A public health nurse gives an immunization injection.

As reported here on May 16, schools across Pennsylvania were forced to ban students from attending as part of an effort to catch up on required immunizations and record keeping. Reports suggest that the effort payed off in many school districts. It took eight months plus two weeks, and the exclusion of hundreds of students to reach that end.
(more…)

The Minnesota Department of Health reports 670 cases of whooping cough in the state for the year through May 15. The cases are largely centered in and around the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area.

Counties in Minnesota reporting pertussis cases in 2012 through May 15. Click for a larger image.

A public health nurse gives an immunization injection.

When the school year began last September, large numbers of Pennsylvania school children lacked immunizations or the proof that they had received those immunizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health notified families that they would have eight months to obtain immunizations, file the correct paperwork or provide the paperwork giving their student an exemption for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. The deadline passed and was extended for two weeks. Yesterday was it.
(more…)

An annual Mother’s Day event at a Buddhist monastery in rural Putnam County, NY, was interrupted yesterday afternoon as participants began suffering gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea. The event drew hundreds to the Chuang Yen Monastery, and delawareonline.com states that about 500 arrived by bus from New York City’s Chinatown. Food for the event was provided by volunteers, similar to a pot luck supper.

Illness
Susan Hoffner, a spokesperson for the Putnam County Health Department, states that approximately 150 people were taken ill. Symptoms of the illness include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and dehydration. Many became ill after they left the event. By evening, the Times Herald-Record states that local emergency services had received reports of dozens of cases of illness in travelers between the monastery and New York City. The outbreak is believed to be caused by some form of food poisoning.

(more…)

Attendees to the opening ceremony of the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute participate in the ribbon cutting May 9, 2012 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery will be able to train up to 800 students, both male and female, a year in nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, lab and dental services. Photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

The Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute held a ribbon cutting ceremony May 9,2012. The Nursing and Midwifery facility is one of only eight similar facilities in the country and will be able to train up to 800 students, both male and female, per year. The facility will teach students nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, lab, and dental services, with an emphasis on improving maternal and infant mortality rates in Kandahar, as well as surrounding provinces.
(more…)