Pediatric Medicaid Visits for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in the Black Belt Region-Alabama, 2010-2018.

Areas of rural Alabama may be at risk for re-emergence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) where environmental conditions are favorable for STH transmission, including in the agricultural Black Belt region. We describe pediatric Medicaid STH visits in Alabama and compare STH visit rates in Black Belt counties with those of non-Black Belt counties. Alabama Medicaid visit claims among children aged 0-18 years who received an STH diagnosis during January 2010-December 2018 were examined. STH-related pediatric visits were uncommon, but several counties with higher STH rates were identified. Visit rates did not differ meaningfully when comparing Black Belt with non-Black Belt region counties (rate ratio: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.73-1.64). Additional studies examining STH prevalence among children living in communities at risk for STH in Alabama can further clarify STH burden and identify communities experiencing environmental and sanitation conditions favorable to STH endemicity.

Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Hospitalizations, by Region - United States, March-December 2020.

Persons from racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including experiencing increased risk for infection (1), hospitalization (2,3), and death (4,5). Using administrative discharge data, CDC assessed monthly trends in the proportion of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 among racial and ethnic groups in the United States during March-December 2020 by U.S. Census region. Cumulative and monthly age-adjusted COVID-19 proportionate hospitalization ratios (aPHRs) were calculated for racial and ethnic minority patients relative to non-Hispanic White patients. Within each of the four U.S. Census regions, the cumulative aPHR was highest for Hispanic or Latino patients (range = 2.7-3.9). Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 hospitalization were largest during May-July 2020; the peak monthly aPHR among Hispanic or Latino patients was >9.0 in the West and Midwest, >6.0 in the South, and >3.0 in the Northeast. The aPHRs declined for most racial and ethnic groups during July-November 2020 but increased for some racial and ethnic groups in some regions during December. Disparities in COVID-19 hospitalization by race/ethnicity varied by region and became less pronounced over the course of the pandemic, as COVID-19 hospitalizations increased among non-Hispanic White persons. Identification of specific social determinants of health that contribute to geographic and temporal differences in racial and ethnic disparities at the local level can help guide tailored public health prevention strategies and equitable allocation of resources, including COVID-19 vaccination, to address COVID-19-related health disparities and can inform approaches to achieve greater health equity during future public health threats.

Impact Of Supply- and Demand-Side Interventions Integrated with Antenatal Care on Use of Maternal Health Services-Western Kenya, 2013‒2014.

We evaluated whether antenatal supply-side and demand-side interventions in 10 public health care facilities (HCFs) increased the percentage of women who had four or more antenatal care (ANC4+) visits and HCF deliveries from baseline to follow-up compared with women in 10 public control HCFs in Kenya. We compared maternal registry data during baseline and follow-up periods between public intervention and public control HCFs; we added seven private intervention HCFs and five private control HCFs to evaluate an unanticipated pilot insurance program that enabled women to use private intervention HCFs. From baseline to follow-up, ANC4+ visits and HCF deliveries in public intervention HCFs were 1.64 and 1.19 times greater, respectively, than in public control HCFs. Health care facility deliveries were 1.5 times higher in private intervention HCFs than public intervention HCFs. Results suggested that the combined antenatal and insurance interventions motivated increased ANC4+ visits and HCF deliveries. Women appeared to prefer private HCFs for delivery.

Estimate of Burden and Direct Healthcare Cost of Infectious Waterborne Disease in the United States.

Provision of safe drinking water in the United States is a great public health achievement. However, new waterborne disease challenges have emerged (e.g., aging infrastructure, chlorine-tolerant and biofilm-related pathogens, increased recreational water use). Comprehensive estimates of the health burden for all water exposure routes (ingestion, contact, inhalation) and sources (drinking, recreational, environmental) are needed. We estimated total illnesses, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, deaths, and direct healthcare costs for 17 waterborne infectious diseases. About 7.15 million waterborne illnesses occur annually (95% credible interval [CrI] 3.88 million-12.0 million), results in 601,000 ED visits (95% CrI 364,000-866,000), 118,000 hospitalizations (95% CrI 86,800-150,000), and 6,630 deaths (95% CrI 4,520-8,870) and incurring US $3.33 billion (95% CrI 1.37 billion-8.77 billion) in direct healthcare costs. Otitis externa and norovirus infection were the most common illnesses. Most hospitalizations and deaths were caused by biofilm-associated pathogens (nontuberculous mycobacteria, Pseudomonas, Legionella), costing US $2.39 billion annually.

Assessment of quality of life as a tool for measuring morbidity due to Schistosoma mansoni infection and the impact of treatment.

Recently, health measurements have broadened to include the assessment of quality of life (QOL). This study was conducted to assess whether the short form of the World Health Organization (WHO) QOL questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) was an effective tool for measuring morbidity due to Schistosoma mansoni infection and whether it could detect an impact of treatment with praziquantel. A total of 724 adults 18-85 years of age were enrolled. At baseline, S. mansoni prevalence was 73.2% by stool examination and 75.4% by circulating cathodic antigen, and there was no association between infection status and WHOQOL-BREF scores. Six months after treatment, S. mansoni prevalence was lower and the proportion of persons with higher WHOQOL-BREF scores significantly increased among persons who were infected at baseline. However, a similar increase was observed in persons not infected at baseline. In areas of high prevalence, the WHOQOL-BREF may not be able to detect the benefits of schistosomiasis control programs.