Infectious Diseases and Child Day Care

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-139
Author(s):  
Richard A. Goodman ◽  
Michael T. Osterholm ◽  
Dan M. Granoff ◽  
Larry K. Pickering
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Day Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Infectious Agents ◽  
Day Care Centers ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Control And Prevention

The number of day care centers and home care facilities has steadily increased in the United States. Recent interest has focused on the possible relationship between attendance at child day care facilities and the occurrence of certain infectious diseases. A variety of infectious agents have been reported as causes of illness among children and staff in day care programs. In general, however, concurrent risks for these infections among children attending and those not attending day care programs have not been established by prospective studies. A review is made of the pathogens that have been associated with infections in day care settings, patterns of occurrence of infectious diseases in day care facilities, aspects of control and prevention of these diseases, and controversies related to infectious diseases in child day care facilities. Aspects of this problem that warrant further research are outlined.

Smoking Policies of Licensed Child Day-Care Centers in the United States

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 460-463
Author(s):  
David E. Nelson ◽  
Jeffrey J. Sacks ◽  
David G. Addiss
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Tobacco Smoke ◽  
Tobacco Smoke ◽  
Day Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tobacco Smoke Exposure ◽  
Day Care Centers ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Smoking Policies ◽  
Child Day Care Centers

The authors analyzed data from a national survey of 2003 directors of licensed child day-care centers to determine employee smoking policies, measure compliance with state and local employee smoking regulations for child day-care centers and state clean indoor air laws, and to estimate the extent of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in these settings. Forty states regulated employee smoking in child day-care centers, but only three states required day-care centers to be smoke-free indoors. More than 99% of licensed child day-care centers had employee smoking policies that complied with the appropriate state or local smoking regulations. Nearly 55% of centers were smoke-free indoors and outdoors, and 26% were smoke-free indoors only. The best predictors of more stringent employee smoking policies were location in the West or South, smaller size, independent ownership, or having written smoking policies. Despite the presence of strong smoking policies at the majority of licensed child day-care centers, more than 752000 children in the United States are at risk for environmental tobacco smoke exposure in these settings. Health care professionals and parents should insist that child day-care centers be smoke-free indoors and, preferably, smoke-free indoors and outdoors.

Giardiasis

1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 284-285
Author(s):  
James Seidel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
The United States ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Day Care Centers ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Stool Specimens

Giardiasis is caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia, also called Giardia intestinalis in Europe. Epidemiology Giardia infections are ubiquitous, and outbreaks occur in developed and underdeveloped nations throughout the world. Infection results from ingestion of cysts, usually contained in water or food, on hands, or on fomites contaminated with feces. The parasite is found in about 4% of stool specimens submitted to laboratories in the United States and is the most common parasite isolated. The exact prevalence of the infection in the United States is not known because it is not reportable in all states and may be difficult to isolate in the laboratory. Epidemic giardiasis in day care centers was first reported in 1977, with infection rates varying from 0 to 25%. Most children have symptoms. Chronic passage of cysts by some preschool children in day care facilities is found 5 to 6 months after the initial diagnosis, either because of continued transmission or chronic infection. Prevalence rates decline when children are toilet-trained. Sexual transmission may occur in heterosexual or homosexual contacts. Campers and hikers are at risk because of vertical transmission from animals, and waterborne outbreaks in national parks have been reported. In addition, many outbreaks have been attributed to municipal water supplies that have not been treated with flocculation or filtration.

Infirmary-Style Sick-Child Day Care: Do We Need More Information?

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-293
Author(s):  
Lydia Furman
Keyword(s):  
Day Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Day Care Centers ◽  
Respiratory Illnesses ◽  
Family Day Care ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Sick Children ◽  
Tract Infections

At least 8.2 million children younger than the age of 4 years have working mothers.1 More than half of these infants and children receive out-of-home care: approximately 23% attend day-care centers, 37% are in "family day care," 8% are cared for by the mother herself at work, and the remainder are cared for at home by a relative or sitter.1 Illness is a significant and frequent problem for children of parents working out of the home. We know that respiratory illnesses are the most common acute illness among children in the United States,2 and a recent study found that for children younger than the age of 3, the prevalence of medicated respiratory tract infections is lowest in children cared for in their own homes, higher in those receiving "family day care," and highest in those attending child-care centers.3 Children in day-care centers are additionally at greater risk of several other infectious diseases.4-6 The Bureau of National Affairs concluded that on any given day more than 359 000 children younger than the age of 14 with both parents working are too ill to attend school or day care.7 Who is caring for these sick children? Several recent reviews have examined this question in detail.8,9 A variety of patterns of care for sick children of parents working outside the home have evolved. These can be grouped by type of provider and by location of care. Possible care givers include (1) a parent, (2) a familiar care giver who is not the parent, or (3) a trained but unfamiliar health worker.

Infectious Diseases in Day-Care Centers: Transmission and Approaches to Prevention

1987 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 694-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Stier Carson
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Hepatitis A ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Infectious Agents ◽  
Day Care Centers ◽  
Day Care Center ◽  
Child Day Care ◽  
Hemophilus Influenzae Type B

Child day care is used increasingly by both single-parent and two-parent families. With the growth in numbers of children receiving day care outside the home comes a greater awareness of the potential for disease transmission. Epidemiologic patterns of spread of such diseases as Hemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis A, diarrheal diseases, and cytomegalovirus are changing with respect to attendance at a day-care center. Not only is this a problem for the staff and children who attend a center, but it also may be a public health concern as these diseases could spread to households and the community at large. This review will identify those transmissible infectious agents frequently found in children who attend day-care centers with an emphasis on approaches to prevention and methods for decreasing secondary spread.

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