MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus) is back in the news again this week. Two weeks ago, I mentioned The Lancet study that identified the potential link between dromedary camels and MERS. Last week, a new animal has been found with a potential link to MERS… the bat. An article in Emerging Infectious Diseases describes a study [...]
September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and is a great time for us to take stock of where we are in the "Winnable Battle" of combatting obesity. Last month, we got some good news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that obesity rates in children and adults are leveling off after decades [...]
There’s a new CDC Sortable Stats web application that went live a couple of weeks ago that provides an interactive tool to analyze behavioral risk factors and health indicators compiled from various published CDC and federal sources. You can search by state for things like death rates (e.g. infant mortality, heart disease, motor vehicle death rates, [...]
Last year, a new SARS-like virus called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) broke out in Saudi Arabia. Since then, 94 cases of the very lethal disease have been reported by the World Health Organization (50% of the cases have been fatal). All the cases have been on the Arabian Peninsula. The virus causes severe [...]
We finally got some better news from the childhood obesity public health front this week. Tuesday’s CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that childhood obesity rates are stabilizing or decreasing slightly across the country. In fact, 19 states had a significant downward trend in obesity prevalence among low-income preschoolers. There was no change in [...]
Increasing the percentage of women that choose to breastfeed is a critical evidence-based practice for addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Here in Arizona, we have a lot to celebrate during World Breastfeeding Week- because of our collective work to increase breastfeeding is paying off. Arizona’s percentage of babies who begin breastfeeding has jumped to 83% [...]
With the monsoon comes an increase in foodborne illnesses in Arizona. While outdoor pool parties, barbeques, and family gatherings are cool, it’s important to remember some tips for handling food safely to protect your family and guests from a nasty bout of foodborne illnesses. According to the CDC, reducing foodborne illness by just 10% would keep 5 million Americans [...]
According to a new CDC report, about 18 U.S. women die every day of a prescription painkiller overdose, totaling more than 6,600 deaths in 2010. This is a stunning increase of 400% since 1999. Every 3 minutes, a woman goes to the emergency department for prescription painkiller misuse or abuse. The report explains that women [...]
You’ve no doubt heard about the multi-state outbreak of fungal meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injections recently. Here’s what we know right now: Starting sometime in September some shipments of a steroid sometimes used to relieve back pain were contaminated with a fungus called Aspergillus fumigatus. Shortly thereafter patients in 23 states [...]
Update: We were incorrect in the earlier posting about free access to HBO. In fact, if you are not an HBO subscriber, you can watch the documentary online for free here: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/ We don’t shy away from tough battles in public health. Through the last century, we’ve tackled all types of diseases, worked with public [...]
