A Message from your President...

Dear Membership:

Spring has sprung and your Board of Directors has been busy working on our Annual Scientific meeting for 2011.

The NJSSAMT is holding our annual Scientific Meeting on Sat and possibly Sunday, October 15 &16, 2011.  The meeting will take place at the Edison Campus of Lincoln Technical Institute.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all attendees.  The business of the society will be discussed with the general membership.  Please attend so that you will be able to vote and make a difference in the organization you worked so hard to become a member of.   Please send registration forms to Jennifer Grogan, 81 Park Ave, Wyckoff, NJ  07481.  The form will be attached to this letter.

The National Convention will be held on August 1, 2011-August 6, 2011 in Miami, FL.  New Jersey members are strongly encouraged to attend this convention.  Meet peers in your field, gain your CEU credits and make some new friends along the way.  The topics presented are usually very informative and interesting,  Hope to see you all in the fall.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Grogan, President

Message from the District Councilor

Happy spring!  I have just returned from the Council meeting in sunny Miami and have news to share with you:

The 2011 AMT National Educational and Business Meeting will be held August 1-6, 2011, at the Intercontinental Hotel (downtown) in Miami, FL.  Room rates are 119.00/day plus 13% tax, and are available at that rate from July 27-August 9.   Reservations may be made at www.icmiamihotel.com or by phone at 305-777-1000.  Parking at the hotel is valet only and is 17.00/day.  Make sure you use a credit card, NOT a debit card, for your reservations to prevent any unintentional overdrafts.  The Friday night optional social with be a dinner cruise on a chartered private yacht docked at our hotel.  It will cruise Biscayne Bay, by two islands, and past Millionaire’s Row.  There will be a DJ and buffet dinner.  Just a short walk from our hotel is Bayside Market filled with shops and restaurants.  There is bus service at a minimal charge from our hotel to nearby South Beach for those of you who are interested in seeing the Art Deco hotels, shops, and the ocean. This will be a joint meeting with CASMET, the Caribbean society, and promises to be a fun and educational week. 

Many changes in AMT are planned and some have begun to be implemented.  Be sure to attend the Leadership Training Session at the National Convention on Thursday afternoon to hear all about them.

In conclusion, I would like to encourage you to attend your next state society meeting and get involved.  The education and networking opportunities are well worth the time invested, and you will make new friends and become part of the AMT family along the way.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your District Councillor, and as always, feel free to contact me if I can be of service.  Hope to see you at your state meeting and/or the national convention!   

Janet Crigler, MT (AMT), Eastern District Councillor

Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study

Background

This study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children in the United States is positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was implemented with data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a multiple source surveillance system that incorporates data from educational and health care sources to determine the number of 8-year-old children with ASD among defined populations. For the years 2002 and 2004, there were 3,680 children with ASD among a population of 557 689 8-year-old children. Area-level census SES indicators were used to compute ASD prevalence by SES tertiles of the population.

Results

Prevalence increased with increasing SES in a dose-response manner, with prevalence ratios relative to medium SES of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64, 0.76) for low SES, and of 1.25 (95% CI 1.16, 1.35) for high SES, (P<0.001). Significant SES gradients were observed for children with and without a pre-existing ASD diagnosis, and in analyses stratified by gender, race/ethnicity, and surveillance data source. The SES gradient was significantly stronger in children with a pre-existing diagnosis than in those meeting criteria for ASD but with no previous record of an ASD diagnosis (p<0.001), and was not present in children with co-occurring ASD and intellectual disability.

Conclusions

The stronger SES gradient in ASD prevalence in children with versus without a pre-existing ASD diagnosis points to potential ascertainment or diagnostic bias and to the possibility of SES disparity in access to services for children with autism. Further research is needed to confirm and understand the sources of this disparity so that policy implications can be drawn. Consideration should also be given to the possibility that there may be causal mechanisms or confounding factors associated with both high SES and vulnerability to ASD.

Citation: Durkin MS, Maenner MJ, Meaney FJ, Levy SE, DiGuiseppi C, et al. (2010) Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS ONE 5(7): e11551. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011551.  www.cdc.gov.

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections associated with exposure to clinical and teaching microbiology laboratories. Investigators are using DNA analysis of Salmonella bacteria obtained through diagnostic testing to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak.

As of April 20, 2011, a total of 73 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 35 states: AK (1), AL (3),  AZ (2), CA (1), GA (5), IA (1), ID (2), IL (3),  IN (1), KS (1), KY (3), MA (2),  MD (2),  MI (2), MN (4),  MO (2), NC (1),  ND (1),  NE (2),  NJ (2),  NM (3),  NV (1), NY (1),  OH (1),  OK (1),  OR (1),  PA (6),  SC (2),  SD (1), TN (2),  TX (1),  UT (3),  WA (5),  WI (3),  WY (1).  Among persons with available information, illness onset dates range from August 20, 2010 to March 8, 2011. Infected individuals range in age from less than 1 year to 91 years-old, and the median age is 24 years-old. Sixty-three percent of patients are female. Fourteen percent of patients have been hospitalized. One death has been reported.
The outbreak can be visually described with a chart showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. Illnesses that occurred after March 19 might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 3 weeks. Please see the Timeline for Reporting of Salmonella Cases for more details.

The numbers of new cases have declined substantially during the past several months, and reports associated with this outbreak strain appear to have returned to the expected baseline of approximately 0 to 4 cases reported per week.   

Investigation of the Outbreak

In an epidemiologic study conducted during February and March 2011, 32 ill persons answered questions about exposures during the days before becoming ill. Investigators compared their responses to those of 64 persons of similar age previously reported to state health departments with other illnesses (controls). Preliminary analysis of this study has suggested exposure to clinical and teaching microbiology laboratories is a possible source of illness. Illnesses have been identified among students in microbiology teaching laboratories and employees in clinical microbiology laboratories. Ill persons (60%) were significantly more likely than control persons (2%) to report exposure to a microbiology laboratory in the week before the illness began. Additionally, multiple ill persons reported working specifically with Salmonella bacteria in microbiology laboratories. The New Mexico Department of Health found that the outbreak strain was indistinguishable from a commercially available Salmonella Typhimurium strain used in laboratory settings. This commercially available strain was known to be present in several teaching or clinical laboratories associated with ill students or employees infected with the outbreak strain. These data suggest this strain is the source of some of these illnesses. Additionally, several children who live in households with a person who works or studies in a microbiology laboratory have become ill with the outbreak strain.

As part of this ongoing investigation, CDC is working with state and local health departments, the American Society for Microbiology, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories to conduct a survey of laboratory directors, managers, and faculty involved with clinical and teaching microbiology laboratories to identify areas where improvements in biosafety and laboratory safety training can be made to prevent future illnesses.

Clinical Features/Signs and Symptoms

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness from Salmonella infection.

Advice to Students and Employees in Clinical and Teaching Microbiology Laboratories

Advice to Laboratory Directors, Managers, and Faculty involved with Clinical and Teaching Microbiology Laboratories

Citation:  Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)