Key Question On New Coronavirus Disease 2019 Is Whether Sustained Community Spread Outside China Will Become Pandemic [Editor’s Note: This article is about an emerging and rapidly evolving public health crisis. Case and death counts change daily. Readers interested in learning the very latest information should consult the reliable sources provided below.] As of late February, over 80,000 cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and more than 2,700 deaths globally have been reported to the World Health Organization. Most
of these cases have been identified in China, and the vast majority have occurred in a single province (Hubei) where the first cases originated.
-3Advancing Legal Epidemiology
Early cases were associated with a seafood and live animal market in the city of Wuhan. However, the disease quickly spread person to person among individuals with no connection to the animal market.
-5Gauging the Quality of Research Studies
- Pandemic con't on page 2
Surgeon General Issues 34th Report On The Health Effects Of Smoking You don’t see people smoking very much in public in the United States anymore. You think the smoking problem is largely resolved. Well, according to the latest Surgeon General’s report, you should think again. Smoking among American adults is at an all time low of 14%, but it remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. More than 34 million
February 2020
In This Issue
American adults currently smoke cigarettes. The report reaches the following major conclusions:
Smoking cessation benefits persons at any age.
Smoking cessation reduces the risk of premature death and can add as much as a decade to life expectancy. - Smoking cont'd on page 4
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Volume Forty One •
Number Two
-6Useful COVID-19 Links -7Notes on People -9Near Term Epidemiology Event Calendar -11Marketplace