Our Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, in collaboration with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Grand Canyon Chapter, hosted their state of the state meeting last month. This annual event is dedicated to program updates and education from many areas of the ADHS Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control Services. The event took place [...]
Arizona continues to be among the nation's leaders in tobacco control and is ranked in the top ten in several categories, including tobacco use among adults, youth, and pregnant women. According to national and state surveys, tobacco use declined in the past year by an estimated 40,000 adults and 13,000 high school aged youth. Likewise, [...]
The Association of Public Health Laboratories, a national organization dedicated to strengthening laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the United States and globally, has requested that the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory present its biosafety outreach program in a national webinar. Arizona’s highly successful biosafety program includes a variety of activities designed to develop [...]
We’re always striving for ways to make routine tasks easier and more efficient so we can focus efforts on the things that matter most for the people that we serve. Over the past several years, our immunization program has been strengthening our ability to leverage electronic systems to improve vaccine practices across Arizona . Since 1995, we’ve [...]
If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve noticed a lot of attention on Zika virus, an emerging mosquito-borne disease that’s spreading across the Americas. As of today, no cases of Zika have been found in Arizona, but several other U.S. states are reporting cases of Zika virus in travelers returning from countries where the [...]
Our staff will be hitting the road this week, along with local and federal public health partners, to provide in-person refresher education to healthcare providers about Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These presentations include an overview of the history and epidemiology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Arizona, clinical presentation, recommendations for diagnosis and treatment, and [...]
This is the time of year when we start closing out all of our infectious disease data from the previous year. That means our epidemiology and data entry staff will be hard at work to identify potential duplicate cases, make sure reported disease cases are classified correctly and similarly between the state and local health [...]
Like many people, you may be making your health a priority in the new year. Did you know that being physically active can help you increase your chances to live longer, feel better about yourself, decrease your chances of becoming depressed, sleep well at night, and stay at or get to a healthy [...]
Every day our staff works with local public health and healthcare partners to prepare for and respond to all kinds of public health threats. Looking back at 2015, we addressed infectious disease threats like Ebola, measles, chikungunya, and Salmonella; environmental threats like wildfires, monsoons, and floods; and potential health security threats at Superbowl XLIX. This work [...]
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 [...]
