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Rabies prevention and control efforts have been successful in reducing or eliminating virus circulation regionally through vaccination of specific reservoir populations. A notable example of this success is the elimination of canine rabies virus variant from the United States and many other countries. However, increased international travel and trade can pose risks for rapid, long-distance movements of ill or infected persons or animals. Such travel and trade can result in human exposures to rabies virus during travel or transit and could contribute to the re-introduction of canine rabies variant or transmission of other viral variants among animal host populations. We present a review of travel- and trade-associated rabies events that highlight international public health obligations and collaborative opportunities for rabies prevention and control in an age of global travel. Rabies is a fatal disease that warrants proactive coordination among international public health and travel industry partners (such as travel agents, tour companies and airlines) to protect human lives and to prevent the movement of viral variants among host populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bushmeat, defined as meat derived from wild animals, is a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. Bushmeat from restricted animals is illegal to import into the United States under US federal regulations. We reviewed US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) port of entry surveillance records from September 2005 through December 2010 and conducted focus group studies to describe trends in and reasons for bushmeat importation into the United States. In total, 543 confiscated bushmeat items were recorded. Half of the confiscated bushmeat items identified were rodents. Africa was the most frequent continent of origin. Seasonality was evident, with bushmeat confiscations peaking in late spring to early summer. Four times more bushmeat was confiscated during an enhanced surveillance period in June 2010 compared with the same period in previous years, suggesting that routine surveillance underestimated the amount of bushmeat detected at US Ports of Entry. Focus groups held in three major US cities revealed that bushmeat importation is a multifaceted issue. Longstanding cultural practices of hunting and eating bushmeat make it difficult for consumers to acknowledge potential health and ecologic risks. Also, US merchants selling African goods, including bushmeat, in their stores have caused confusion among importers as to whether importation is truly illegal. Enhancing routine surveillance for bushmeat and consistent enforcement of penalties at all ports of entry, along with health education aimed at bushmeat importers, might be useful to deter illegal importation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As many as 70 million Americans are functionally or marginally illiterate. Among the consequences: disproportionate numbers of illiterates are unemployed, 50 percent of inmates are illiterate, and illiterate parents are more likely to raise illiterate children. (SK)

Aquaculture, for better or worse, depends in part on drugs for the prevention, control and eradication of a variety of diseases. The US Food and Drug Administration's Centre for Veterinary Medicine, through the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, strictly controls the approval and use of drugs in animals, including aquatic animals. Laws and regulations exist that regulate the investigational use and approval of new animal drugs for all animals. However, in reality, these mandates must be uniquely interpreted for aquatic species. Very few drugs are approved for use in aquatic species. There is a growing effort by non-traditional sponsors (aquaculturists as opposed to pharmaceutical firms) to gain approvals for several new animal drugs. Simultaneously, the federal government, including the Centre for Veterinary Medicine, is working aggressively with the private and public aquaculture sectors to facilitate submission and subsequent approval of new animal drug applications. The drug approval procedures and requirements for aquatic animals are discussed. Special attention is given to their similarities and differences, relative to traditional terrestrial animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors used data from the Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta, GA), National Hospital Discharge Survey, U.S. Census, and surveys of sexual activity in adolescent women to estimate age-specific rates of infectious syphilis, gonorrhea, and pelvic inflammatory disease requiring hospitalization among sexually experienced adolescent and young adult women in 1971 and 1976. Rates of all three diseases were highest in adolescents and declined exponentially with increasing age. Age-related reporting biases are unlikely to account for these findings. Aspects of adolescent sexual behavior and reproductive physiology are among plausible explanations. With the decline in age at first coitus in recent years, sexually transmitted diseases have become increasingly important factors in the health care of adolescents.

Recent guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control discuss prevention and control of Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Chlamydia trachomatis is the commonest sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The rate of infection has increased in the past 10 years. The guidelines do not discuss control of trachoma and only briefly discuss lymphogranuloma venereum. Education of health care professionals and the public about C. trachomatis is recommended, along with the establishment of a nationwide surveillance system.

In the past decade, the recognized spectrum of sexually transmitted diseases has widened to a complex array of agents and syndromes. The authors correlate diseases with responsible pathogens and discuss the numerous and interrelated changes in industrialized societies that have contributed to the epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases.