The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is offering free lead screening of drinking water fixtures and faucets for Arizona schools and child care facilities as part of a nationwide program that was established by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. ADHS received about [...]
If you have a moderately or severely weakened immune system, it's more important than ever to have a COVID-19 action plan. The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the therapeutic agent EVUSHELD is not currently authorized for emergency use in the U.S. This monoclonal antibody had been prescribed to people with moderately to severely [...]
Community levels reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now carry a recommendation of mask use in public indoor settings in Navajo and Apache counties. Based on the latest community levels for Maricopa, Pima, Coconino, Cochise, Gila, and Mohave counties, the CDC recommends talking to your health care provider if you are [...]
An estimated 90,000 people in Arizona are living with hepatitis C, and about 10,000 new cases are reported each year. But most people who have hepatitis C don’t know it. That’s why we recommend getting tested for this virus, which causes inflammation of the liver and is the leading cause of liver cancer. Hepatitis C [...]
For many of us, it almost felt like everything else stopped when COVID-19 arrived in U.S. more than two years ago. For those working in the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory operated by ADHS, efforts related to the pandemic were added to the critical diagnostic work they perform every day. During Medical Laboratory Professionals Week [...]
Whether the result comes from a self-test or a laboratory, you should take steps right away to protect yourself and others if you test positive for COVID-19. A new ADHS resource, azhealth.gov/TestedPositive, has easy-to-follow instructions on what to do if you test positive. It includes an infographic suitable for printing and an option to have [...]
With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly, Arizona has seen more COVID-19 cases in the past week than any other week of the pandemic. Alongside this increase, we’ve seen more people seeking care in hospital emergency rooms and more people seeking COVID-19 testing. Both of these are challenging in their own right. But one avoidable problem [...]
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 15.5 million diagnostic tests have allowed Arizonans to learn whether they have COVID-19 and take action to protect themselves and others. Testing has come a long way in Arizona, both in terms of capacity and options. COVID-19 tests are available to everyone, including the uninsured, at low [...]
Our State Lab performed chemical and biological surveillance testing on food samples from the Republican National Convention. We were selected to participate in the testing because of our reputation and previous experience working with the Food Safety Inspection Service for the detection of biological and chemical agents in food. The samples arrived at the State Laboratory [...]
Arizona’s HIV surveillance hit the mark in the latest CDC national Incidence report. Arizona led the nation in testing and treatment completeness and test results. We’re very proud to have published the first ever Arizona specific HIV incidence estimate which is now posted on our website.
