FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2007

Contact
Penny Shonkwiler, Program Coordinator
(217) 531-5371

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Urges Champaign County Residents to Become More Educated About the Effects of Tuberculosis in the Wake of the Recent CDC Federal Isolation Order

Champaign, IL – The recent federal isolation of a U.S. citizen by The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has draw attention to a disease which is responsible for over 2 million deaths a year, worldwide.  According to the CDC:

• One-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis (TB)
• 9 million people become ill with TB each year
• TB is the leading cause of death among HIV infected individuals

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is committed to the worldwide effort to eradicate tuberculosis.  CUPHD is working to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in Champaign County.  TB testing is offered every week at 710 North Neil in Champaign, and CUPHD works in conjunction with local healthcare agencies to provide follow-up testing and care for clients with active TB.  CUPHD nurses also perform TB testing in three local homeless shelters.

CUPHD sees a few active cases of tuberculosis per year.  In 2006, CUPHD performed over 1,000 TB tests.  Of those, 30 tested positive.  Additional testing revealed that 2 of those individuals had active (contagious) TB.  CUPHD diligently monitors all clients with active TB to minimize transmission of the disease to others.  Left untreated, one person with active TB can infect 10-15 people per year!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, TB disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities.  In 2005, 82% of all reported TB cases in the United States occurred in minorities.  Foreign-born individuals account for 55% of TB cases in the U.S.  In 2006 in Champaign County, that percentage was greater, with 100% of reported cases being foreign-born.  This high percentage is an unusual increase from last year’s 66%.

Symptoms of pulmonary TB include a persistent, phlegm-producing cough that lasts more than three weeks, chest pain, and coughing up blood.  Other symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

There has been a global emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB).  XDR TB is resistant to almost all drugs currently used to treat TB.  Over 1/2 million world wide cases of Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB), with only 19% of those cases being XDR, were reported in 2004.  In 2006, there were 14,097 cases of TB reported in the United States – only 15 of those cases were XDR TB.  There have been no reported cases of XDR TB in Champaign County.     

Only through the vigilance of health authorities everywhere can the disease be checked and, it is hoped, eliminated throughout the world.

Champaign-Urbana Health District TB clinic at 710 N. Neil, Champaign:

Skin Tests: Mondays, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. or Tuesdays, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Test results are read the following Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. or Friday 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact CUPHD, Division of Infectious Disease Prevention & Management, (217) 239-7827.

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Download 2007-05-31-XDR-TB-Quarantine-PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2009

Contact
Julie Pryde, Acting Public Health Administrator
(217) 531-5369 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927

CDC Releases Early Report of Serious Eye Infections Associated with Soft Contact Lens Solution

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborating with the Food and Drug Administration, state and other partners, has identified an outbreak of a serious but rare eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK).  This infection is caused by a free-living ameba (Acanthamoeba) a microscopic organism found everywhere in nature. Infections can result in permanent visual impairment or blindness. AK primarily affects otherwise healthy people, most of whom wear contacts lenses. In the United States, an estimated 85% of cases of this infection occur in contact lens users. The incidence of the disease in the U.S. is approximately one to two cases per million contact lens users.

CDC has received reports of 138 cases of culture-confirmed AK in 35 states and Puerto Rico, with complete patient data available for 46 case-patients. Thirty-nine of the 46 case-patients wore soft contact lenses. Preliminary information obtained by CDC from patient interviews indicates that, among soft contact lens users who reported the use of any type of solution, 21 (58%) reported having used Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) Complete® MoisturePlus ™  Multi-Purpose Solution in the month prior to symptom onset. Out of the 37 case-patients for whom clinical data was available, 9 (24%) failed medical therapy and required or are expected to undergo corneal transplantation.

Based on these findings people who wear soft contact lenses who use Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) Compete® MoisturePlus ™ Solution should: 

• Stop using the product immediately and discard all remaining solution including partially used or unopened bottles. Choose and alternative contact lens solution.
• Discard current lens storage container. o Discard current pair of soft lenses.
• See a health care provider if experiencing any signs of eye infection: Eye pain, eye redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensation of something in the eye, or excessive tearing.

All contact lens users should closely follow prevention measures to help prevent eye infections, which include o See an eye care professional for regular eye examinations.

• Wear and replace contact lenses according to the schedule prescribed by an eye care professional.
• Remove contact lenses before any activity involving contact with water including showering, using a hot tub, or swimming.
• Wash hands with soap and water and dry before handling contact lenses.
• Clean contacts lenses according to the manufacturer’s guidelines and instructions from an eye care professional.
• Use fresh cleaning or disinfecting solutions and rewetting drops to disinfect lenses. Neither solution is an effective or approved disinfectant.
• Never use saline solution and rewetting drops to disinfect lenses. Neither solution is an effective or approved disinfectant.
• Store reusable lenses in the proper storage case.
• Storage cases should be rinsed with sterile contact lens solution (never use tap water) and left open to dry after each use.
• Replace storage cases at least once every three months.

Clinicians evaluating contact lens users with symptoms of eye pain or redness, tearing, decreased visual acuity, discharge, sensitivity to light, or foreign body sensation should consider AK and refer the patient to an ophthalmologist, if appropriate. Diagnosis requires a high degree of suspicion, especially in a contact lens wearer with a recent diagnosis of another form of keratitis, such as herpes simplex virus keratitis, who is not responding to therapy. Diagnosis if made on the basis of clinical picture and isolation of organisms from corneal culture or detection if trophozoites and/or cysts on histopathology. However, a negative culture does not necessarily rule out Ancanthamoeba may also assist with diagnosis. Early diagnosis can greatly improve treatment efficacy.

Clinicians should consider obtaining clinical specimens (e.g., corneal scrapings) for culture before initiating treatment. Clinicians or microbiology laboratories should report cases of AK to state and local health departments or directly to CDC at telephone, 770488-7775. Acanthamoeba isolates should be submitted to state laboratories according to instructions provided by local and state public health laboratories.

For more information, see the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/acanthamoeba/index.htm

For more information, please contact CUPHD, Division of Infectious Disease Prevention & Management, and (217) 531-5361.

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Download 2007-05-29-CDC-Contact-Health-Alert-PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2007

Contact
Matthew Swearingen, Environmental Health

Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927

First Mosquitoes Test Positive for West Nile Virus in Illinois – Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Urges Residents to Take Simple Precautions

Champaign, IL – Illinois State Public Health, announced that mosquito samples collected in DuPage County have been confirmed as the first positive test results in Illinois this year for West Nile Virus.  A positive mosquito sample was collected from the communities of Naperville, Lisle and Woodridge.  There has not been any reported positive mosquito samples in Champaign County.

“The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is very diligent in sampling local mosquitoes and birds.  CUPHD realizes that West Nile Virus is a concern for our community, but would like to stress that the disease is not as prevalent nor as serious as many people think.” said Garry Bird, Director of Environmental Health at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.  “It is estimated that only 20% of those infected will develop West Nile Fever, and of those only 1 in 150 will develop a more severe form of the disease.”

Last year 77 of the state’s 102 counties were found to have a West Nile positive bird, mosquito, horse or human case.  A total of 215 human cases of West Nile disease, including 10 deaths were reported last year.

West Nile Virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.  Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of the illness, but some may become ill three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.  Only about two out of 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness.  Symptoms of West Nile are usually mild and include fever, headache, body aches, occasionally with a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands.  Serious illness, such as encephalitis, meningitis, and death are possible in extreme cases.  Persons older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease.

The best way to prevent West Nile disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites.  Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn.  Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes are present.

• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellants on infants.
• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings.  Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.
• Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles. In communities where there are organized mosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.

Public health officials believe that a hot summer could increase mosquito activity and the risk of disease from West Nile virus.

For more information about CUPHD's programs and services, visit us on the web at www.c-uphd.org.

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Download 2007-05-22-WestNile-PR