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Objectives. CD4 lymphocyte counts decrease with the duration of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We used CD4 counts collected for clinical reasons to evaluate the stage of HIV infection and the epidemiology of recent HIV infections among attendees of South Carolina's public health clinics. Methods. We measured the CD4 T-lymphocyte counts of persons newly diagnosed with HIV infection April 1989 through June 1990 at South Carolina public health clinics who returned for follow-up. Results. Of 812 newly diagnosed HIV-infected health department patients, 420 (52%) had their CD4 lymphocyte counts measured. Of these 420, 51 (12%) had CD4 counts of <200, the level below which prophylaxis for pneumocystis pneumonia prolongs survival, and 193 (46%) had CD4 counts of <500, the level below which zidovudine may prolong disease-free survival. The highest CD4 counts (≥900), which are associated with more recent HIV infection, were more common in females. Conclusions. In South Carolina, almost half of newly reported HIV-infected persons who agreed to CD4 testing at the health department might benefit from immediate drug therapy. Within this population, women may be an emerging risk group that requires specifically directed HIV prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1987 and 1988, exposures to eight pet wild raccoons in South Carolina and West Virginia resulted in administration of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis to 19 children and 26 adults. All eight raccoons appeared normal at the time of capture, and three had no signs of illness when sacrificed. The direct medical cost resulting from these exposures was $23,714 ($527 per person). Regulations and public education may help decrease this type of rabies exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines the acceptability of health department notification of sex and needle-sharing partners of persons infected with HIV in South Carolina. Concerns of several HIV-infected persons regarding the system of health department notification of HIV exposure; Prevalence of HIV infection in South Carolina since February 1986; Factors that contribute to high participation rate in initial testing and counseling and the high approval rates for notification of HIV exposure.

Outbreaks of bacterial spot on tomato (BST) caused by Xanthomonas perforans are a major concern for sustainable crop production. BST is a common occurrence in tomato transplants grown for field production. We hypothesized that BST outbreaks in commercial fields originate from X. perforans strains inadvertently introduced from commercial transplant facilities. To test this hypothesis, we used a genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis to characterize X. perforans strains recovered from tomato transplant facilities and fields in commercial production areas. X. perforans strains were isolated from symptomatic transplants prior to roguing at two commercial transplant growers. Then, the same groups of transplants were tracked to commercial fields to recover X. perforans strains from diseased plants prior to harvest. Whole-genome sequencing was carried out on 84 strains isolated from transplant and field plants from Florida and South Carolina. SNPs were called using three reference strains that represented the genetic variation of the sampled strains. Field strains showing genetic similarity to transplant strains had a difference of 2 to 210 SNPs. Transplant and field strains clustered together by grower within each phylogenomic group, consistent with expectations. The range of genetic divergence among strains isolated from field plants was similar to the range obtained from strains on transplants. Using the range of genetic variation observed in transplants, we estimate that 60% to 100% of field strains were an extension of the transplant strain population. Our results stress the importance of BST management to reduce X. perforans movement from transplant to field and to minimize subsequent disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]