By Scripps Howard News Service

These 11 counties lead the nation in the detection of accidental infant asphyxiation, according to an analysis of more than 20,000 infant deaths from Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2004, by Scripps Howard News Service. Listed below are the total number of sudden infant deaths and the percentage of these deaths that were diagnosed as accidental suffocation or strangulation, usually because children were placed in unsafe sleeping environments.

	1. Oakland County, Mich. ...... 58 ... 88%
	2. Saginaw County, Mich.	...... 15 ... 87
	3. Lake County, Ind. .......... 27 ... 78
	4. Marion County, Ind. ........ 74 ... 67
	5. Escambia County, Fla.	...... 41 ... 66
	6. Hennepin County, Minn. ..... 57 ... 63
	7. Dane County, Wis.. ......... 18 ... 61
	8. St. Charles County, Mo. .... 15 ... 60
	9. Ingham County, Mich. ....... 19 ... 58
	10. Calhoun County, Mich. ..... 11 ... 55
	11. Ouachita Parish, La. ...... 19 ... 53