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February 9, 2013Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity

Download PDF According to the CDC, at the end of Week 6 (2/9/13), reports of influenza activity in the United States continued to be elevated although there were continued declines in both diagnosed influenza and influenza-like-illness throughout the U.S. Even fewer states reported "widespread" flu activity (31) than last week. There were increases in "regional" and "local" activity reported with 14 states plus Puerto Rico and Wash., D.C. and 4 states, respectively. One state and Guam reported "sporadic". Influenza-like illness continued...

February 2, 2013Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity in the U.S. Continued To Be Elevated

Download PDF According to the CDC, at the end of Week 5 (2/2/13), reports of influenza activity in the United States continued to be elevated although continued declines in diagnosed influenza and influenza-like-illness throughout the U.S. were noted. Less states reported "widespread" activity (38); nine reported "regional" activity. Two states, and Wash., D.C. and Puerto Rico reported only “local” activity and one with "sporadic". Influenza-like illness continued above the expected average in all regions and deaths related to flu remained...

January 25, 2013Read more...

High Anxiety: National Security Events Take Collaboration, Planning

The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are two of the United States’ most important and highest stakes gatherings. As thousands of elected officials, delegates, and media representatives descended on the respective host cities, public health and safety officials from the local, state, and federal levels worked with FirstWatch to prepare for threats—manmade or natural—that could disrupt the events.

January 19, 2013Read more...

Reports of Influenza in the U.S. Continue To Be Above Epidemic Levels

Download PDF According to the CDC, at the end of Week 3 (1/19/13), reports of influenza activity in the United States continued to be above epidemic levels although some areas of the US reported less flu. One less state is reporting "widespread" activity (47) and two are reporting "regional" activity. One state and Wash., D.C. reported only “local” activity. No state reported limited or no activity. There was less flu noted in the Southeast, Northeast, South, and Midwest but...

January 13, 2013Read more...

Public Safety teams in New Orleans use FirstWatch system for Super Bowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSqdFqs2WYI Public Safety, Homeland Security and Public Health teams in New Orleans use FirstWatch every day for real-time situational awareness & data surveillance. FirstWatch is especially helpful during high-profile special events like the 2013 Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Sugar Bowl or NCAA Final Four. FirstWatch analyzes 9-1-1 emergency call data (in real-time) to provide Public Safety & other authorized stakeholder groups with secure web based data views, tools & automated alerts related to trends, patterns or geographic clusters of potentially concerning...

January 12, 2013Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity in the U.S. Continue To Be Above Epidemic Levels

Download PDF Reports of influenza activity in the U.S. continued to be above epidemic levels. Although some areas that had been reporting “widespread” activity are now only reporting “regional” activity, those states reporting “widespread” activity increased to 48; “regional” in two; and Wash., D.C. reported “local” activity. According to the CDC, at the end of Week 2 (1/12/13), reports of influenza activity in the United States continued to be above epidemic levels. Although some areas that had been reporting...

January 5, 2013Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity in the U.S. Continue To Be Elevated

Download PDF According to the CDC, at the end of Week 1 (1/5/13) report of influenza activity in the United States continued to be elevated although some markers of flu activity in some areas showed a decline. At this time, it is too early to tell if this is just a fluctuation or if it is a signal of an early peak to the 2012-13 flu season. Influenza levels are considered “widespread” in forty-seven (47) states; “regional” in two;...

December 29, 2012Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity in the US Was Increasingly Elevated

Download PDF According to the CDC, at the end of Week 52 (12/29/12) report of influenza activity in the United States was increasingly elevated, with influenza levels considered “widespread” in forty-one (41) states; “regional” in seven; Wash., D.C. with “local”; and one state reporting "sporadic". Guam reported no flu activity and one state, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands did not report their activity levels. These numbers represent a huge increase in those numbers with widespread influenza...

December 1, 2012Read more...

Report of Influenza Activity in the U.S. Was Actually Down From Last Week

Download PDF Report of influenza activity in the U.S. was actually down from last week, with influenza levels considered “widespread” in eight states; “regional” in 15; 15 with “local;” with the remaining states reporting sporadic (12 states plus Washington, D.C., Guam) or no activity; a few territories did not report. The percentage of positive influenza specimens has increased.  

October 13, 2012Read more...

Reports of Influenza Activity in the U.S.

Reports of influenza activity in the U.S., flu levels are for all 50 states and territories are at a low level (compared historically). Of more than 3,000 specimens that were tested for influenza last week, there was a national average of 3.9% that tested positive for influenza. Read More

September 20, 2012Read more...

KSTP Channel 5 “Data Watchdog”

Local Minneapolis station KSTP Channel 5 featured FirstWatch in the news segment “Data Watchdog” Now Tracking Minneapolis 911 Calls City of Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC) & Hennepin EMS interview on ABC (KSTP) about deploying and using FirstWatch real-time Dashboards and data analytics and automated alerting for the 911 Communications Center, as well as EMS, Police and Fire teams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jmtf0KTf8E

August 20, 2012Read more...

Minneapolis Rolls Out FirstWatch at APCO 

To ensure that police and emergency medical services in Minneapolis and Hennepin County arrive on scene as quickly as possible, the Minneapolis Emergency Communication Center and the Hennepin EMS Emergency Communication Center have deployed a new system that monitors every 911 call in real-time. Read the release.

July 13, 2012Read more...

FirstWatch Receives DHS SAFETY Act “Designation”

FirstWatch is now listed as “Designated” Homeland Security Technology on the DHS Safety Act website. FirstWatch was granted “Designation” status pursuant to the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (“SAFETY Act”) and Regulations to Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies.