Arizona Department of Health Services, Director’s Blog

Prevent infection: Four achievable New Year’s resolutions

It’s that time again when New Year’s resolutions are made, and sometimes broken. This year consider setting some achievable resolutions this year that can protect you from getting an infection.

One: Wash your hands. You probably already do this after using the restroom, but are you washing before eating every meal? For at least 20 seconds? It’s basic, but

By | January 11th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on Prevent infection: Four achievable New Year’s resolutions

Aedes Mosquitoes Can Survive the Winter

Even though Arizona temperatures are cooling down, it’s still important to protect yourself against mosquitoes. Arizona is home to about 50 mosquito species including Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that can carry and spread diseases like the Zika virus. This mosquito is well-adapted to the Arizona climate. Their eggs can survive […]

By | January 10th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on Aedes Mosquitoes Can Survive the Winter

RSV Cases on the Rise in Arizona

While influenza isn’t spiking yet, we are seeing an early respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season in Arizona this year. RSV causes a respiratory illness that mainly affects infants and young children, and it generally circulates during the winter. Symptoms are similar to other respiratory illness including cough, runny nose, and […]

By | January 9th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on RSV Cases on the Rise in Arizona

Don’t Let the Flu Get You

It’s a busy time of year when kids are out of school, some businesses are closing up shop for the holidays, and people are taking some quality time to spend with friends and family. The last thing you need right now is a case of the flu. The tiredness, achiness, fever, and congestion that comes with the flu is […]

By | January 6th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on Don’t Let the Flu Get You

School Garden Program is Budding with Change

Last month we launched new materials on our School Garden Program website. The Food Safety Plan was transformed from a pre-written template to a fillable PDF where applicants can easily input information about their garden and write their own policies and procedures. By writing their own food safety plans, […]

By | January 5th, 2017|Preparedness|Comments Off on School Garden Program is Budding with Change