Cultural Competence

ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working closely with USDA APHIS and the Tennessee Department of Health to minimize any human health risk posed by the avian influenza outbreak in Lincoln County, Tenn., the agency announced Wednesday. This includes implementing a protocol to monitor the health of poultry workers exposed to commercial poultry involved in the  USDA/APHIS-confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H7N9) outbreak.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Emflaza (deflazacort) tablets and oral suspension to treat patients age 5 years and older with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle deterioration and weakness.

Emflaza is a corticosteroid that works by decreasing inflammation and reducing the activity of the immune system. It is marketed by Northbrook-based Marathon Pharmaceuticals.

ATLANTA  — Influenza activity is picking up across the East Coast even as it remains at high levels in central U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Nationwide during the week ended Jan. 28, 3.9% of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) were due to influenza-like illness. This percentage is above the national baseline of 2.2%.

ILI is defined as fever (temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or greater) and cough and/or sore throat.

WASHINGTON — Most Americans support requiring the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for public school children in order to protect public health, the Pew Research Center reported Thursday. Responding a survey prior to the election, Americans believe there are high preventive health benefits of such vaccines, and low risk of side effects, and they consider the benefits of the vaccine to outweigh the risks.

Since it launched its ScripTalk audible labels, En-Vision America has worked to make prescription labels more accessible for patients who might be visually impaired and thus require an audible label, larger print label or Braille label. And this year, the company is expanding its accessibility by offering label translations into 17 languages.

NEW YORK – This year the top New Year's resolutions among American adults all revolve around two main themes: health and money, Harris Poll reported Thursday. Most commonly, adults are resolving to eat healthier (29%), save more money (25%), lose weight (24%), drink more water (21%) and/or pay down debt (17%). Slightly less common resolutions are to spend more time with family/friends (15%), become more organized (15%), travel more (15%), read more (14%) and/or improve relationships (14%).