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.

You may have heard that there is an outbreak of whooping cough in California.  There are always multiple reasons epidemics occur, but one causal factor appears to be California’s lack of mandated midschool boosters of pertussis vaccine.  We do mandate such vaccination, which hopefully will prevent us from experiencing California’s challenges.

Remember:

Immunization requirements relating to school entry for the upcoming school year are:

• a tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis(whooping cough) or “Tdap” booster for children who are:

a) entering 6^th grade in public school on or after August 1, 2008, if five or more years have passed since the last dose of this vaccine, or

b) 12 years of age on or after August 1, 2008 and who are educated in a private  school, home-school or a non- traditional school, if five or more years have passed since the last dose of Tdap, and

c) students enrolling in college or university for the first time on or after July 1, 2008.

Starting later this month, Guilford County Department of Public Health will begin a summer long focus on increasing the number of adolescents who are appropriately vaccinated against certain serious illnesses and diseases.  Although the Department of Public Health schedules childhood immunizations daily, special clinics have been established just for teens.  “We want to make it as easy as possible for teens to get the shots they need to remain healthy,” states Vonda Pabon, Nurse Manager.

The special teen immunization clinics are as scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, June 29^th

Tuesday, July 13^th

Friday, August 20^th

Monday, August 23^rd

Appointments are available 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Appointments are also available any weekday (except holidays) in our general immunization clinics.

Contact the Department of Public Health at 641-5563 in Greensboro or 845-7655 in High Point to make an appointment.  Bring your adolescent’s shot record with you to the appointment. This is a very important health record and it should be kept up to date and stored in a safe place.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), immunity from some childhood vaccines can decrease over time, so people need to get another dose of the vaccine during their pre-teen years. Also, as children move into adolescence, they are at greater risk of catching certain diseases, like meningitis

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend a series of immunizations for adolescents.  A complete list of the CDC recommended immunizations are on the Department’s website,www.guilfordhealth.org under Immunizations.

Immunization requirements relating to school entry for the upcoming school year are:

• a tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis(whooping cough) or “Tdap” booster for children who are:

a) entering 6^th grade in public school on or after August 1, 2008, if five or more years have passed since the last dose of this vaccine, or

b) 12 years of age on or after August 1, 2008 and who are educated in a private  school, home-school or a non- traditional school, if five or more years have passed since the last dose of Tdap, and

c) students enrolling in college or university for the first time on or after July 1, 2008.

• a second dose of the mumps vaccination (called MMR-measles, mumps, rubella) for persons who are enrolling in a school, college or university for the first time on or after July 1, 2008.

If North Carolina requires the childhood immunization, it will be available free at the public health department (through the age of 18 years old). If immunizations are recommended, there may be a fee, but most major insurances are accepted, which can lower out of pocket expense.

Recommended immunizations for adolescents are:

Menactra® offers protection against several strains or types of bacteria that can cause meningitis.   Meningitis, which is more prevalent in certain groups, can progress to a very serious bloodstream illness, sometimes causing death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)recommends the following groups receive a dose of Menactra® vaccine:

• Young adolescents (11-12 years of age) or
• Teens entering high school or
• College freshman (18 years of age) living in dormitories

Gardasil® is a series of three vaccinations for young women and men ages 9-26, and is on the Recommended Schedule of Adolescent Vaccines for 11-18 year olds issued by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.  Gardasil® protects against the four most common high-risk types of the Human Papillomavirus or HPV: two types that cause over 90% of genital warts and two types that cause 70% of cervical cancers in females.

Teens also need an annual flu shot. The CDC recommends that all children including those who are high-risk children (those with asthma, diabetes or other conditions), 6 months to 18 years of age should be vaccinated. In addition, any child 6 months to 18 years of age that lives with a high risk child or adult should be vaccinated.  Flu shots for these children are free of charge at the Health Department. Flu shots are generally available beginning in October through the end of flu season (April/May) and are formulated annually based on the strain of flu that is predicted to be the most active that season. For the 2011 flu season, the seasonal flu will contain the 2009 H1N1flu strain so only one flu vaccine will be needed.

Many of these vaccines can be given in one visit, but some vaccines, like Gardasil® require three visits over a six month period.

For more information about adolescent vaccinations, contact Guilford County Department of Public Health or your teen’s pediatrician.

The Guilford County Department of Public Health is alerting residents that a skunk found on Bunch Road in Summerfield tested positive for the rabies virus. The rabid skunk had contact with three dogs. This is the sixth case of animal rabies in Guilford County this year.
North Carolina law requires that all domestic pets (dogs, cats and ferrets) be vaccinated against rabies and that their vaccinations are kept current. This law still applies even if pets are exclusively kept indoors. Barnyard pets such as goats, horses and cows should also be vaccinated against rabies for their protection against this deadly virus.
The Department of Public Health has scheduled several low-cost animal rabies vaccination clinics. The first clinic will be held on Wednesday, April 28 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at WGHP FOX 8 studio, 2005 Francis Street in High Point. The cost of the vaccination is $5.00 and is valid for one year.

For a complete clinic schedule, visit www.guilfordhealth.org.

Rabies continues to circulate within our wildlife population and as the weather warms more animals will be out and seen in our yards and surrounding wooded areas. For your family and pet’s safety as well as the safety of others, vaccinate your pets against rabies.
For more information or educational programs available, please contact the Guilford County Department of Public Health at 641-7777, Guilford County Animal Control at 641-5990 or visit www.guilfordhealth.org.

Although North Carolina’s snow and ice have been replaced by flowering trees and blue skies, one characteristic of winter is still with us:  influenza (flu).  The North Carolina Division of Public Health is reporting 5 deaths from influenza in the state in the last reported week ending 20 March. There have been 98 deaths from influenza so far this year.  Some areas of the United States are reporting increases in severe illness and hospitalizations due to H1N1.  These illnesses are mostly in middle aged adults with underlying medical conditions, especially lung diseases.  There are certain risk factors that can make having the flu even worse.  These include asthma, chronic lung disease, conditions which result in a weakened immune system (like cancer or cancer treatment, HIV, etc.), obesity, and pregnancy.

It is absolutely not too late to get your flu shot. We have both seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccines ready to give, besides getting the H1N1 vaccine now will make any immune response to next year’s seasonal flu vaccine that much more protective.”

The H1N1 flu vaccine is available for persons 6 months of age and older.  Seasonal flu vaccine is available for persons 4 years of age and older. Call 641-5563 for an appointment at the 1100 E. Wendover Avenue, Greensboro site or 845-7655 for the 501 E. Green, High Point location. There is no out of pocket cost for the vaccines but do please bring your insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare card at the time of your appointment, if you have one.

Many people think of tuberculosis (TB) as an extinct disease. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Guilford County or around the world. That is why Guilford County Department of Public Health and others continue to use March 24, World TB Day, as an opportunity to focus attention on this communicable disease. World TB Day commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause TB.

TB disease was once a leading cause of death in the United States. Effective treatments and education have greatly reduced the death rate, but have not eliminated the disease altogether. In 2008, North Carolina reported 335 cases of TB disease; Guilford County recorded 21 cases. Guilford County Department of Public Health follows a large number of individuals with latent TB Infection annually, providing preventive medications.

TB is spread through the air from one person to another when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. The bacteria can settle in the lungs and begin to grow. From there, they can move through the blood to other parts of the body, such as kidney, spine, and brain. TB in the lungs or throat can be infectious. TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine, is usually not infectious.

People with active TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day, because they have prolonged contact with those individuals. This includes family members, friends and coworkers. People with active TB disease can be treated and cured if they seek medical help. However, new drug-resistant strains are appearing that are difficult to treat. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

Not everyone infected with TB bacteria has TB disease. Some of them have latent TB infection. These people do not become sick; they do not have any symptoms and cannot spread TB to others. However, some people with latent TB infection go on to develop TB disease.
It is important for people with latent TB infection to take medicine so that they will not develop active TB disease.

World TB Day won’t be a celebration until TB is eliminated. But it is an opportunity to educate the public about the seriousness of TB and how it can be stopped. For more information about TB, visit the Guilford County Department of Public Health website at www.guilfordhealth.org or call 641-7777. For more information about TB and World TB Day, visit the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, TB Control Branch at www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/tb/ or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/tb.

The CDC announced two major changes for next season’s influenza vaccination campaign.

First, EVERYONE is now in the “eligible and should get vaccinated” group.  Recognizing that the population outside of the recommended lists was growing smaller and smaller with each added risk group, CDC decided to encourage everyone to get one next year.  For those of us in public health, this is great news and will make decisions very quick.  ”Are you alive and older than 6 months? Then, yes…you get the vaccine.”

Second, they decided on the composition of next season’s trivalent vaccine.  To no surprise, the H1N1 component will be the currently circulating “swine flu” strain.  The components will be an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

One vaccine and everyone gets it! Sounds like a breeze, doesn’t it?

Although some of our allotments of vaccine has expired last month (February), we still have active, potent vaccine to give anyone who wants one.

Please call 641-7777 for an appointment.

Guilford County Department of Public Health is partnering with NCA&T State University to provide seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccinations free of charge at the A&T-WSSU basketball games on Monday evening, February 22 at the Greensboro Coliseum.  The H1N1 flu vaccine will be available for persons 6 months of age and older.  Seasonal flu vaccine will be available for persons 4 years of age and older.  Flu vaccination clinics are being held across the state at various college and university basketball games during February in an effort to increase vaccination rates among college students, one of the CDC’s target groups for the H1N1 vaccine.
For more information about the clinic, call Guilford County Department of Public Health at 641-7777. For more information about the flu or flu vaccines, visit www.guilfordhealth.org, Dr. Ward Robinson’s blog at www.askguilfordhealth.com or www.cdc.gov/flu