FDA

Ocean Predators & Pregnancy

By |2017-02-10T09:49:58-07:00December 3rd, 2013|Prevention|

There was good news this week about preconception health.  A report just out from the EPA found that more women of childbearing age have been avoiding eating the kinds of ocean predators that typically contain mercury (Hg).  This is important because mercury can affect the baby’s brain being developed during pregnancy.   Mercury is found in [...]

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Trans Fats on the Way Out?

By |2017-02-10T09:50:00-07:00November 18th, 2013|Prevention|

The FDA made a preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils (the primary dietary source of trans fat in processed foods) are not "generally recognized as safe" for use in food.  Their review of the research has led them to conclude that consuming trans fat raises LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and increases the risk of coronary heart disease. The FDA opened a 60-day [...]

Hydrocodone Combination Products Moving to Schedule II?

By |2017-02-10T09:50:00-07:00November 7th, 2013|Behavioral Health, Prevention|

Poisoning (including alcohol and prescription drugs) causes more deaths than car crashes in AZ.  Committed folks across the state are taking action on this issue.  We’re part of the Arizona Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Initiative, a multi-agency, multi-systemic approach to addressing the epidemic.  As part of this initiative, new guidelines have been issued for prescribing [...]

Fungi in Medicine

By |2017-02-10T09:50:57-07:00October 9th, 2012|Preparedness|

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 [...]

STAND

By |2012-09-19T14:51:00-07:00September 19th, 2012|Prevention|

Our chronic disease prevention team and the county health departments, community partners, and Pima Prevention Partnership, officially launched STAND last week.  It’s a coalition of local youth groups that have banded together in a common cause against tobacco use.  It’s the culmination of a three-year effort to engage more youth in the actual planning and [...]

Political Convention Food Tested by Our Lab

By |2017-02-10T09:51:00-07:00September 11th, 2012|General|

Our State Lab performed chemical and biological surveillance testing on food samples from the Republican National Convention.  We were selected to participate in the testing because of our reputation and previous experience working with the Food Safety Inspection Service for the detection of biological and chemical agents in food.  The samples arrived at the State Laboratory [...]

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Breastfeeding & Cannabis

By |2017-02-10T09:51:01-07:00September 4th, 2012|General|

Some AZ health care providers and parents have asked questions about whether medical marijuana is safe for use while breastfeeding.  The short answer is no, because the active chemical in marijuana is passed to the baby through breast milk. For this reason, most experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC advise moms not to use marijuana [...]

Arizona’s Food Safety Network

By |2017-02-10T09:51:31-07:00October 11th, 2011|General, Prevention|

The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak has captured the public’s attention these days- so I thought I’d do a piece on Arizona’s food safety network. Let’s start at the farm & ranch.  The Arizona Department of Agriculture is responsible for ensuring that the base of the food safety pyramid is solid in Arizona.  They have several divisions that are [...]

Flu Down Under

By |2017-02-10T09:51:37-07:00August 4th, 2011|General|

This is the time of year that public health folks start watching the flu reports from the southern hemisphere.  We’re watching for a couple of things – the circulating strains and how it’s spreading.  The Australian Government Department of Health is reporting 6 times as many cases as they had at this time last season.  [...]

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FDA Approves Vaccines for the 2011-2012 Influenza Season

By |2011-07-25T08:48:43-07:00July 25th, 2011|General, Prevention|

The FDA approved the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine this week. The strains in this year’s vaccine were recommended by the CDC and the World Healthy Organization after studying virus samples collected from around the world to find the influenza viruses that are the most likely to cause illness during the upcoming flu season.  The strains selected [...]

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