• New: August 2012 issue of Needle Tips now online
• CDC publishes 2012–13 recommendations for prevention and control of influenza with vaccines
• CDC updates influenza A (H3N2v) case counts as of August 17 and posts new H3N2v information
• CDC publishes report in MMWR on evaluation of rapid influenza diagnostic tests for detection of H3N2v viruses
• CDC publishes recommendations for identifying chronic hepatitis C infection among people born during 1945–1965
• Spotlight on immunize.org: New! H3N2v influenza web section

• VISs for 2012–13 influenza vaccine now available in up to 25 languages 
• VIS for MMR vaccine now available in Indonesian

• FDA approves the 2012–13 influenza vaccine formulation for manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute influenza vaccine in the United States
• CDC publishes final 2011 reports of nationally notifiable infectious diseases

• Advocacy for Vaccines guide can help school nurses promote adult vaccination within the school community
• CDC updates its atlas of data on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs, and tuberculosis

• CDC publishes report on evolution of varicella surveillance in selected U.S. states during 2000–2010
• Scanned 1952–1982 issues of MMWR available online

• Needle Tips: Download the entire issue (PDF)
• View the table of contents, magazine viewer, and back issues

• Access a listing of ACIP recommendations sortable by publication date, vaccine/disease, and topic of interest
• Access a listing of ACIP recommendations organized into comprehensive recommendations and vaccine-specific recommendations

• Access a PDF and a web page of the newly posted "Swine Influenza: Issues for Fair Organizers to Consider When Planning Fairs"
• Access a web page of the newly posted "Supplemental Interim Guidance for School Administrators Associated with Possible Outbreaks of H3N2 Variant Influenza Virus ('H3N2v')"

CDC publishes recommendations for identifying chronic hepatitis C infection among people born during 1945–1965
On August 17, CDC published MMWR Recommendations and Reports titled Recommendations for the Identification of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Persons Born During 1945–1965. A portion of the "Summary," which appears at the beginning of the recommendations, is reprinted below.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Many of the 2.7–3.9 million persons living with HCV infection are unaware they are infected and do not receive care (e.g., education, counseling, and medical monitoring) and treatment. CDC estimates that although persons born during 1945–1965 comprise an estimated 27% of the population, they account for approximately three fourths of all HCV infections in the United States, 73% of HCV-associated mortality, and are at greatest risk for hepatocellular carcinoma and other HCV-related liver disease. With the advent of new therapies that can halt disease progression and provide a virologic cure (i.e., sustained viral clearance following completion of treatment) in most persons, targeted testing and linkage to care for infected persons in this birth cohort is expected to reduce HCV-related morbidity and mortality. CDC is augmenting previous recommendations for HCV testing (CDC. Recommendations for prevention and control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and HCV-related chronic disease. MMWR 1998;47[No. RR–19]) to recommend one-time testing without prior ascertainment of HCV risk for persons born during 1945–1965, a population with a disproportionately high prevalence of HCV infection and related disease.

Related Links

• Access the PDF version of the recommendations
• Access the HTML version of the recommendations
• Access CDC's Know More Hepatitis campaign for the public, which includes a link to an online self-assessment
• Access digital and downloadable PDF print media for the campaign
• Access CDC's hepatitis print publications order form
• Access a digital press kit of helpful resources, including key messages, charts, related links, and quotes from CDC hepatitis C experts

• Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Los Angeles (Thai)
• California Department of Public Health, Immunization Branch (Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese)
• CDC, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (Nepali, Somali)
• Hawaii Department of Health (Ilokano)
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Haitian Creole, Portuguese)
• Minnesota Department of Health (Hmong, Karen)
• Mustafa Kozanoglu, MD, Adana, Turkey (Turkish)
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (Bengali, Polish, Russian, Urdu)
• Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Dover, NH (Indonesian)
• Yisehak Tura, RN, Minneapolis (Amharic)

• Visit IAC's VIS web section for VISs in more than 35 languages

• Access 9 current Indonesian VIS translations
• Visit IAC's VIS web section for VISs in more than 35 languages

From 2000-2010, during the routine varicella vaccination program, overall varicella incidence decreased 80 percent in 31 states. From 2006-2010, when 2 doses of varicella vaccine were first recommended for routine use in children, varicella incidence decreased approximately 70 percent. The greatest declines in varicella, also known as chickenpox, were in children 5–9 years old, the age group targeted for 2 doses of the vaccine. Varicella incidence is expected to decline further as 2-dose vaccination coverage increases. National varicella surveillance has improved greatly since 1996, when the vaccine was first recommended for use in the United States. As of 2010, 31 states had adequate and consistent varicella reporting to CDC. To continue monitoring the 2-dose varicella vaccination program effectively, it is increasingly important for all states to move towards case-based varicella surveillance. Routine varicella vaccination has been very effective at preventing varicella in the United States, and declines should continue as 2-dose coverage increases.

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Issues from the first 30 years of MMWR are now available to the public online as one of the collections in "CDC Stacks," an institutional repository. As with other documents in CDC Stacks, the MMWR issues are in portable document format (PDF), and the text can be searched electronically.

In addition to the first 30 years of MMWR, CDC Stacks contains documents spanning the history of the agency, including CDC Open Access, Influenza Surveillance Reports, and CDC Guidelines and Recommendations. CDC Stacks allows users to browse journal articles by public health subjects and explore collections of documents on relevant topics. New documents are added each week. CDC Stacks is available at http://stacks.cdc.gov. The MMWR collection is available at http://stacks.cdc.gov/mmwr.

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