Disease Detectives Investigating Rise in Valley Fever Cases
Every year in the United States approximately 150,000 people are believed to be infected by Coccidioidomycosis, the fungus that causes Valley Fever. It is one of the most commonly reported infectious diseases in Arizona, and our state accounts for 65 percent of all reported cases in the US. Most people that are infected have mild or no symptoms at all; [...]
ADHS is published again
Recently, two manuscripts from the ADHS Office of Infectious Disease Services were published in the Journal of Correctional Health Care. These publications described two outbreaks of botulism at an Arizona correctional facility in a 4-month period. Botulism, usually associated with improperly canned foods, causes flaccid paralysis that can lead to death without treatment or supportive care. In both of these [...]
USDA’s SNAP-Ed Toolkit will feature the Empower Program
Arizona’s Empower Program has been selected for inclusion in the third revision of SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for States (Toolkit) that will be released in November 2015. The Toolkit review process was conducted in partnership with USDA and the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR). For the third revision of the Toolkit, more applications were received than ever before [...]
Arizona babies receive good grades in latest Report Card
The March of Dimes released its 2015 Premature Birth Report Card today giving our state a “B” grade. New this year, the annual report card ranked state cities and revealed Arizona has a 9 percent preterm birth rate. The report card grades Arizona cities with the greatest number of births on their 2013 preterm birth rates. A preterm birth is considered [...]
New Environmental Laboratory Licensure System
A new web application system, Environmental Laboratory Licensure System (ELLS), has been successfully launched for our Bureau of State Laboratory Services. The Office of Laboratory Services divides approved methods to test air particulates or emissions, hazardous and solid waste, safe drinking water and wastewater. There are four types of laboratories which are licensed. They include government, commercial (for profit), company [...]
Prevention of Falls among Older Arizonans: A Cornerstone of Healthy Aging
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries, and injury-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations in Arizona for people 65 years of age and older. Falls can result in serious injuries such as fractures and traumatic brain injuries, and in some cases can be fatal. Falls, and the fear of falling, can also contribute to social isolation, and [...]