Office of Infectious Disease Services recently published a report in the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describing the 2016 measles outbreak associated with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in our state. This week marks the one year anniversary of the public health response to the outbreak. ADHS worked with Pinal County [...]
Meeting the annual training requirement just got a little easier for Vaccines for Children providers and participants thanks to the Arizona Immunization Program Office (AIPO) Train! AIPO Train is a dedicated online learning management system (LMS) providing a simple and intuitive user interface for Arizona’s VFC providers and immunization partners. Until now VFC providers and partners [...]
The Arizona Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) started its first data collection cycle last month. PRAMS is a joint research project between our agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that collects data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy. Every month, Arizona PRAMS will mail a questionnaire packet to [...]
In December, the WHO declared the end of Ebola transmission in Guinea. As of February 19, all U.S. enhanced screening and monitoring requirements for travelers returning from Guinea have been removed. This follows a CDC assessment that the risk of Ebola in travelers from Guinea is low. Travelers leaving from Guinea will still be screened [...]
Earlier this month I highlighted Folic Acid Awareness Week and PowerMeA2Z as part of National Birth Defects Prevention Month. I also want to recognize Governor Doug Ducey's proclamation declaring January 2016 as Birth Defects Prevention Month in Arizona. There are approximately 700 serious birth defects reported each year in Arizona, which are tracked by the [...]
A few weeks ago I blogged about Zika virus, a disease spread by mosquitoes that was newly detected in several Central and South American countries. This week, the CDC confirmed the first case virus of Zika in the United States. The virus was found in a person who lives in Texas, but who had traveled [...]
Last flu season was a rough one, mainly because the influenza A (H3) strain in the vaccine did not match the circulating A (H3) strain that was making most people sick. This season, CDC believes the strains in the vaccine will be a good match against the currently circulating strains and provide better protection. Although the flu [...]
This month is National Immunization Awareness Month and we can’t stress enough how important vaccines are to protecting your family, yourself, and those around you. According to the Centers for Disease Control immunizations are one of the top 10 public health accomplishments of the 20th century. The 2014 National Immunization Survey for toddlers was released by [...]
A couple of weeks ago a healthcare worker who recently returned from Saudi Arabia was the first confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the U.S. This week the CDC and the Florida health department confirmed a 2nd US case. A person with MERS traveled Saudi Arabia - London - Boston - Atlanta - [...]
The Top 5 things that kill people in the US are: heart disease, cancer, lung disease such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, stroke and injuries. In fact- these 5 conditions cause 63% of all deaths in the US — which is nearly 18,000 people each year in AZ (about 50 people/day in AZ). This week [...]
