Antibody Responses after Classroom Exposure to Teacher with Coronavirus Disease, March 2020.

After returning from Europe to the United States, on March 1, 2020, a symptomatic teacher received positive test results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Of the 21 students exposed to the teacher in the classroom, serologic results suggested past infection for 2. Classroom contact may result in virus transmission.

Partner notification outcomes after integration of an on-site disease intervention specialist at a sexually transmitted disease clinic.

BACKGROUND: Partner notification services (PNS) are highly effective in reducing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We assessed outcomes of PNS before and after integration of an on-site disease intervention specialist (DIS) at a publicly-funded STD clinic. METHODS: From August 2014 to December 2015, patients testing positive for infectious syphilis or gonorrhea at the Rhode Island STD Clinic were referred to on-site DIS for partner notification. Data on PNS outcomes were reviewed for eight months before integration of DIS at the clinic and compared to eight months after. RESULTS: Of the 145 index patients referred for PNS during the study period (n = 58 before DIS integration, n = 87 after), 86% were interviewed. DIS integration resulted in a significantly greater proportion of index patients interviewed overall (92% versus 76%, p<0.01), on the day of diagnosis (85% versus 61%; p<0.01), and in person at the STD clinic (64% versus 11%; p<0.01). However, there was no significant difference in number of sexual partners named or treated. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating DIS at a publicly-funded STD clinic resulted in a greater number of index cases interviewed, a greater number interviewed in person, and a greater number interviewed on the day of diagnosis. Challenges remain in identifying and engaging partners for treatment.

Regionalization of perinatal care in Wisconsin: a changing health care environment.

Wisconsin has recently experienced a rapid increase in the number of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), from 6 in the 1970s to 18 in 2003. Over the last year, the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care (WAPC) convened meetings in response to threats to regionalized care and worsening of perinatal outcomes, noted especially in some racial/ethnic groups. WAPC defined actions to address quality improvement, including adoption of designations for levels of care published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, definition of perinatal outcomes sensitive to quality of care, collection and analysis of outcome data, and continued statewide discussions about the status of regionalized care and outcomes. WAPC invites others to join in cooperative efforts to address quality of care and responsible utilization of resources.

Development of guidelines on nonoccupational HIV postexposure prophylaxis for the state of Rhode Island.

The Brown University AIDS Program and the Rhode Island Department of Health joined with health care practitioners, researchers, and representatives of community-based health, social service, and advocacy organizations to create comprehensive guidelines on nonoccupational HIV postexposure prophylaxis for the state of Rhode Island. These guidelines offer health care practitioners detailed advice on the evaluation and management of blood or body fluid exposures outside the health care setting, e.g., through sexual assault, consensual sex, injecting-drug use, or needlestick injuries. In these circumstances, HIV postexposure prophylaxis serves those for whom primary prevention measures have failed or were impractical or impossible. The guidelines represent the end product of coordination among private and public, academic and nonacademic, clinician and layperson groups committed to decreasing the incidence of HIV infections in the state of Rhode Island. The guidelines serve as both a resource for health care practitioners and a means of educating them on this method of HIV prevention.