miércoles, 20 de mayo de 2015

Coccidioides Exposure and Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Employees, California, United States - Volume 21, Number 6—June 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

full-text ►

Coccidioides Exposure and Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Employees, California, United States - Volume 21, Number 6—June 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC





Volume 21, Number 6—June 2015

Dispatch

Coccidioides Exposure and Coccidioidomycosis among Prison Employees, California, United States

Marie A. de PerioComments to Author , R. Todd Niemeier, and Gregory A. Burr
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Abstract

Responding to a request by corrections agency management, we investigated coccidioidomycosis in prison employees in central California, a coccidioidomycosis-endemic area. We identified 103 cases of coccidioidomycosis that occurred over 4.5 years. As a result, we recommended training and other steps to reduce dust exposure among employees and thus potential exposure to Coccidioides.
Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever, is caused by inhalation of spores of the fungus Coccidioides,which grows in soil in semiarid areas. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic to the southwestern United States, the Central Valley of California, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America (1). An estimated 150,000 new infections occur annually in the United States (2). In disease-endemic areas, workers involved in soil disturbance, including agricultural, construction, and archeological workers, are at high risk for coccidioidomycosis (1).
As part of a health hazard evaluation requested by corrections agency management (3), we investigated the incidence of coccidioidomycosis among employees at 2 prisons in California’s Central Valley. To reduce exposure to Coccidioides, we recommended ways to improve coccidioidomycosis-related occupational health practices at the prisons.

Dr. de Perio is a medical officer and infectious diseases physician at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Her primary research interest is infectious diseases in the workplace.

Acknowledgment


We acknowledge Kimberly Brinker, Anne Purfield, Benjamin Park, Jennifer McNary, Jason Wilken, Alyssa Nguyen, Lauren Lee, Farzaneh Tabnak, Michael Maclean, and Robert Oldham for their assistance with this investigation. We also acknowledge the managers and employees at the prisons and corrections agencies for their cooperation and participation.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis). 2014 Nov 20 [cited 2015 Apr 4].http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/index.html
  2. Galgiani JNAmpel NMBlair JECatanzaro AJohnson RHStevens DACoccidioidomycosis. Clin Infect Dis2005;41:121723DOIPubMed
  3. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of Coccidioides exposures and coccidioidomycosis infections among prison employees [cited 2014 Jun 20]. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2013-0113-3198.pdf
  4. Sondermeyer GLee LGilliss DTabnak FVugia DCoccidioidomycosis-associated hospitalizations, California, USA, 2000–2011. Emerg Infect Dis.2013;19:15907DOIPubMed
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) (Coccidioides spp.). 2011 case definition. 2014 Nov 20 [cited 2014 Jun 20]. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/NNDSS/script/casedef.aspx?CondYrID=643&DatePub=1/1/2011%2012:00:00%20AM
  6. Brown JBenedict KPark BJThompson GR III. Coccidioidomycosis: epidemiology. Clin Epidemiol. 2013;5:185–97.
  7. Kirkland TNFierer JCoccidioidomycosis: a reemerging infectious disease. Emerg Infect Dis1996;2:1929 and. DOIPubMed
  8. Fisher FBultman MWPappagianis D. Operational guidelines for geological fieldwork in areas endemic for coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever). US Geological Survey open-file report. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior; 2000. p. 1–6.

Figures

Suggested citation for this article: de Perio MA, Niemeier RT, Burr GA. Coccidioides exposure and coccidioidomycosis among prison employees, California, United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Jun [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2106.141201
DOI: 10.3201/eid2106.141201

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario