Guillain-Barré syndrome in the United States, 1978-1981: additional observations from the national surveillance system.

During the period January 1978-March 1981, 2,575 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) were reported by participating neurologists in the national GBS surveillance system. The incidence of GBS was highest in the 50- to 74-year-old age group, but a lesser peak was observed in persons aged 15 to 35. The frequencies of antecedent respiratory (43%) and gastrointestinal (21%) illness exceeded frequencies of such illnesses in the US population (10 and 0.8%, respectively), based on survey data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics; the differences in these frequencies of illness were similar in all seasons of the year, in males and in females, and in persons less than 6, 6 to 16, 17 to 44, and greater than 44 years of age. Nineteen percent of adult patients for whom information was available (67% of the total) reported receiving an A/New Jersey influenza vaccine in 1976, a lower percentage than would be expected on the basis of a survey conducted in that year. The data suggest that persons who received this vaccine have not been at increased risk and may even have been at decreased risk of acquiring GBS during the period covered by this study.

National surveillance for Guillain-Barré syndrome: January 1978-March 1979.

Between January 1, 1978, and March 31, 1979, 1,034 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) were reported to the Centers for Disease Control by the 1,813 American Academy of Neurology sentinel physicians who participated in the national GBS surveillance program. A direct correlation was observed between increasing age and the age-specific attack (incidence) rates. Based on the cases observed and the total US population, age-adjusted attack rates were statistically higher in males (0.52 per 100,000) than in females (0.40). Rates for whites were 0.44 and those for blacks 0.28 per 100,000; although the difference is statistically significant, uncertainties as to the true denominators by race preclude acceptance of these differences as valid. Sixty-seven percent, or 682 of the patients, reported that they had had an antecedent illness within 8 weeks before onset of GBS, and among them the peak period of onset of GBS was in the second week after the onset of the prior illness. There were also 52 patients (5%) who had undergone surgery and 45 (4.5%) who had received vaccinations, both within the 8 weeks before onset of GBS. However, the high proportions of antecedent illness in these groups (45% of those operated and 53% of those vaccinated) made attribution of GBS to the procedures tenuous. Risk of GBS in patients who reported receiving a swine influenza vaccination in 1976 was no greater than in those who reported that they did not receive this vaccine.

Community outbreak of thyrotoxicosis: epidemiology, immunogenetic characteristics, and long-term outcome.

Between January and March 1984, the first community outbreak of transient thyrotoxicosis in the United States was documented in a seven-county area of southeastern Nebraska; 36 of the total 49 patients resided in York County (2.4 cases per 1,000 population). The median age of patients was 36 years, range six to 82 years; 51 percent were women. By definition, all patients were symptomatic, visited a physician, and had a newly identified elevated serum concentration of thyroxine or triiodothyronine of unknown cause. None had a goiter or a painful thyroid gland. Low 131I uptake measurements were found in all nine patients studied. Six patients were hospitalized; none died. Investigation of all 12 household contacts of eight selected patients revealed five additional persons with thyrotoxicosis and four with asymptomatic hyperthyroxinemia. A case-control study revealed that illness was associated with a significantly higher frequency of a reported recent respiratory viral-like condition. In another case-control study, the HLA-DR3 antigen was present in more case subjects (39 percent) than control subjects (14 percent). In addition, a significantly higher proportion of patients than control subjects purchased beef from one of the three supermarkets in York Country. Concomitant with the outbreak, the supermarket implicated in the outbreak purchased an unusually large quantity of beef (7,000 pounds) from a nonregular supplier in Nebraska, which had reportedly instituted the practice of trimming gullets (a procedure that removes the muscles from bovine larynx for beef) about three months earlier. Thus, it is concluded that the Nebraska outbreak, like one in Minnesota that occurred 18 months later, probably resulted from patients having eaten ground beef that was contaminated with bovine thyroid gland. This form of thyrotoxicosis, perhaps misdiagnosed as painless thyroiditis in the past, probably represents a previously under-recognized public health problem.

A cluster of cases of Reye syndrome associated with chickenpox.

In the spring of 1980, four confirmed, and three possible cases of Reye syndrome, each associated with a chickenpox prodromal illness, were identified in Las Cruces, NM. One patient, a 5-year-old girl, died. Cases tended to occur in one section of the community, among children attending two of the 16 elementary schools. A telephone survey of parents with school-aged children (6 to 9 years old) suggested that a significantly greater attack rate of chickenpox occurred in children attending those two schools. Based upon this survey and the expected distribution of chickenpox among children less than 15 years of age, the incidence of Reye syndrome following chickenpox infection in the county in which Las Cruces is located was estimated to be 2.5/10,000 cases of chickenpox; these data reveal a four- to ninefold greater incidence of Reye syndrome than that following influenza B infections, which was previously estimated based upon a cluster of five cases in a county in Michigan. Additional investigations of Reye syndrome clusters are needed in an effort to identify and study suspected risk factors and to better define the relationship between Reye syndrome and viral infections.

National surveillance of Kawasaki disease.

Information about 261 cases of Kawasaki disease (KD) was reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) between July 1976 and July 1978. KD occurred at all times of the year in young, previously healthy children throughout the United States. KD was more common in infants and toddlers, males, and Asian and part-Asian children. The illness was characterized by acute onset of prolonged high fever; maculopapular or scarlatiniform rash; adenopathy; injection of the conjunctival and mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract; redness of the palms and soles; indurative edema of the extremities; desquamation, arthralgias; and elevated white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and platelet count. Complications included gallbladder disease and carditis; 2.8% died. Surviving patients were hospitalized for a mean of 8.9 days.

National surveillance for Reye syndrome: a five-year review.

National surveillance for Reye syndrome conducted during five years, including the period 1973-1974 and December 1976 through November 1980, has resulted in the reporting of more than 2,000 cases of Reye syndrome. The highest reported incidence of Reye syndrome occurred during years of primary influenza B and A (H1N1) activity; the reported incidence during one period of influenza A (H3N2) activity was somewhat lower. Regional outbreaks of Reye syndrome have been associated with influenza A (H1N1) and B but now with influenza A (H3N2). Cases of Reye syndrome in whites tend to be distributed throughout all age groups whereas a large percentage of cases in blacks have been reported in infants less than 1 year of age in three of the past four years. Nationally, there has been a decline in the case-fatality ratio in recent years.

Risk of respiratory illness associated with day-care attendance: a nationwide study.

The risk of respiratory and other illnesses in children (age groups: 6 weeks through 17 months, 18 through 35 months, and 36 through 59 months) in various types of day-care facilities was studied. Children considered exposed to day care were those who were enrolled in day care with at least one unrelated child for at least 10 hours per week in each of the 4 weeks before the interview; unexposed children were not enrolled in any regular child care with unrelated children and did not have siblings younger than 5 years of age receiving regular care with unrelated children. Although an increased risk of respiratory illness was associated with attending day care for children in all three age groups, this risk was statistically significant only for children 6 weeks through 17 months of age (odds ratio = 1.6; 95% confidence interval = 1.1 to 2.4) and children 18 through 35 months of age who had no older siblings (odds ratio = 3.4; 95% confidence interval = 2.0 to 6.0). In contrast, day-care attendance was not associated with an increased risk of respiratory illness in children 18 through 35 months of age with older siblings (odds ratio = 1.0). For children aged 6 weeks through 17 months, the exposure to older siblings was associated with an increased risk of respiratory illness; however, for children aged 36 through 59 months, older siblings were protective against respiratory illness. In addition, for the children in each age group currently in day care, increased duration of past exposure to day care was associated with a decreased risk of respiratory illness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

National Reye syndrome surveillance, 1982.

Despite the fact that influenza B was the primary influenza virus strain during the winter of 1981-1982, only 213 cases of Reye syndrome were reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) between Dec 1, 1981 and Nov 30, 1982. This national reported incidence of 0.33 cases per 100,000 children less than 18 years of age is the lowest reported incidence since the Centers for Disease Control began surveillance in 1973. This relatively low incidence probably reflected, at least in part, the fact the influenza B activity was spotty and the illness relatively mild the winter of 1981-1982. The 213 cases were reported from 43 states; and in 56% of the patients, Reye syndrome occurred following a respiratory illness. The mean age of the children was 7.0 years; there were equal numbers of girls and boys; and 93% were white. Of the ten black patients, 80% were less than 1 year of age compared with 9% of the white patients. Of the 208 patients with reported admission stage, 45% were admitted in stage I or 0, a slightly lower proportion than that observed in the previous 2 years. Salicylate levels were obtained in 55% of the patients and were reported as "detectable" in 81% compared with 96% in 1981 (P = .003, chi 2). Of the 200 patients with known outcome, 70 patients died (a case fatality ratio of 35%).

Changing epidemiology of Reye syndrome in the United States.

The average annual incidence of Reye syndrome reported through national surveillance was lower during 1981 to 1984 than during the previous five surveillance years. This is accounted for by a decrease in cases among children younger than 10 years of age; the number of cases in 10- to 19-year-old persons remained relatively stable during this period. The overall decline in incidence and the differing age-specific incidence trends are apparent for both varicella-associated cases and for nonvaricella-associated cases. During 1985, the incidence has been much lower than during any previous year since surveillance was initiated; this most recent decrease includes children 10 to 19 years of age. Independently conducted surveys suggest that the prevalence of salicylate use for viral illnesses has decreased among children in recent years, particularly among children younger than 10 years of age. The changing epidemiology of Reye syndrome may reflect, in part, the declining use of salicylates among children and teenagers in the United States.

Outbreak of Kawasaki syndrome in Denver, Colorado: association with rug and carpet cleaning.

Between October 1984 and January 1985, the largest outbreak of Kawasaki syndrome reported to date in the continental United States (62 cases) occurred in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, extending from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Fifty-two (84%) of these Kawasaki syndrome patients lived in the Denver metropolitan area. A case-control study revealed that 16 (62%) of 26 Kawasaki syndrome patients compared with 10 (20%) of 49 matched control subjects had a history of exposure to shampooed (19%) or spot-cleaned (81%) rugs or carpets within 30 days of the Kawasaki syndrome onset date (odds ratio = 5, P less than .01). The time of exposure to shampooed or spot-cleaned rugs or carpets for 9 of 10 Kawasaki syndrome patients who had a single exposure and for all 6 Kawasaki syndrome patients who had multiple exposures were clustered within an interval 13 to 30 days before the onset of illness. Although the reason for this unusually large outbreak remains obscure, it is the third in which a statistically significant association between Kawasaki syndrome and rug or carpet cleaning has been found.

Measles immunity in a population of healthcare workers.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate measles seroprevalence among cohorts of new employees and to evaluate vaccine responses of susceptible adult healthcare workers. DESIGN: New employees were screened for measles susceptibility as part of employee evaluations. Anti-IgG measles antibody tests were completed on 2,473 workers. Demographic, measles history, and measles vaccination information was collected using a short questionnaire. Susceptible workers were vaccinated and screened for vaccine responses following vaccination. RESULTS: Ninety-three workers (4%) were seronegative, and 56 (2%) were equivocal. Individuals in the youngest cohort (born after 1956) were significantly more likely to be susceptible than those in the middle cohort (born 1951 to 1956) and those in the oldest cohort (born before 1951) (P < 0.01). The middle cohort included eight (5%) of the 149 seronegative or equivocal workers. Among the members of the youngest cohort, those from the United States were more likely to be susceptible (P < 0.01) than those from outside the United States. Of the 106 vaccinated susceptible workers whose follow-up serologies were determined, 90 (85%) developed positive IgG serologies, six had equivocal results, and 10 were seronegative. Eleven of the 16 non- or hyporesponders were revaccinated and re-evaluated; nine developed low positive IgG antimeasles levels, one exhibited an equivocal response, and one failed to respond. CONCLUSIONS: A small but important proportion of healthcare workers are susceptible to measles. Whenever feasible, measles immunity programs for healthcare workers should include workers born before 1957. Of workers born after 1956, those from outside the United States are more likely to be immune than workers from inside the United States. Using the currently available vaccine, revaccination of initial non- or hyporesponders appears to be effective.

Surveillance for California encephalitis group virus illness in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 1978.

During the summer and fall of 1978, active surveillance for encephalitis in southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota resulted in the detection of the largest number of cases of California encephalitis group (CEG) virus infections ever documented in that region, where CEG virus is known to be endemic. A total of 75 laboratory-confirmed and eight presumptive cases of CEG virus infections were identified as a result of serologic testing completed in the Wisconsin and Minnesota State Laboratories. Cases included 46 residents of Wisconsin, 25 of Minnesota, 10 residents of Iowa and two from Illinois. The outbreak peaked during the last half of August and the first half of September. Eighty percent of patients were less than 10 years of age; only one case was documented in an adult (greater than or equal to 18 years). The clinical picture in patients ranged from mild aseptic meningitis to encephalitis with coma; convulsions occurred in 31% (22/72) of patients. One patient, a 3-year-old girl, died. The high incidence of infection detected in this investigation may be representative of the endemic incidence of CEG illness in the region and suggests that CEG infections in children residing in endemic areas in Wisconsin and Minnesota may be a greater public health problem than previously recognized.

Human parvovirus B19 and pregnancy.

Although B19 infection during pregnancy usually has no adverse effect on the fetus, it can cause fetal death. Recent studies make it possible to estimate risk of infection following different types of exposure and the risk of fetal death after infection. The most common clinical manifestations of B19 infection are erythema infectiosum and aplastic crisis in patients with chronic hemolytic anemias.

Reye's syndrome.

The most important recent development in our understanding of Reye's syndrome is the epidemiologic evidence linking this disease to aspirin in the United States. Assessment of epidemiologic issues of concern raised in prior studies did not explain the extremely high odds ratios observed in more recent studies. The observation of a dose-response relation between risk of Reye's syndrome and dose of aspirin ingested during the antecedent illness provides further supportive evidence for a causal link between Reye's syndrome and aspirin. Additional evidence for this association in the United States is provided by a marked decline in the use of aspirin among children in the United States, which has been accompanied by a dramatic decline in the incidence of Reye's syndrome. In contrast to experience in the United States, Reye's syndrome affecting primarily children aged 5-15 years has been relatively rare in Great Britain and Australia where acetaminophen rather than aspirin is the primary analgesic/antipyretic used. With the declining incidence of aspirin use in the United States, Reye's syndrome among children aged 5-15 years is becoming increasingly rare in the United States as well and, as in Great Britain and Australia, an increasing proportion of cases are being reported in children aged less than five years. Recent reports have suggested that many children younger than age five years who are thought to have the disease may be shown to have other metabolic disorders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum malaria to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine ('Fansidar') in a refugee camp in Thailand.

Since it was first introduced 'Fansidar' (pyrimethamine 25 mg, sulfadoxine 500 mg) has been the preferred treatment for uncomplicated chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Thailand. Because many patients at a refugee camp in Thailand did not seem to be responding to therapy 9 patients who received fansidar for P. falciparum infection were followed up with serial parasite counts. In all of them the infection was resistant to fansidar. The results of this study suggest that fansidar resistance is prevalent at this camp and should prompt more exhaustive studies of the epidemiology of fansidar resistance in the area.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections and exanthems.

A review of the medical literature and two case reports of M. pneumoniae infections with exanthems are presented. Erythematous maculopapular and vesicular exanthems were most common. The duration of rash was more than seven days in the majority of instances, and most patients had associated pneumonia. A striking difference in prevalence and clinical symptomatology by sex was noted; 16 of 20 patients analyzed were males, and they frequently dad severe mucocutaneous syndromes. In contrast, severe conjunctivitis, generalized ulcerative stomatitis, and vesicular or bullous exanthems were not seen in females. Clinicians should suspect infection with M. pneumoniae in patients with exanthem and pneumonia, although other etiologic possibilities should also be considered.

Reye's syndrome and aspirin. Evidence for a dose-response effect.

Data collected from the Public Health Service Main Study of Reye's Syndrome and Medications were analyzed to assess the relationship between the development of Reye's syndrome and the dose of aspirin received during the antecedent respiratory or chickenpox illness. Among those exposed to aspirin, case-patients were found to have received greater average daily and maximum daily doses of aspirin and greater doses of aspirin on the first four days of the antecedent illness (median, 25.1 mg/kg; 33.0 mg/kg; and 65.4 mg/kg; respectively) than did controls (median, 14.5 mg/kg; 19.0 mg/kg; and 27.0 mg/kg; respectively). The excess risk associated with increasing aspirin doses was due primarily to intermediate levels of dose (eg, 15 to 27 mg/kg per day) rather than higher levels (greater than 27 mg/kg per day). The dose difference between exposed case-patients and controls was greatest on days 3 and 4 of the antecedent illness.