Recent irregularities in Table II of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Table II of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report each week displays the cumulative year-to-date provisional number of cases of selected notifiable diseases in the United States, by state. Thus comparisons between the same weeks for different years can allow a rough rapid tracking of trends. In recent years, particularly 2004, the reported provisional cases showed incongruities. As of April 16, 2004, for example, no AIDS cases at all appeared in Table II. Responses from government public health officials (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State of California) indicate instabilities and problems in the public health surveillance and reporting system. Such instabilities and problems, if serious and enduring enough, could impair detection of threats to public health.