging, laboratory tests, and outcomes after CVST diagnosis obtained from VAERS reports, medical record review, and discussion with clinicians. Results: Patients' ages ranged from 18 to younger than 60 years; all were White women, reported from 11 states. Seven patients had at least 1 CVST risk factor, including obesity (n = 6), hypothyroidism (n = 1), and oral contraceptive use (n = 1); none had documented prior heparin exposure. Time from Ad26.COV2.S vaccination to symptom onset ranged from 6 to 15 days. Eleven patients initially presented with headache; 1 patient initially presented with back pain and later developed headache. Of the 12 patients with CVST, 7 also had intracerebral hemorrhage; 8 had non-CVST thromboses. After diagnosis of CVST, 6 patients initially received heparin treatment. Platelet nadir ranged from 9 ×103/µL to 127 ×103/µL. All 11 patients tested for the heparin-platelet factor 4 HIT antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screening had positive results. All patients were hospitalized (10 in an intensive care unit [ICU]). As of April 21, 2021, outcomes were death (n = 3), continued ICU care (n = 3), continued non-ICU hospitalization (n = 2), and discharged home (n = 4). Conclusions and Relevance: The initial 12 US cases of CVST with thrombocytopenia after Ad26.COV2.S vaccination represent serious events. This case series may inform clinical guidance as Ad26.COV2.S vaccination resumes in the US as well as investigations into the potential relationship between Ad26.COV2.S vaccine and CVST with thrombocytopenia.

Knowledge and adoption of community mitigation efforts in Mexico during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The public's ability and willingness to adopt community mitigation efforts during a pandemic are debated in the literature. PURPOSE: Awareness and adoption of community mitigation efforts in Mexico during the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) (pH1N1) outbreak were measured to evaluate if the population received, understood, and acted on public health messages. METHODS: A cross-sectional representative household survey in Mexico City; San Luis Potosi (high case ratio); and Queretaro (low case ratio) was conducted in May and June 2009. Accounting for the complex survey design, percentages and 95% CI for answers to all questions were generated and compared based on living inside or outside Mexico City, high versus low prevalence of infection in the community, and perceived severity and knowledge of the virus. RESULTS: Greater than 90% of respondents received community mitigation messages and adopted one or more community mitigation efforts. There were few differences among cities. Respondents reported high cost of masks, soaps, and gels as barriers to community mitigation-effort adoption. Nearly one fifth of respondents, disproportionally from the lower socioeconomic tertile, found some messages confusing. Half of all households reported a negative economic impact resulting from the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: Mexico's community mitigation campaign reached the majority of the population in three surveyed cities. Confusion regarding messages and economic barriers to community mitigation-effort adoption were sometimes reported.

Epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in the United States, 1993-2006.

BACKGROUND: Almost one-fifth of United States tuberculosis cases are extrapulmonary; unexplained slower annual case count decreases have occurred in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB), compared with annual case count decreases in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. We describe the epidemiology of EPTB by means of US national tuberculosis surveillance data. METHODS: US tuberculosis cases reported from 1993 to 2006 were classified as either EPTB or PTB. EPTB encompassed lymphatic, pleural, bone and/or joint, genitourinary, meningeal, peritoneal, and unclassified EPTB cases. We excluded cases with concurrent extrapulmonary-pulmonary tuberculosis and cases of disseminated (miliary) tuberculosis. Demographic characteristics, drug susceptibility test results, and risk factors, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, were compared for EPTB and PTB cases. RESULTS: Among 253,299 cases, 73.6% were PTB and 18.7% were EPTB, including lymphatic (40.4%), pleural (19.8%), bone and/or joint (11.3%), genitourinary (6.5%), meningeal (5.4%), peritoneal (4.9%), and unclassified EPTB (11.8%) cases. Compared with PTB, EPTB was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-1.8) and foreign birth (OR, 1.5; CI, 1.5-1.6), almost equally associated with HIV status (OR, 1.1; CI, 1.1-1.1), and negatively associated with multidrug resistance (OR, 0.6; CI, 0.5-0.6) and several tuberculosis risk factors, especially homelessness (OR, 0.3; CI, 0.3-0.3) and excess alcohol use (OR, 0.3; CI, 0.3-0.3). Slower annual decreases in EPTB case counts, compared with annual decreases in PTB case counts, from 1993 through 2006 have caused EPTB to increase from 15.7% of tuberculosis cases in 1993 to 21.0% in 2006. CONCLUSIONS: EPTB epidemiology and risk factors differ from those of PTB, and the proportion of EPTB has increased from 1993 through 2006. Further study is needed to identify causes of the proportional increase in EPTB.

Isoniazid-monoresistant tuberculosis in the United States, 1993 to 2003.

BACKGROUND: Seven percent of tuberculosis (TB) cases reported to the US National Tuberculosis Surveillance System in 2005 had Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates with resistance to at least isoniazid. METHODS: We undertook this study to describe demographic characteristics, risk factor information, and treatment outcomes for persons with isoniazid-monoresistant (resistant to isoniazid and susceptible to rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol hydrochloride) TB compared with persons with TB susceptible to all first-line anti-TB drugs. RESULTS: The numbers of isoniazid-monoresistant TB cases increased from 303 (4.1%) in 1993 to 351 (4.2%) in 2005. In our multivariate analysis of all TB cases reported from 1993 to 2003, the races/ethnicities of patients with isoniazid-monoresistant TB were significantly more likely to be US-born Asian/Pacific Islander (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-2.6), foreign-born Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8; 1.4-2.1), foreign-born black non-Hispanic (1.4; 1.1-1.7), or US-born Hispanic (1.3; 1.1-1.5). Isoniazid monoresistance was also associated with failure to complete therapy within 1 year (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.8), a history of TB (1.5; 1.3-1.7), and correctional facility residence (1.5; 1.2-1.7). CONCLUSIONS: Isoniazid-monoresistant TB did not decline from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2005, despite national downward trends observed in overall TB cases and in multidrug-resistant TB cases. Physicians must ensure completion of treatment for patients taking isoniazid as part of their TB or latent TB infection therapy. In addition, physicians should maintain heightened vigilance for isoniazid resistance when evaluating certain at-risk populations for TB and latent TB infection.

Investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, 2006.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was diagnosed in a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan; an investigation was conducted to determine a screening strategy for 1,172 civilian passengers who were aboard during a temporary guest rider program. Sailors were screened for latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. A case-control study was conducted among sailors to determine factors associated with new LTBI. No secondary TB disease was identified; 13% of close contacts had new LTBI. Factors associated with new LTBI among sailors were having been born outside the United States (adjusted odds ratio = 2.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.55--5.07) and being a carrier air wing member (adjusted odds ratio = 2.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.83--4.58). Among 38 civilian passengers berthed near the patient, 1 (3%) had LTBI. The investigation results indicated that Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission was minimal and eliminated unnecessary TB screening for 1,134 civilians which saved public health resources.

Tuberculosis outbreak in marijuana users, Seattle, Washington, 2004.

Matching Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were noted among 11 young tuberculosis patients socially linked through illicit drug-related activities. A large proportion of their friends, 14 (64%) of 22, had positive tuberculin skin-test results. The behavior of "hotboxing" (smoking marijuana inside a closed car with friends to repeatedly inhale exhaled smoke) fueled transmission.