illness

Interested in Developing a “Family Health Portrait”?

By |2017-02-10T09:49:57-07:00December 11th, 2013|General|

We’ve known for a long time that your family health history can have a profound impact on your risks for certain inheritable diseases and illnesses.  Until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to track your family health history.  The Surgeon General's Office has developed an internet-based tool called “My Family Health Portrait” which makes [...]

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SARS déjà vu?

By |2017-02-10T09:50:26-07:00May 11th, 2013|Prevention|

Last month the World Health Organization (WHO) began to receive reports of human cases with SARS-like infections caused by a new coronavirus. According to WHO, 30 cases of this new illness have been found and 60% of the infections have been fatal. So far, the cases have been limited to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab [...]

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SARS… A 10-Year Retrospective

By |2017-02-10T09:50:26-07:00May 10th, 2013|Preparedness|

This Spring marks 10 years since Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) arrived on the global public health scene.  It started as a mystery illness in SE Asia- without name, origin, or cure in February of 2003.  The CDC immediately began working with the World Health Organization to investigate the outbreak.  Public health scientists across the globe [...]

50 Years of Newborn Screening

By |2017-02-10T09:50:44-07:00January 29th, 2013|General, Newborn Screening, Prevention|

Last year we welcomed about 87,000 newborns to Arizona.  Our Newborn Screening Program (in our State Lab) ensures that each are tested for 28 inherited disorders and hearing problems.   The goal is to help kids avoid illness, developmental delays and even death.  Teamwork, communication and coordination are critical in making this program effective.  A quick [...]

Breastfeeding & Cannabis

By |2017-02-10T09:51:01-07:00September 4th, 2012|General|

Some AZ health care providers and parents have asked questions about whether medical marijuana is safe for use while breastfeeding.  The short answer is no, because the active chemical in marijuana is passed to the baby through breast milk. For this reason, most experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC advise moms not to use marijuana [...]

Trash Your Stash V

By |2012-04-27T12:42:20-07:00April 27th, 2012|General|

Prescription drugs can be safe and effective at treating illnesses- but leftovers are also tempting for experimental teens- and the misuse of narcotic prescriptions is an increasingly urgent public health problem in Arizona.  In fact, more than 1,100 Arizonans died from prescription drug poisoning from misuse and abuse last year- which is more than the number [...]

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Trash Your Stash

By |2011-10-28T10:01:33-07:00October 28th, 2011|General, Prevention|

Prescription drugs can be safe and effective at treating illnesses- but leftovers are also tempting for experimental teens- and the misuse of narcotic prescriptions is an increasingly urgent public health problem in Arizona.  In fact, more than 1,100 Arizonans died from prescription drug poisoning from misuse and abuse last year- which is more than the number [...]

FDA Approves Vaccines for the 2011-2012 Influenza Season

By |2011-07-25T08:48:43-07:00July 25th, 2011|General, Prevention|

The FDA approved the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine this week. The strains in this year’s vaccine were recommended by the CDC and the World Healthy Organization after studying virus samples collected from around the world to find the influenza viruses that are the most likely to cause illness during the upcoming flu season.  The strains selected [...]

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