Salmonella are bacteria that live in the intestinal tract of animals.  Certain strains tend to attach themselves to certain animal types (e.g. pigs, chickens).  Because they thrive in animal poop and because there is so much animal poop made and distributed in and around confined animal feeding organizations (CAFOs), the poop is on and in our food supply.  So when one company produces mega amounts of eggs and those eggs are sold through chains of stores, we can understand why salmonella on a farm in the midwest can end up in the stomachs of people in North Carolina (or some other state) through the eating of eggs.

Since we spread animal poop on farmland as fertilizer salmonella gets into all sorts of strange places (peanut butter anyone?).

So this week we’ve found the CDC very busy tracking down cases of salmonella intestinal infections (diarrhea) in people who’ve eaten eggs produced by this one company.  Thousands have been infected.

You can learn more by visiting the NC state website: http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/gcdc/salmonella.html

Julie Henry just told us, “For your information, we did have one outbreak of this particular strain of Salmonella in Durham County in April. It was investigated by the Durham County Health Department and our Epidemiology Section and was determined to be related to a frozen pasteurized egg product used in a local restaurant.   We have had no other related salmonella outbreaks reported since that time.”

Coming Up!

Low Cost Animal Rabies Vaccination Clinic

Fire District #28, 6619 NC 61 North, Gibsonville

Saturday, August 28, 9am-1pm

Shots $5.00 per pet

Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease and diabetes are among the top ten leading causes of death in Guilford County.  They all have something in common.  They are examples of a chronic health condition – a personal medical issue that a person may have to deal with for years.

Chronic health conditions are some of our most common and costly health problems.  Diseases such as diabetes, arthritis or lupus take a physical, emotional and financial toll on the individuals who have them as well as their family members.  Patients and caregivers often struggle with quality of life issues as well as lost or reduced productivity at work and at home.

ç  The series will be held on six consecutive Thursdays, beginning September 23 and ending October 28 from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. at the Roy B. Culler Senior Center, 600 North Hamilton Street in High Point.   There is no cost to participate, but interested individuals must pre-register.  Attendance is limited to 15 people due to the high level of interaction during each session.

Living Healthy is an evidence-based program created and evaluated by the Stanford Patient Education Research Center.  It is designed to help individuals better manage their chronic conditions and live healthier and happier lives.  Topics covered include:  symptom management; communicating effectively with your health care provider and family; fighting fatigue; problem solving; and action planning.

For more information or to register for Living Healthy, interested persons should contact Connie Lawson at the Guilford County Department of Public Health at 845-7722.

RALEIGH — As recreational and school sports seasons get underway, it is important to emphasize safety for players and for coaches. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, heat stroke is the third leading cause of death among athletes in the United States. Data compiled by the Center shows that 42 football players alone – 31 in high schools – have died from heat stroke across the country since 1995.

The N.C. Division of Public Health has sent a document to youth sports groups statewide to make coaches and young athletes aware of precautions they can take to avoid heat-related illness.   The document may be found on their Injury Prevention website:  www.ncpublichealth.com/chronicdiseaseandinjury/heat.htm

The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic has been declared over by the World Health Organization.

Guilford County Department of Public Health would like to remind the community of the important role immunizations play in the fight against life-threatening illness and disease during National Immunization Awareness Month, and encourage all residents to check their vaccination status.

Immunizations are one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the 20^th century.  There are many vaccines available today for babies, children and adults. Many are required for childcare, school and work attendance.  Some vaccinations are needed for travel.

Some areas of our country are experiencing outbreaks of a vaccine-preventable disease called Pertussis (Whooping Cough).  Make sure your child and teen are protected against this illness and other diseases by vaccinating them with Tdap (the vaccine for tetanus-diptheria-pertussis). New parents, grandparents and those individuals who work with infants also need protection against Whooping Cough.

If you are not sure of your current immunization status, contact your health care provider or the Guilford County Department of Public Health.  We can review your record with you and help you secure the vaccinations you need to stay healthy.

For more information about immunizations, call 641-7777. To make an appointment at the Department of Public Health’s Greensboro office, call 641-5563.  Call 845-7655 for an appointment in High Point.

Just a quick post to explain what is a heat index.

When your body becomes hot from ambient temperature (the thermometer reading outside) and muscle movement (exercise or work), we get rid of the body heat by sweating. The sweat on the surface of our bodies goes from water phase to gas phase and in doing so takes heat with it. Well if the air is already humid, that process of evaporation is hindered.

So when the air is humid, the body feels hotter than the thermometer measures. Hence, the index adds the effect of the humidity to the thermometer reading. So they say it’s 99oF but the heat index is 105oF.

Again, go to www.readyguilford.org for information related to preparing for high heat events.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory today for our area with forecasted heat indices to range from 105- 109 degrees this afternoon. Please see below from the National Weather Service:

…HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING…

A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL PUSH HEAT INDEX VALUES UP TO 105 TO 109 DEGREES FOR A FEW HOURS THIS AFTERNOON.

For more information about how to prepare and respond to high heat events, please see the Ready Guilford Website at www.readyguilford.com

The CDC just issued a Health advisory warning that there has already been two small localized outbreaks of seasonal flu in the US.  No details about locations were given, but they want docs to recognize that influenza like illnesses seen now may indeed be influenza itself.

We anticipate receiving our vaccine supply in a couple of months.  I’ll let you know when it arrives and how to get your vaccine.

Thursday’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine includes an editorial by Dr. Julie Cantor about recent Supreme Court rulings on the rights of private citizens to purchase handguns.

When I was a medical student, my wife and I did a community medicine rotation in Lumberton, NC.  She worked with one of the surgeons and I hung out in the Emergency Room.  One morning a preteen was brought into the ER having been shot in the face with a shotgun.  He and his friend were playing with his grandfather’s gun in their living room.

The shotgun blast hit him squarely in the face at close range.  I rode with the child in the ambulance from Lumberton to Fayetteville where there were doctors more experienced in handling gunshot wounds to the face.

To quote Dr. Cantor, “…for children, ‘gun safety’ is an oxymoron….  In the face of staggering statistics about eminently avoidable gun-related harms, perhaps the wisest play for this newfound constitutional right is not to use it at all.”