Biomedical subjects

R L Vogt

Publications and source records attributed to R L Vogt.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence for school transmission of Neisseria meningitidis during a Vermont outbreak.

A meningitis outbreak due to Neisseria meningitidis, serogroup C, serotype 2b, occurred in central Vermont in February, 1984. The highest incidence was in Northfield, where 7 cases occurred (129 per 100,000 population). Of these 7 cases 2 were students at Northfield High School and 5 were younger children; all had had close contact with Northfield High School students or staff in the week before illness. A case-control study demonstrated that these cases had significantly more exposure to Northfield High School students or staff in the 2 weeks before illness (112 hours) than did controls (8 hours) (P = 0.006). This finding was confirmed by a second case-control study designed to determine risk factors for the entire outbreak. School children in Northfield and their household contacts were given meningococcal A-C vaccine and sulfisoxazole prophylaxis. No further cases of meningococcal disease occurred in Northfield after the week that these control methods were initiated. Transmission of the outbreak strain of N. meningitidis appears to have occurred in a school setting with subsequent illness in household and close contacts of carriers of the outbreak strain.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

National survey of state epidemiologists to determine the status of Lyme disease surveillance.

In 1990, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control made Lyme disease (LD) nationally notifiable and developed a national case definition. State epidemiologists were surveyed about their State LD surveillance system. Responses were received from all States and the District of Columbia. As of November 1991, LD was notifiable in 45 States. A total of 44 of these 45 States use the 1990 national case definition for case confirmation. Twenty-five State health departments offer diagnostic testing for LD, and 38 States have conducted surveys for infected ticks. This study has shown that there has been greater standardization of LD reporting with the adoption of a new national case definition for LD. However, many States confirm cases using data that are not a part of the criteria used for the national case definition.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The surveillance of communicable disease in Vermont: who reports?

The Vermont Department of Health reviewed 2,035 reports of selected notifiable diseases received from January 1, 1986, through December 31, 1987. Laboratories provided 1,160, or 71 percent, of the initial reports on 1,636 confirmed cases. This demonstrates that laboratories, when required by law and when part of active surveillance, can make a significant contribution to surveillance of infectious disease. A survey of primary care physicians indicated that 18 percent always reported notifiable diseases. The most frequently mentioned reason for lack of reporting was an assumption that the laboratory would report the cases.

Communicable Disease Control↗

PubMedDate not supplied

AIDS knowledge and attitudes among adults in Vermont.

To design a statewide educational campaign, the Vermont Department of Health attempted to measure knowledge about AIDS among residents of the State. During the period November 1986 through January 1987, the authors conducted a telephone survey of noninstitutionalized residents ages 18 and over. The results were examined in relation to age and education. The most accurate answers were given by respondents less than 45 years. In terms of educational attainment, respondents with less than a high school education had an average score of 61.4 and those with a college degree averaged 85.0. When the authors examined responses to individual questions, it became apparent that respondents were more knowledgeable about ways the virus could be transmitted than about ways it could not. A more comprehensive education program must reduce fear. One component of the current AIDS campaign in Vermont is an advertisement that addresses unfounded concern about casual transmission of AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Teaching medical students epidemiology: utilizing a state health department.

An epidemiology teaching course for third-year medical students was developed at the University of Vermont's College of Medicine by staff members of the Vermont Department of Health in conjunction with clinical faculty members. The course consists of analyses of actual community health problems encountered by the health department, evaluation of published clinical studies, and design of studies on current public health issues in Vermont. In the course's first year, 54 percent of the students gave it an overall assessment of average or above average. A striking improvement was found in the second year; 98 percent of the students rated their overall assessment as average or better. Sessions rated the best by students were the critical appraisal of clinical studies, followed by sessions on study design and outbreak investigations. The Vermont course communicates epidemiologic concepts to students by stressing their clinical relevance and by putting the concepts into a recognizable public health context. Students are required to grapple with epidemiologic issues as participants. This approach to teaching epidemiology combines faculty having both public health and clinical perspectives, emphasizes relevance to future practice, and requires students to actively work through epidemiologic problems. The Vermont experience has shown that combining health department and clinical faculty resources can result in a useful format for teaching epidemiology to medical students.

Curriculum↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ophthalmia neonatorum prophylaxis in Vermont.

Vermont birth certificates and hospital medical charts for 1979 were reviewed to determine whether infants born at home or in hospitals had documentation of prophylaxis against gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. Of the 139 home births recorded in 1979, 78 infants (54.0 percent) received no prophylaxis, compared with 97 (1.4 percent) of 7,156 infants born in hospitals (P less than 0.0001). Ophthalmic medications that have not been recommended for use for neonatal prophylaxis were being used in two hospitals in the State. A followup review of 7,668 Vermont birth certificates for 1980 indicated that hospital practices improved in that year, after the hospitals received a reminder on proper prophylactic procedures from the Vermont Department of Health.

Birth Certificates↗