Tucson Disaster Recovery Data Center
We’re continuing to implement our disaster recovery site in Tucson. We’ve installed and tested the equipment and applications necessary to operate our Office of Vital Records Birth Production and Medical Marijuana Point of Sale systems from this alternate site. Last week, we moved copies of the production databases to Tucson and upgraded the database versions. This week, we moved copies of [...]
Local Transmission of Dengue in Sonora
During the World Cup, I wrote about dengue, since it’s endemic in Brazil. Every year, we get a handful of dengue cases reported in Arizona (4 last year) that are associated with travel to a country with dengue circulation, but for the first time, dengue is at our border. Over the last few weeks, locally transmitted cases of dengue have been [...]
Opportunity to Join the Arizona State Hospital Team
The Arizona State Hospital will be hosting a Job Fair on Wednesday, November 12, from 9am to Noon at 501 N. 24th Street, Phoenix. We’re looking for folks that might be interested in joining our team at the Arizona State Hospital. We’ll be recruiting for various positions like Psychiatric RN’s, Mental Health Program Specialists, and LPN’s. The Fair is a [...]
1st AZ Influenza Case Kicks Off Surveillance Season
Influenza season officially arrived last week when our Arizona State Public Health Laboratory confirmed the 1st AZ-acquired influenza case for the 2014-2015 season. Although flu activity is monitored year-round in Arizona, the start of the season intensifies our statewide surveillance activities. Partners across the state (including local health departments, laboratories and healthcare providers) participate by reporting positive flu labs to ADHS, [...]
Arizona On Track to Recognize 1st Infectious Disease Treatment Center of Excellence
We just finished the second meeting of the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. At the 1st meeting (a couple of weeks ago) we outlined key priorities: 1) identifying an “Infectious Disease Treatment Center of Excellence” that would be proficient at treating emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola; 2) developing a parallel emergency medical services transport system; and 3) [...]
It’s Valley Fever Awareness Week!
Did you know Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) is one of the most commonly reported infectious diseases in Arizona? While most people infected with Valley Fever experience mild or no symptoms at all, some suffer from more severe symptoms including pneumonia or the spread of the fungus to other parts of the body, including the brain. Although recent findings from the 2013 [...]