National Public Health Surveillance System Research Articles

Estimating the burden of arboviral diseases in Colombia between 2013 and 2016

ObjectiveDuring the 2013–2016 period, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika affected more than 1 million people in Colombia. These arboviruses and their chronic manifestations pose a public health challenge. Therefore, we estimated the burden of disease by Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia between 2013 and 2016. MethodsAn exploratory ecological study was carried out using the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as a unit of measure. The mortality databases of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) and the morbidity databases of the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA) were used. Deaths and cases for each arbovirus were grouped and then adjusted to control biases. Subsequently, we performed a sensitivity analysis. ResultsIn the 2013–2016 period, 491,629.2 DALYs were lost due to arboviruses in Colombia. By disease, 26.6% of the total DALYs were caused by Dengue, 71.3% by Chikungunya, and the remaining 2.2%, by Zika. The majority of DALYs (68.2%) were caused by chronic complications. Five out of 32 departments (Valle del Cauca, Tolima, Norte de Santander, Huila, and Bolívar) contributed 50.5% of total DALYs. ConclusionThe burden of disease by arboviruses in the 2013–2016 period exceeded the burden of other infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Colombia. Public health efforts must be made to mitigate new epidemics of these arboviruses.

Surveillance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in Colombia, 2012–2015

Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) is the causative agent of typhoid fever; a systemic disease affecting ~20 million people per year globally. There are little data regarding the contemporary epidemiology of typhoid in Latin America. Consequently, we aimed to describe some recent epidemiological aspects of typhoid in Colombia using cases reported to the National Public Health Surveillance System (Sivigila) between 2012 and 2015. Over the four-year reporting period there were 836 culture confirmed cases of typhoid in Colombia, with the majority (676/836; 80.1%) of reported cases originated from only seven departments. We further characterized 402 S. Typhi isolates with available corresponding data recovered from various departments of Colombia through antimicrobial susceptibility testing and molecular subtyping. The majority (235/402; 58.5%) of these typhoid cases occurred in males and were most commonly reported in those aged between 10 and 29 years (218/402; 54.2%); there were three (0.74%) reported fatalities. The overwhelming preponderance (339/402; 84.3%) of S. Typhi were susceptible to all tested antimicrobials. The most common antimicrobial to which the organisms exhibited non-susceptibility was ampicillin (30/402;7.5%), followed by nalidixic acid (23/402, 5.7%). Molecular subtyping identified substantial genetic diversity, which was well distributed across the country. Despite the diffuse pattern of S. Typhi genotypes, we identified various geographical hotspots of disease associated with local dominant genotypes. Notably, we found limited overlap of Colombian genotypes with organisms reported in other Latin American countries. Our work highlights a substantial burden of typhoid in Colombia, characterized by sustained transmission in some regions and limited epidemics in other departments. The disease is widely distributed across the country and associated with multiple antimicrobial susceptible genotypes that appear to be restricted to Colombia. This study provides a current perspective for typhoid in Latin America and highlights the importance of pathogen-specific surveillance to add insight into the limited epidemiology of typhoid in this region.

Women's reluctance for pregnancy: Experiences and perceptions of Zika virus in Medellin, Colombia.

ObjectiveTo explore how being infected with the Zika virus during pregnancy was experienced by affected women, and how it influenced their family relationships and future family planning.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study, including 19 semistructured interviews with women of reproductive age and confirmed Zika infection during 2015–2018 in Medellin, Colombia. Purposeful sampling was applied, and participants were identified through National Public Health Surveillance System records. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using content analysis with inductive and deductive approaches.ResultsOf 19 women interviewed, eight women identified the pregnancy as unexpected and two women had undergone permanent sterilization. Women had mixed views about decision‐making related to family planning, and not having an abortion in a future pregnancy was influenced by religious beliefs. Women knew about vector‐borne transmission but were not well informed about sexual transmission of the virus. Women desired better support and guidance to ease concerns about Zika virus.ConclusionAll interviewed women expressed a need for more information about Zika virus and continuous support, specifically after delivery, from healthcare professionals. Communication strategies to enhance culturally sensitive messages and for accurate perception of information are recommended during Zika outbreaks.

Burden of disease due to microcephaly associated with the Zika virus in Colombia.

In 2015, the Zika virus was introduced in Colombia. The emergence of this arbovirus is a public health challenge for the country, considering the association between the infection and congenital disorders such as microcephaly. Thus, we estimated the burden of disease due to microcephaly associated with Zika in Colombia and its administrative subdivisions for the period 2015-2016. We conducted an exploratory ecological study, using as unit of measurement disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The cases of microcephaly were obtained from the Zika national and departmental databases built by the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA). Deaths attributed to microcephaly were estimated from previous studies. Finally, we calculated mortality rates and incidences, then we performed a sensitivity analysis under three scenarios (conservative, medium, and extreme) to estimate the DALYs. In the 2015-2016 period, 10,609.4 DALYs were caused by microcephaly associated with Zika in Colombia. 71% of the total DALYs were years of life lost and 29% were years lived with disability. Five out of 32 departments (Meta, Córdoba, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, and Norte de Santander) contributed 71% of total DALYs. The burden of microcephaly associated with Zika outweighed the burden of other congenital anomalies such as neural tube defects and Down syndrome in children aged between 0 and 4 years in Colombia. Public health efforts must be made to prevent and monitor these cases.

Electronic notifiable disease reporting system from primary care health centres in Qatar: a comparison of paper-based versus electronic reporting

Communicable disease outbreaks can spread rapidly, causing enormous losses to individual health, national economies and social well-being. Therefore, communicable disease surveillance is essential for protecting public health. In Qatar, electronic...

Patient characteristics and pregnancy outcomes among Zika‐infected pregnant women: Epidemiologic surveillance data from two cities in Colombia, 2015–2016

ObjectivesTo describe the characteristics of pregnant women infected with Zika virus in two representative regions of Colombia, examine their pregnancy outcomes, and outline findings of the epidemiologic surveillance program established during the peak of the 2015–2016 epidemic.MethodsA cohort study conducted in the municipalities of Cali and Villavicencio using data from the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA) and clinical follow‐up data from pregnant women. We describe sociodemographic characteristics, health insurance status, Zika virus, pregnancy‐related characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes.ResultsA total of 1259 Zika‐infected pregnant women were identified in Cali; of these, 2.3% (n=27) experienced pregnancy loss, 9.5% (n=113) had preterm birth, and 7.9% (n=91) had a low birthweight neonate. In Villavicencio, 3.0% (n=13) experienced pregnancy loss, 6.9% (n=30) had preterm birth, and 6.7% (n=28) had a low birthweight neonate. Compared with the general population, this population of Zika‐infected pregnant women did not experience an increased frequency of preterm birth or low birthweight (relative risk of prematurity and low birthweight infant <1).ConclusionsEpidemiologic surveillance data showed that most neonates of Zika‐infected pregnant women were born at term, and that the frequency of low birthweight neonates was low. Good quality data were obtained from the surveillance registries.

A comparison of three data mining time series models in prediction of monthly brucellosis surveillance data.

The early and accurately detection of brucellosis incidence change is of great importance for implementing brucellosis prevention strategic health planning. The present study investigated and compared the performance of the three data mining techniques, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARSs), in time series modelling and predicting of monthly brucellosis data from 2005 (March/April) to 2017 (February/March) extracted from a national public health surveillance system in Hamadan located in west of Iran. The performances were compared based on the root mean square errors, mean absolute errors, determination coefficient (R2 ) and intraclass correlation coefficient criteria. Results indicated that the RF model outperformed the SVM and MARS models in modeling used data and it can be utilized successfully utilized to diagnose the behaviour of brucellosis over time. Further research with application of such novel time series models in practice provides the most appropriate method in the control and prevention of future outbreaks for the epidemiologist.

Detection of Trypanosoma cruzi strains circulating in Córdoba department (Colombia) isolated from triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) collected by the community.

From 2011 to 2016, 24 cases of Chagas disease were reported in Córdoba according to the national public health surveillance system (Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Sivigila), but the information regarding Trypanosoma cruzi circulating strains and infection rates are unknown. To establish the triatomine species with which people come in contact and recognize as Chagas disease vectors, as well as to assess the infection with trypanosomes and make an exploratory approach to host feeding preferences with the participation of the local community. Triatomines sampling was conducted in 12 municipalities between 2011 and 2016; T. cruzi infection was established by k-PCR, SAT-PCR, while strain genotyping was done by mini-exon and SL-IR (spliced-leader intergenic region) sequence characterization. We also screened for blood sources. Local community members collected the majority of triatomines and we identified three species: Rhodnius pallescens, Panstrongylus geniculatus, and Eratyrus cuspidatus. The overall T. cruzi infection rate in collected triatomines was 66.6% and we detected the TcIDOM and TcI sylvatic strains. Community-based insect collection allowed reporting the presence of P. geniculatus in two new disperse rural settlements, T. cruzi infection of P. geniculatus in Córdoba, and the first report of triatomines infected with T. cruzi in Montería municipality. These results revealed the presence of triatomines infected with T. cruzi inside dwellings in five municipalities of Córdoba. The dominant circulating T. cruzi strain was TcIDOM, a genotype associated with human Chagas disease and cardiomyopathies in Colombia. Our results highlight the importance of local community participation in entomological surveillance tasks.

Early warning system in Tunisia: evolution, challenges and role of laboratory, biosecurity, environment and modeling of infectious diseases

Introduction : the Tunisian National Public Health Surveillance System for Infectious Diseases (IDs) has two main objectives. The first objective consists of the continuous monitoring of the burden of infectious diseases, including the monitoring of morbidity and mortality. Ultimately, these surveillance activities create evidence for policy making, effectively guide interventions, control programs and allow for appropriate allocation of resources. The second objective is the detection of any kind of public health event requiring rapid investigation as early as possible and find the appropriate response to avert and minimize negative consequences for the health of affected populations.

Epidemiology and geo-referencing of the dengue fever in a hospital of second level in Colombia, 2010-2014.

Dengue fever is a priority problem for public health in Colombia. The Department of Tolima and the municipality of El Espinal bring a considerable proportion of the cases to national statistics, becoming a representative area for studying the behavior of this pathology. Determine the epidemiological behavior and the geographic distribution of dengue fever cases treated in the San Rafael Hospital in the municipality of the El Espinal, from 2010 to 2014. The following is a retrospective cross-sectional case report study of the population with dengue fever treated in San Rafael Hospital. We analyzed data from the mandatory clinical reports of the SIVIGILA (National public health surveillance system, in Spanish) using Excel, EpiInfo and EpiMap were analyzed. The epidemiological analysis encompassed morbidity, mortality, fatality, endemicity and cartograms of georeferencing, among others. The totality of cases was 3264, with an incidence of 5.84 per 1000 inhabitants, mortality of 0.12 cases per 10,000 inhabitants, and lethality of 0.11 per 100 diagnosed cases. 71.6% of the patients were between 1 and 24 years, 53.8% were male and 46.2% female. The endemic behaviour was bimodal, Max in epidemiological periods 3-4 and 12-13. The distribution geographic of cases spanned the whole of the municipality and is related apparently with the population density in an area defined. The results found are above local, national and international parameters on incidence, mortality, and case-fatality. Through the analysis of endemic behavior and geographic distribution, times and specific areas are provided to optimize public health measures.

Caracterización de la mortalidad materna en comunidades indígenas colombianas, 2011 a 2013. Estudio de los registros de vigilancia epidemiológica de casos centinela

Objetivo: caracterizar la población que presentó mortalidad materna (MM) en las poblaciones indígenas colombianas durante el trienio 2011-2013.Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio con los registros de vigilancia epidemiológica de casos de mortalidad materna. La población de estudio incluyó todas las muertes maternas, directas e indirectas, y los nacidos vivos, reportadas en la población de la etnia indígena en el país; se excluyeron los casos de mortalidad coincidente con el embarazo, como las muertes por lesiones de causa externa, causas accidentales e incidentales. Se realizó la búsqueda de los casos de MM en las bases de datos del Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia en Salud Pública (SIVIGILA) del Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS), y los registros de nacimientos y defunciones del Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) de los años 2011 a 2013. Se midieron variables sociodemográficas, maternas y de la atención del parto, área y lugar de defunción, y causas agrupadas y específicas de la muerte materna. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de la información utilizando medidas de frecuencia absoluta y relativa para los datos.Resultados: en Colombia se presentaron 1.546 casos de muertes en mujeres embarazadas durante el trienio 2011-2013, de estos se seleccionaron 143 casos de MM en comunidades indígenas: 130 cumplieron los criterios de inclusión y 13 se excluyeron por causas incidentales o accidentales. La razón de mortalidad materna (RMM) para esta población fue 327,5 por 100.000 nacidos vivos durante el trienio, mientras que en la población no indígena fue de 60,9. El 22,3 % de las muertes maternas en indígenas fue en menores de 19 años, y el 29,2 % en mayores de 35 años. Las principales causas de MM fueron hemorragia posparto, eclampsia y sepsis puerperal.Conclusión: en las comunidades indígenas existe una mortalidad materna cinco veces mayor a la de la población no indígena del país. Se requieren intervenciones multisectoriales que tengan en cuenta la cultura de estos pueblos para reducir la inequidad que los afecta.

Estimating the Type II error of detecting changes in foodborne illnesses via public health surveillance

Many countries operate public health surveillance systems to monitor foodborne disease occurrence. The illness counts for pathogens of interest are monitored across time to assess if changes have occurred in case rates or the overall illness burden. Common to all of these systems is that only a fraction of all foodborne illnesses are reported and the relationship between observed and the total number of illnesses is uncertain.Food-safety policies intend to affect both the total and observed number of illnesses. Ideally, the surveillance system would be sufficiently sensitive to detect these changes, but the statistical power of these systems is generally not well understood. This study proposes two approaches for estimating the power of a foodborne illness surveillance system. These methods are then applied to assess the power of detecting specified changes in the total number of illnesses in an existing surveillance system.The findings suggest that the power of a national foodborne disease surveillance system to detect modest annual reductions in Salmonella illnesses may be limited. For example, a naïve presumptive model that assumes observed illnesses are reduced directly by 10% predicts that the power to discern this difference, from one year to the next, is 0.21. A Bayesian model, that accounts for uncertainty in projecting changes in total illnesses to the number of observed illnesses, predicts that the power to detect a true 10% reduction is 0.04 (i.e., 4% confidence of detecting this magnitude of reduction or 96% chance of a Type II error) one year after the change has taken effect. Although the power of a national surveillance system increases as the magnitude of reductions increases – or as the number of years the reduction is maintained increases – the Bayesian model demonstrates that power is less than 0.5 for reductions up to 50% for one year and is less than 0.53 for reductions of 30% that are maintained for four years.The limited power to detect intended changes in total annual illnesses of national public health surveillance systems may highlight the need for regulators to also monitor food contamination evidence to gauge progress towards achieving intended policy effects.

Proteção à saúde no Brasil: o Sistema Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária

This essay presents the singular arrangement named Health Surveillance in Brazil and the specificities of its components: public Health Surveillance, Worker's Surveillance, Environmental Surveillance, Sanitary Surveillance, as well as the constitutional determination to carry out the actions of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance and Worker's Surveillance. The two national systems of protection and promote health are also presented - National Public Health Surveillance System and National Sanitary Surveillance System, with an emphasis on the regulatory issues in health made by the latter and some constraints to its action by the Legislative Branch. It reaffirms the Brazilian State's constitutional duty to protect health, and to provide the means for adequate functioning of the two systems, bearing in mind that defense of the public interest in health products and services means confronting oligopolies of transnational economic interests. This paper states the opinion that the financial constraints facing the Brazilian State from time to time cannot be allowed to prevail over the rights of citizenship, independently of the public underfunding of health in Brazil.

Perceptions of use of a case-based, integrated national electronic public health surveillance system in Jordan

Collection of real-time, standardized data remains a challenge for public health surveillance systems. The use of mobile information technology may facilitate this. A national case-based public health surveillance system was introduced in Jordan in 2015 using mobile tablets and an online framework. After training on the system, users were surveyed about their perceptions of it. Of 596 participants attending the training, 580 (97.3%) completed the survey. The majority of users were nurses (58.5%). Overall perceptions of the system were highly positive across 5 areas of functionality (standardized case definitions, clinical guidance on signs and symptoms, risk factors and laboratory guidance, SMS and Email alerts for notifiable diseases, one-hour reporting of information via an online framework). In all areas, over 80% of participants thought the system would help their work and would save time in identifying notifiable diseases and reporting this information centrally. Further work is encouraged to evaluate the system and consider the application of cloud-based models in other settings.

Impact of the 2016 Ecuador Earthquake on Zika Virus Cases.

To evaluate the impact of the April 2016 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Ecuador on the incidence of Zika virus (ZIKV) cases. We used the national public health surveillance system for reportable transmissible conditions and included suspected and laboratory-confirmed ZIKV cases. We compared the number of cases before and after the earthquake in areas closer to and farther from the epicenter. From January to July 2016, 2234 patients suspected of having ZIKV infection were reported in both affected and control areas. A total of 1110 patients had a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay, and 159 were positive for ZIKV. The cumulative incidence of ZIKV in the affected area was 11.1 per 100 000 after the earthquake. The odds ratio of having ZIKV infection in those living in the affected area was 8.0 (95% CI = 4.4, 14.6; P < .01) compared with the control area and adjusted for age, gender, province population, and number of government health care facilities. A spike in ZIKV cases occurred after the earthquake. Patients in the area closest to the epicenter had a delay in seeking care.

Modelling study to estimate the health burden of foodborne diseases: cases, general practice consultations and hospitalisations in the UK, 2009

ObjectiveTo generate estimates of the burden of UK-acquired foodborne disease accounting for uncertainty.DesignA modelling study combining data from national public health surveillance systems for laboratory-confirmed infectious intestinal disease (IID) and...

Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Total Mortality in 120 Cities of China, 2012-2013.

China has had a rapid increase in its economy over the past three decades. However, the economic boom came at a certain cost of depleting air quality. In the study, we aimed to examine the burden of air pollution and its association with climatic factors and health outcomes using data from Chinese national and city-level air quality and public health surveillance systems. City-level daily air pollution index (API, a sum weighted index of SO2, NO2, PM10, CO, and Ozone) in 120 cities in 2012 and 2013, and its association with climate factors were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and panel fixed models. City-level ecological association between annual average API and total mortality were examined using univariate and partial correlation analysis. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by taking the consideration of time-lag effect between exposures and outcomes. The results show that among the 120 cities, annual average API significantly increased from 2012 to 2013 (65.05 vs. 75.99, p < 0.0001). The highest average API was in winter, and the lowest in summer. A significantly spatial clustering of elevated API was observed, with the highest API in northwest China in 2012 and with the highest in east China in 2013. In 2012, 5 (4%) of the 120 cities had ≥60 days with API >100 (defined as “slightly polluted”), however, it increased to 21 cities (18%) that experienced API >100 for ≥60 days in 2013. Furthermore, 16 cities (13%) in 2012 and 35 (29%) in 2013 experienced a maximum API >300 (defined as “severely polluted”). API was negatively and significantly correlated with heat index, precipitation, and sunshine hours, but positively with air pressure. Cities with higher API concentrations had significantly higher total mortality rates than those with lower API. About a 4–7% of the variation in total mortality could be explained by the difference in API across the nation. In conclusion, the study highlights an increased trend of air pollution from 2012 to 2013 in China. The magnitude of air pollution varied by seasons and regions and correlated with climatic factors and total mortality across the country.

Comportamiento epidemiológico del accidente ofídico en el departamento del Magdalena, Colombia (2009-2013)

Objective: To determine the epidemiological behavior of snakebite accidents in the Department of Magdalena, in the years between 2009 and 2013. Materials and methods: Descriptive and retrospective study. The sample size was 485 cases reported to the national Public Health Surveillance System. The information was organized in Microsoft Excel® and processed in Epi-INFO®program version 3.5.4 of 2012. Bivariate analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, association test (OR) and statistical significance (p <0.05); keeping the corresponding ethical and methodological rigor. Results: The age group between 10 and 29 years was the most affected (44.5 %), predominantly males (73 %) living in rural areas (59 %). The municipalities with the highest incidence and reporting cases were zona bananera (15.9 %), Cienaga (11.8 %), El Banco (10.7 %), Pivijay (9.5%) and Ariguani (8.2 %). We found statistical association between being bitten by mapana snake and exerting both agricultural work: OR = 0.53 (CI95 %: 0.36 - 0.77; p = 0.00116) and housework: OR = 2.29 (CI95 %: 1.36 - 3.87; p = 0.00148). It appears similar between being bitten by a mapana snake and having nausea: OR = 1.60 (CI95 %: 1.04 - 2.44; p = 0.029) as systemic clinical manifestations. Conclusions: The snakebites continue to be events of interest to global public health. However, it is necessary to encourage adherence to the nationalepidemiological surveillance protocol and to improve notification in the primary institutions to avoid underreporting. Moreover, it is important to continue the research in different regions in order to compare findings and to establish prevention and control strategies.

Design and implementation of a national public health surveillance system in Jordan

Understanding and improving the health status of communities depend on effective public health surveillance. Adoption of new technologies, standardised case definitions and clinical guidelines for accurate diagnosis, and access to timely and reliable data, remains a challenge for public health surveillance systems however and existing public health surveillance systems are often fragmented, disease specific, inconsistent and of poor quality. We describe the application of an enterprise architecture approach to the design, planning and implementation of a national public health surveillance system in Jordan. This enabled a well planned and collaboratively supported system to be built and implemented using consistent standards for data collection, management, reporting and use. The system is case-based and integrated and employs mobile information technology to aid collection of real-time, standardised data to inform and improve decision-making at different levels of the health system.

Impact of rurality on maternal and infant health indicators and outcomes in Maine

Rural residents may face health challenges related to geographic barriers to care, physician shortages, poverty, lower educational attainment, and other demographic factors. In maternal and child health, these disparities may be evidenced by the health risks and behaviors of new mothers, the health of infants born to these mothers, and the care received by both mothers and infants. To determine the impact of rurality on maternal and child health in Maine, USA, 11 years of data (2000-2010) for the state of Maine from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) project were analyzed. PRAMS is a national public health surveillance system that uses questionnaires to survey women who had delivered live infants in the previous 2-4 months. Using a geographic information system, each questionnaire response was assigned a rurality tier (urban, suburban, large rural town, or isolated rural community) based on the rural-urban commuting area code of the town of residence of the mother. Results from the four rurality tiers were compared using the survey procedures in Statistical Analysis Software to adjust for the complex sampling strategy of the PRAMS dataset. Means (for continuous variables) and percentages (for categorical variables) were calculated for each rurality tier, along with 95% confidence intervals. Significant differences between rurality tiers were tested for using F-tests or χ2 tests. If significant differences between rurality tiers existed (p<0.05), specific tiers were judged to be different from each other if their 95% confidence intervals did not overlap. A total of 12 600 mothers responded to the PRAMS questionnaire during the study period. Compared to mothers from more urban areas, rural mothers were younger (10.5% of mothers from isolated rural areas were teenagers compared to 6.2% of mothers from urban areas), less well educated, less likely to be married, and more likely to live in lower income households (39.6% of isolated rural mothers had household incomes ≤US$20 000/year vs 28.8% of urban mothers). Rural mothers had higher pre-pregnancy body mass indexes (BMIs; average BMI 26.1 for isolated rural women vs 25.3 for urban women) and were more likely to smoke but less likely to drink alcohol (both before and during pregnancy). Compared to mothers from more urban areas, rural mothers were not sure they were pregnant until a later gestational age but received prenatal care just as early and were just as likely to receive prenatal care as early as they wished. There were no differences among rurality tiers in Caesarean section rates, rates of premature births (<37 weeks gestation), or rates of underweight births (<2500 g). However infants born to rural mothers were less likely to be breastfed (52.9% of isolated rural vs 60.9% of urban infants breast fed for ≥8 weeks). These results show that, while rural women face significant demographic and behavior challenges, their access to prenatal care, the care they receive while pregnant, and the outcomes of their pregnancies are similar to those of urban women. These results highlight areas where focused pre-pregnancy and prenatal education may improve maternal and child health in rural Maine.