Tag - Safety

August 2, 2018Read more...

New Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo (DRC)

IN THE NEWS New Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo (DRC) On August 1, 2018, just a week after the outbreak of Ebola in the northwestern part of the country was declared over, initial testing suggests that there is a new outbreak of Ebola in the northeastern part of the DRC.  The DRC Minister of Health said that four (4) people in the new area preliminarily tested positive for Ebola, and there have been 26 people with signs of...

July 30, 2018Read more...

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN DRC IS OVER

IN THE NEWS EBOLA OUTBREAK IN DRC IS OVER As of July 24, 2018, the Health Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared the Ebola outbreak over in his country, after the completion of two incubation periods since the last treated patient, without any more cases confirmed.   Both the WHO and CDC concurred with his entire message. A 90-day enhanced surveillance period will be in place in case there are latent infections or missed exposures.  Ultimately, there were 54...

July 13, 2018Read more...

CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Update on 7/11/18

IN THE NEWS CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Update on 7/11/18 The CDC has published a Health Update (HAN 00413), via their network, and found at this site:  https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00413.asp.  The original HAN Advisory and subsequent Updates tell the story of the escalating opioid crisis, particularly involving the synthetic opioid, Fentanyl and Fentanyl analogs, and their impact on overdose and overdose deaths in the United States. Specifically, this Health Update is to alert public health departments, health care professionals, first responders, medical examiners, and...

July 2, 2018Read more...

Ebola Outbreak June 30, 2018

IN THE NEWS Ebola Outbreak June 30, 2018 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the WHO updated Ebola virus disease (EVD case numbers on June 28 to a total of 55 cases with 38 Confirmed, 15 Probable, & 2 suspected, and a 29-person death toll. There have been no cases in any country aside from the DRC.  A statement by the DRC Minister of Health (via Google Translation), regarding the current outbreak, announced that all the people who were in...

June 26, 2018Read more...

First Responder Health & Safety Links

CDC / NIOSH Emergency Responders Resources including: • Safety Management • Bloodborne Infectious Disease • Personal Protective Equipment • Traumatic Incident Stress https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/responders.html Safety Management: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/emergencypreparedness/index.html Bloodborne Infectious Disease: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/bloodbornepathogens/ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/ppe.html Incident Stress: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/traumaticincident/ Download the list of links

June 26, 2018Read more...

Detection & Management of Opioid Exposure for Public Safety Working Dogs

IN THE NEWS Detection & Management of Opioid Exposure for Public Safety Working Dogs Veterinary Doctors Maureen McMichael & Ashley Mitek, in conjunction with the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and Working Dogs HQ and partnering with Carle Regional Emergency Medical System and Carle Arrow Ambulance, have developed a program to assess and treat working service dogs (primarily in scent detection) that may have had an exposure to opiates and may be showing signs of overdose. The program continues to...

June 26, 2018Read more...

Detection & Management of Opioid Exposure for Public Safety Working Dogs

Although this subject is outside the usual scope of FirstWatch’s focus, it’s recognized that working service dogs that assist local, state and federal law enforcement and other agency partners (FBI, DEA, TSA, MPs, etc.), do so at great risk and deserve to be protected from harm. We are including links to this program which include assessment, treatment, and transport for further care of public safety working dogs who have been exposed to opiates and may need advanced care and possible reversal...

June 18, 2018Read more...

Ebola Outbreak June 15, 2018

IN THE NEWS Ebola Outbreak June 15, 2018 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the WHO updated Ebola cases numbers on June 13 to a total of 66 cases with 38 Confirmed, 14 Probable, & 14 suspected, with a 28-person death toll. There still have been no cases in the United States or in any country aside from the DRC. In the outbreak area, over 2600 Ebola contacts and other high-risk individuals, such as health care workers and others in contact...

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 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 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 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 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 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...

April 17, 2018Read more...

Multi-State E. Coli Outbreak from Romaine Lettuce

IN THE NEWS Multi-State E. Coli Outbreak from Romaine Lettuce The CDC and FDA are investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. Coli O157:H7 that started with New Jersey local and state public health authorities reporting cases, but has now rapidly expanded to 11 states sharing 35 cases (click on link for details) https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/map.html.  On April 10, the first notice from the CDC announced the outbreak with 17 people infected in 7 states; so, in 3 days, the cases doubled. Talking to the...