Public health

August 22, 2007 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci joined Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner David Littell and members of the Maine People’s Alliance Wednesday afternoon to discuss progress being made with respect to cleaning the site of the former HoltraChem chlor-alkali facility in Orrington. The Governor and Commissioner announced that the first four phases are nearly complete and a fifth phase has been approved. All phases are in a series of steps designed to clean up the site to protect the environment and public health.    » read more »

Cases of human brain-wasting disease often confused and misreported as BSE, more commonly referred to as Mad Cow Disease

August 21, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials report today there are no confirmed or suspected cases of a type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Illinois, commonly referred to as human mad cow disease. CJD is a rare, fatal brain disorder that causes mental deterioration and a variety of neurological symptoms, which usually leads to death within a year of onset.    » read more »

American Lung Association Survey Finds Dangerous Misinformation & Miscommunication about State Laws, Kids’ Medications, and Asthma Action Plans

NEW YORK (August 20, 2007)—Students with asthma soon returning to classrooms across the U.S. may face dangerous situations when needing access to lifesaving inhalers, according to an American Lung Association survey released today.    » read more »

20 August 2007 -- The recent recall in the United States of toys made in China containing lead paint calls attention to the greater danger of children's exposure to lead in their everyday lives. While many countries ban lead as an ingredient, children growing up in poverty are still exposed to it everyday.

Imagine a map of the world, and think of places where children live in poverty. It is possible that many of those children are exposed to lead.

How do we recognize it? Doctors say you will not -- until the level of lead is so high the child is physically ill.    » read more »

Crouch's Health Care Experience Will Continue KyHealth Choices' Success

August 20, 2007 -- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Secretary Mark D. Birdwhistell announced today that Shawn Crouch has been appointed the new commissioner of the Department for Medicaid Services, effective Sept. 1.

Crouch has served most recently as the chief of staff for CHFS, and prior to that as theexecutive director for the Office of Health Policy and executive officer to the Undersecretary for Health.    » read more »

TV, radio messages start airing in Illinois to increase awareness of radon health risks and importance of home tests

August 20, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – You can’t see, smell or taste radon, but the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) are joining together to make people in Illinois more aware of the hidden health hazard that could be in their homes.    » read more »

08/20/2007 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed an executive order allocating up to $500,000 for the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) for vegetation management in State managed wetland wildlife areas most at risk for West Nile Virus. Today’s action builds upon Governor Schwarzenegger’s emergency proclamation signed earlier this month and commitment of more than $10 million in emergency funding to fight this mosquito borne disease.    » read more »

August 16, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that state environmental protection and public health officials are initiating a series of steps to better safeguard the public from mosquito-borne West Nile (WNV) virus.    » read more »

August 15, 2007 -- PIERRE, S.D. – A Brown County resident is South Dakota’s third West Nile death of the season, the Department of Health reported today. The individual was in the 80 to 89 year old age group, as were the two earlier deaths in Hand and Pennington Counties.

Thirty-three of South Dakota's 66 counties have now had WNV detections. A total of 62 human cases have been reported to date.    » read more »

Jackson and St. Clair counties reporting West Nile virus

August 15, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Illinois state public health director, announced today three more confirmed human cases of West Nile virus, bringing the total to eleven in Illinois for 2007. The latest cases involve a 56 year old Chicago man who became ill in mid-July, an 88 year old Chicago man who became ill in late-July, and a 59 year old Pike County woman who became ill in early July. The first human case of West Nile virus for 2007 was reported in DuPage County on June 15.    » read more »

14 August 2007 -- French authorities say four ducks have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu in northeastern France.

The ducks were found dead last week in an area known as Diane Capelle in the Moselle region.

Two dead swans had already been discovered with bird flu at the end of July in the same area. The site is just 10 kilometers from where three other swans were found dead with the virus about a month earlier.

That outbreak was the first in France in more than a year.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Illinois state public health director, announced today another confirmed human case of West Nile virus, bringing the total to seven in Illinois for 2007. The latest case involves a 50-year-old Cook County woman who became ill in early July. The first human case of West Nile virus for 2007 was reported in DuPage County on June 15. Human cases of West Nile virus in Illinois this summer have been reported in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Madison and Tazewell counties.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell said communities will continue to be revitalized and water resources will become cleaner with the nearly $76 million investment made today by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST.    » read more »

07/10/2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement today, after members of the Senate Finance Committee tentatively agreed to increase funds for S-CHIP by $35 billion over five years. The increase would be paid for with increased taxes on tobacco products. Kerry had argued for a broader increase in the plan, which provides health insurance for more than six million poor children nationwide.    » read more »

July 11, 2007 -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor David Paterson today announced that they have directed the Health Commissioner and the Insurance Superintendent to develop a comprehensive strategy for universal health insurance for New York State.    » read more »