Author - Jenny Abercrombie

June 11, 2018Read more...

Ebola Outbreak June 8, 2018

IN THE NEWS Ebola Outbreak June 8, 2018 Although the CDC has not posted updated numbers since the May 18th Notice, Dr. Peter Salama, the Deputy Director-General for Emergency Response, updated the cases numbers to a total of 60 cases with 37 Confirmed, 14 Probable, 9 suspected, with a 27-person death toll. Over 1100 contacts and high-risk individuals, such as health care workers and others providing care have been vaccinated with a promising but still experimental vaccine from Merck; several treatment protocols...

May 31, 2018Read more...

Ebola Outbreak May 31, 2018

IN THE NEWS Ebola Outbreak May 31, 2018 As you are no doubt aware from the media, there is an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  There are no cases in the United States or in any country aside from the DRC. The World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee met May 18th and decided that the outbreak should not be considered an International Health Event, at least at this time, but is of concern and will be closely monitored...

May 31, 2018Read more...

Ebola Outbreak May 2018

As you are no doubt aware from the media, there is an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  There are no cases in the United States or in any country aside from the DRC. The World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee met May 18th and decided that the outbreak should not be considered an International Health Event, at least at this time, but is of concern and will be closely monitored by WHO, CDC & other international...

May 26, 2018Read more...

E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 26, 2018

IN THE NEWS E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 26, 2018 Latest Information: There is NO new update posted from CDC on the E. Coli contamination of Romaine Lettuce.  The information is from the one posted on 5/16/18 which contained an update of cases and states reported through 5/15/18.  Therefore, the cases and statistics remain the same as those posted in the last update.  They are repeated below: To date, there have been 172 cases of E Coli O157:H7 in 32...

May 25, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 5-19-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #20 Week Ending 5-19-18 FLU and ILI news continued to improve and, although there were still Flu and ILI cases, as well as hospitalizations and deaths from influenza, based on the numbers, it is the waning weeks of the 2017-18 Flu Season. So, unless something unexpected happens, this will be the last FirstWatch Flu Summary for Flu Season 2017-18.  The CDC will continue to publish their Weekly Flu Reports and Summaries; they can be accessed through this...

May 18, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 5-12-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #19 Week Ending 5-12-18 FLU and ILI news continued to get better although there were still two indicators that have not normalized, specifically, hospitalizations and pediatric deaths.  For the sixth consecutive week, influenza activity (ILI) was below the national baseline. The number of flu and ILI cases both decreased again. A quick glance at the graphs for Percentages of Visits for ILI and Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality Surveillance, gives a pictorial presentation of the severity of this...

May 16, 2018Read more...

E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 16, 2018

IN THE NEWS E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 16, 2018 Updated Information: The last update from the CDC on the E. Coli contamination of Romaine Lettuce was posted on 5/16/18 and contained an update of cases and states reported through 5/15/18. To date, there are 172 cases of E Coli O157:H7 in 32 states. Of the 157 cases with known information, there have been 75 hospitalizations (48%), 20 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and one (1) death in California. ...

May 11, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 5-5-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #18 Week Ending 5-5-18 Continued good news about Flu but two indicators still have not abated.  Specifically, the rate of hospitalizations from flu continued to increase and there are were still a couple of pediatric deaths reported this week but they were during previous weeks.  For the fifth time in-a-row since this Flu season became active, influenza activity (ILI) was below the national baseline but remained the same as last week. The number of flu cases...

May 9, 2018Read more...

E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 9, 2018

IN THE NEWS E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 9, 2018 Updated Information: The last update from the CDC on the E. Coli contamination of Romaine Lettuce was posted on 5/9/18 and contained an update of cases and states reported through 5/8/18. To date, there are 149 cases of E Coli O157:H7 in 29 states. Of the 129 cases with known information, there have been 64 hospitalizations (50%), 17 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and one (1) death in California. ...

May 8, 2018Read more...

Novel Viruses

Typically, pandemics are caused by novel viruses or variant strains of known viruses since few, if any, people have been exposed or developed antibodies to the virus. Since there is little resistance, many people often get sick. Depending on the virulence (the ability to make a person sick and the severity of that illness), many people may have serious complications or die from their illness. Download the complete document here

May 8, 2018Read more...

DHS Information for First Responders on Maintaining Operational Capabilities during a Pandemic

Executive Summary First responders have a critical role in prehospital emergency care and must continue to provide this essential service and fill the many emergency response roles in a community. The first responder community includes: fire, emergency medical services, law enforcement, emergency management, and 9-1-1 telecommunications. During a severe pandemic, workloads will increase and staff sizes will diminish as employees and their families become ill. Contingency planning now can help reduce the worst impacts: smart planning can save lives. To help with...

May 8, 2018Read more...

CDC Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States

Purpose This document provides interim planning guidance for State, territorial, tribal, and local communities that focuses on several measures other than vaccination and drug treatment that might be useful during an influenza pandemic to reduce its harm. Communities, individuals and families, employers, schools, and other organizations will be asked to plan for the use of these interventions to help limit the spread of a pandemic, prevent disease and death, lessen the impact on the economy, and keep society functioning. This interim...

May 4, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 4-28-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #17 Week Ending 4-28-18 Continued good news about Flu but two indicators still haven’t shown any sign of abating.  Specifically, the rate of hospitalizations from flu continues to increase and there are still a number of pediatric deaths for the week.  But, for the fourth time in-a-row since this Flu season became active, influenza activity (ILI) was below the national baseline and the number of flu cases once again decreased. A quick glance at the graphs for...

May 3, 2018Read more...

E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 1, 2018 – 2nd Update

IN THE NEWS E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 1, 2018 Updated Information: The last update from the CDC on the E. Coli contamination of Romaine Lettuce was 5/2/18 and contained an update of cases and states. To date, there are 121 cases of E Coli O157:H7 in 25 states.  Of the 102 cases with known information, there have been 52 hospitalizations (51%), 14 cases (13.7%) of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and one (1) death in California.  Reported illnesses started between...

May 1, 2018Read more...

E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 1, 2018

IN THE NEWS E. Coli O157:H7 in Lettuce Update as of May 1, 2018 The last update from the CDC on the E. Coli contamination of Romaine Lettuce was 4/28/18 and contained an update of cases and states, as well as important info related to avoiding risk of infection to contaminated lettuce. To date, there are 98 cases of E Coli O157:H7 in 22 states with 46 hospitalizations,10 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and no deaths.  Since there is a 2-3-week lag...

April 27, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 4-21-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #16 Week Ending 4-21-18 Continued good news about Flu but there are still a couple of indicators that have yet to fall, namely, the rate of hospitalizations from flu, as well as the number of pediatric deaths.  However, for the third time in-a-row since the third week in November, influenza activity (ILI) was below the national baseline and the number of flu cases once again decreased. This chart, copied from the CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report,...

April 20, 2018Read more...

Influenza Update Week Ending 4-14-2018

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #15 Week Ending 4-14-18 Good news about Flu!!  For the second time in-a-row since the third week in November, influenza activity was below the national baseline and the number of flu cases once again decreased. There are still a couple of indicators that have yet to fall; namely, the rate of hospitalizations as a cumulative number and for specific age ranges, as well as the number of pediatric deaths.  Hopefully, these numbers will begin to fall...

April 20, 2018Read more...

Multi-State E. Coli Outbreak from Romaine Lettuce

IN THE NEWS Update to E. Coli Outbreak Associated with Romaine Lettuce The CDC has announced an expansion of recommendations to those previously made regarding the Yuma, Arizona regional farming area and romaine lettuce.  In the April 13, 2018 advisory, the CDC recommended avoiding precut/prepackaged romaine lettuce from the Yuma, AZ area, but stated that whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce were OK. Further reports of cases and investigation of those cases have shown a need to amend the recommendations to include...