CDC awards

A number of prestigious awards were given out in May at the 27th Annual Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr Etienne Krug, EIS officer in the Division of Violence Prevention at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, won the ultimate award—the Langmuir Prize, named after Alex Langmuir who started the EIS Program. This award is for the most outstanding manuscript in public health, and the first time the award has gone to a scientist doing work in violence prevention. Dr Krug won this award for the project he conducted to collect and analyze international comparison data on firearm injury mortality. It will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He also was awarded the Paul C Schnitker Award for the most substantial contribution of an EIS officer to important international work.

Boating licenses for Canadians

Canada will require motor boaters to have an operator's license for the first time beginning in 1999, with drivers under 16 years old the first target of the new regulations. Age groups will be phased in over the next decade, but eventually all drivers of motorcraft will have to pass a written test demonstrating basic knowledge of boat handling and minimum safety requirements. Children younger than 12 will be barred from operating any boat equipped with more than a 10 horsepower motor, and 12 to 16 year olds will be restricted to boats with a maximum of 40 horsepower. With Canada's huge expanse of waterways and vacation properties, a boating industry spokesman estimated that 150 000 young people are now operating boats for which they will need a license. Until now, Canada has had no age limits and no testing or licensing requirements for small craft operators anywhere in the country.

£1.7 million on research into inequalities in health

Health inequalities …