Largest Measles Outbreak of the Year Just got Bigger (but don’t worry!)
Even though the largest measles outbreak of the year officially ended on August 8, the work did not stop there. State and local disease detectives, along with CDC, continued to review all rash illnesses reported in the detention center before the first measles cases were identified. The goal was to see if, looking back, these rashes were actually measles cases. [...]
Medical Marijuana Allocations Completed
On October 6, our Medical Marijuana program concluded the processing of medical marijuana dispensary applications by holding a random selection process for applications meeting the criteria. Our staff worked with accountants on the process which included nine random selections. Our Digital Media Team provided live stream video of the event which can be found on our webpage. The allocation was [...]
MRSA Prevention is Critical to Healthcare Safety
October is MRSA awareness month, and October 2 was World MRSA Day. MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a bacterial infection that is resistant to many types of antibiotics. These events help raise the awareness of MRSA around the globe and to activate survivors, communities, governments, healthcare officials, and personnel to join together to stop the spread of this [...]
New Campaign Teaches Arizona Youth about the Dangers of E-cigarettes
This week we launched a new public awareness campaign called “Vape is a Lie” teaches youth about the dangers of nicotine and e-cigarettes. Vape is a Lie features a series of three public service announcements and a website, Vapeisalie.org, where Arizona youth can learn more about the dangerous chemicals often found in e-cigarettes, commonly referred to as vape pens, [...]
Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Helps Families Stay Safe
This week, we acknowledge National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and this year’s important theme: Lead Free Kids for a Healthy Future. The Arizona Department of Health Services is participating in this event along with CDC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other state childhood lead poisoning prevention programs. Childhood lead poisoning is [...]
New National Childhood Immunization Data Released
The National Immunization Surveys (NIS), sponsored by CDC, are a group of surveys used to monitor immunization coverage across the country. The Child National Immunization Survey assesses data for children, ages 19-35 months of age. Data from 2015 were released earlier this month. For 2015, the NIS shows that Arizona has reached the Healthy People20/20 target for polio, hepatitis B, [...]