As National Nutrition Month® draws to a close for this year, take a minute and name the ways you found to brighten your table with colorful fruits and vegetables over the past few weeks. Did you visit a farmers' market with your family? Many of our WIC participants and seniors in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program have done just that as we kicked [...]
Our Public Health Laboratory has been authorized by the CDC to begin testing for the Zika virus. We received a Zika virus testing validation panel from the Laboratory Response Network at CDC late last week, passed the proficiency testing panel and were authorized to test for Zika virus this past Monday. Using this test we can run up to 100 [...]
As expected, the first case of Zika has finally been confirmed in Arizona. Yesterday, our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory identified Zika virus in a specimen sent to us for testing. The case, an older adult woman in Maricopa County, was infected with the disease while traveling in a country with known Zika virus transmission. [...]
One of Governor Doug Ducey’s priorities is to modernize and streamline state government so the services we provide are more effective for the people we serve. One of the ways state government will transform is by deploying an intentional statewide management system . Over the last few weeks we have been working on a department-wide [...]
Input and feedback from our partners is critical to ensuring the public health work we do is effective and meaningful. Even when (or especially when) programs have been in existence for years, it’s important to continue checking in with our stakeholders. MEDSIS, our electronic communicable disease surveillance system, has been in place since 2006, but [...]
Each year on March 24th, we observe World TB Day and revisit the worldwide efforts to control and eliminate tuberculosis (TB) . The theme of World TB Day 2016, "Unite to End TB," is showcased in Arizona through ongoing local, state, national, and binational collaboration. While nationally in 2015 we saw an increase of 157 [...]
With Easter right around the corner, little ones in Arizona may be coming into contact with baby chicks or ducklings at festivals, egg hunts, or petting zoos. While these baby birds are cute, they are also common carriers of Salmonella bacteria . Salmonella bacteria can cause infections in people, with symptoms including diarrhea, fever, and [...]
Alzheimer’s disease is a serious health issue in Arizona and the United States. The disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Over the next 10 years, Arizona is expected to experience an exponential increase in Alzheimer’s cases because of an aging population . In most people Alzheimer’s symptoms first appear after age [...]
Several of our public education and outreach campaigns received awards earlier this month from the American Advertising Federation. Our tobacco prevention program earned several awards for public service announcements promoting the Arizona Smoker’s Helpline, commonly referred to as the ASHLine, which provides coaching and nicotine replacement therapy to anyone who wants to quit using tobacco. [...]
Congratulations to Yavapai County Community Health Services for being the first public health department in Arizona to achieve accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board! The national accreditation program works to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of the nation’s tribal, state, local and territorial public [...]
