Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
As you’ve probably seen in the news, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is still on the march. The outbreak started back in March and is currently the largest Ebola outbreak in history, with the WHO reporting 1,603 cases and 877 deaths as of August 1st. Most of the cases have occurred in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, with a small [...]
Get a Healthy Jump on the School Year
Believe it or not, it’s already back to school time. Whether kids are heading off to school for the first time, or going back for their senior year of high school, it’s important for parents, grandparents and students to do everything they can to insure the school year is safe and healthy. One of the best ways to keep kids [...]
The 5th “Vital Sign” & the Painkiller Epidemic (Part II of V)
Last week (in Part I of this 5-part series) I introduced the idea that contemporary pain management strategies have resulted in an epidemic of painkiller misuse and abuse that’s killing large numbers of people. In fact, misuse and abuse of opiate prescription painkillers takes out more people every year than car crashes. The run-up to the current epidemic appears to have [...]
Summer Rabies Update: Rabies & Skunks
2014 has already proven to be a very active year for rabies in Arizona. So far this year, there have been 70 animals reported positive for rabies. Last year at this time there were 40 animals reported positive. We’re seeing an especially high number of rabid skunks this year. 39 skunks have been reported so far, all of them coming [...]
AZ’s Sliding Fee Scale Healthcare Clinic Finder
Arizonans who don’t have health insurance still a way of getting affordable healthcare at one of Arizona’s 354 Sliding Fee Schedule health clinics. These clinics offer discounted fees for services to persons without health insurance. Our Bureau of Health Systems Development just updated the current list of primary care, dental or behavioral healthcare providers by building a web-based map and [...]
Successful Infectious Disease Prevention Conference
Last week we wrapped up our 5th annual Arizona Infectious Disease Training and Exercise. This event kicked off with a full day pandemic influenza tabletop exercise followed by two days of training on a variety of infectious disease topics. The 400 registrants – public health folks, infection preventionists, healthcare providers, academic partners, and others – learned about things like healthcare associated [...]