Surveillance for Anthrax Cases Associated with Contaminated Letters, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, 2001

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Tan, Christina G. ; Sandhu, Hardeep S. ; Crawford, Dana C. ; Redd, Stephen C. ; Beach, Michael J. ; Buehler, James W. ; Bresnitz, Eddy A. ; Pinner, Robert W. ; Bell, Beth P.
• Corporate Authors:
  Regional Anthrax Surveillance Team ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention New Jersey Anthrax Surveillance Team
• Description:
  In October 2001, two inhalational anthrax and four cutaneous anthrax cases, resulting from the processing of Bacillus anthracis-containing envelopes at a New Jersey mail facility, were identified. Subsequently, we initiated stimulated passive hospital-based and enhanced passive surveillance for anthrax-compatible syndromes. From October 24 to December 17, 2001, hospitals reported 240,160 visits and 7,109 intensive-care unit admissions in the surveillance area (population 6.7 million persons). Following a change of reporting criteria on November 8, the average of possible inhalational anthrax reports decreased 83% from 18 to 3 per day; the proportion of reports requiring follow-up increased from 37% (105/286) to 41% (47/116). Clinical follow-up was conducted on 214 of 464 possible inhalational anthrax patients and 98 possible cutaneous anthrax patients; 49 had additional laboratory testing. No additional cases were identified. To verify the limited scope of the outbreak, surveillance was essential, though labor-intensive. The flexibility of the system allowed interim evaluation, thus improving surveillance efficiency.
• Subjects:
  Adult Anthrax Bioterrorism Coroners And Medical Examiners Equipment Contamination Female Hospitals Humans Inhalation Exposure Population Surveillance Postal Service Respiratory Tract Infections Skin Diseases, Bacterial Time Factors

  More +
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 8(10):1073-1077.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Delaware ; New Jersey ; Pennsylvania
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  10
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:556db900fe6ecad6539accd9414ffe21a29d12933b0bb29376bd3f3f151a8b17
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/14043/cdc_14043_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 313.58 KB ]