This week the Governor signed an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. The Council consists of 20 public health, health-care, and other multi-sectorial partners, with the ADHS Director as the Chair. Our task will be to ensure that Arizona is prepared to rapidly and effectively respond to various infectious diseases.
We’ll be developing a plan that will: 1) Include methods for rapidly identifying and assessing cases, protocols for providing healthcare treatment and infection control to prevent healthcare worker infections, and case contact investigations to prevent secondary infections in the community; 2) Identify ways to strengthen collaboration among healthcare organizations, medical communities, government agencies, law enforcement, non-profit organizations, and the community-at-large in order to effectively address infectious disease transmission and treatment; and 3) Serve as a reliable and transparent source of information and education for Arizona leadership and citizens.
We’ll provide a preliminary report to the Governor by December 1, 2014 and continue to report to the Governor on a regular basis as the situation requires.
You can be part of the solution too. You can reduce your chances of getting sick and spreading illness by immunizing your family against influenza right now.
Glad to see the update and a council of key people in public health to help protect the state and its communities. You are MUCH further ahead than most any other state. I very much look forward to the report later this year and updates on your guys’ progress – be sure to keep me updated and I can get the word out to our audience as a key progression for public health.
Thank you and your staff for all you do! I am concerned about assessing the difference between the similar symptoms of the flu virus and the ebola virus. What do you recommend? I deal with a young, K-5 school population. Because ebola is so deadly so quickly, and the parents of students here are not too well informed, I don’t know that they would be monitoring temps. twice daily….
The key is travel history. If a person has traveled to Sierra Leone, Guinea, or Liberia within the last 21 days and has “influenza like” symptoms including fever over 100.4 then call your county health department to get more information about the actual risk.
Keep an eye out… our ADHS Ebola website will have a school toolkit posted next week.
Thank you and your staff for all you do! I am concerned about assessing the difference between the similar symptoms of the flu virus and the ebola virus. What do you recommend? I deal with a young, K-5 school population. Because ebola is so deadly so quickly, and the parents of students here are not too well informed, I don’t know that they would be monitoring temps. twice daily….
Hopefully Ebola virus completely wiped out.