Health Advisories

  • Free Immunization E-Course

    Free Immunization E-Course

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    There Never Was an Age of Reason: Vaccines, Vaccine Hesitancy and Vaccine Decision Making This e-course offers continuing education credits, is hosted by WithinReach and funded by Kaiser WA. Click here to register Objectives Describe the impact of modern vaccines on individual & public health. Identify factors other than hesitancy that contribute to under-immunization. Discuss…

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  • Health Advisory: Increase in Gonorrhea

    Health Advisory: Increase in Gonorrhea

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    Actions Requested Be aware that gonorrhea is increasing, especially among people age 20 to 29. Take a sexual history and screen for gonorrhea and other STDs in all sexually active people, especially those at increased risk. Perform routine gonorrhea and chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25, including screening multiple sites (cervix,…

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  • MERS-CoV

    MERS-CoV

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    In September 2012, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health announced a new form of coronavirus, since named Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). So far all cases have been linked (by residence or travel) to countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain; Iraq; Iran; Israel, the West Bank and Gaza; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman;…

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  • Hepatitis A Fact Sheet

    Hepatitis A Fact Sheet

    Overview Transmission: Fecal-oral. Incubation Period: Average 28-30 days (range 15-50 days). Symptoms: Anorexia, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, followed by jaundice. Severity of illness increases with age. Infectious Period: 14 days prior to onset of jaundice to seven days after onset of jaundice. Infants can excrete virus in the stool for longer periods of time. Epidemiology:…

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  • Hepatitis A Fact Sheet

    Hepatitis A Fact Sheet

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    Overview Transmission: Fecal-oral. Incubation Period: Average 28-30 days (range 15-50 days). Symptoms: Anorexia, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, followed by jaundice. Severity of illness increases with age. Infectious Period: 14 days prior to onset of jaundice to seven days after onset of jaundice. Infants can excrete virus in the stool for longer periods of time. Epidemiology:…

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  • Health Advisory: Zika Testing

    Health Advisory: Zika Testing

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    Action Requested Know how to order appropriate Zika virus testing through commercial laboratories. Background Because testing for Zika virus is now widely available through commercial laboratories, testing for Zika virus at Washington State Public Health Laboratories is now limited to: Patients for whom cost is a barrier to testing. Infants with possible congenital exposure to…

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  • Lice in Schools

    Lice in Schools

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    What procedures should our school follow if a student has head lice? Head lice are tiny parasites that can live on the human head. They survive by sucking blood from the scalp. Lice eggs (called “nits”) can attach to strands of head hair. Lice can cause the head to itch, but have not been proven…

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  • Health Advisory: Measles Outbreak in Minneapolis

    Health Advisory: Measles Outbreak in Minneapolis

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    Actions Requested Be aware of an expanding outbreak of measles in Minneapolis, MN. Advise patients planning travel of increased measles activity and ensure they are adequately immunized. When evaluating febrile rash illness, ask about out-of-state and out-of-country travel within the last 21 days. Background A measles outbreak is occurring in the Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area.…

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  • Meningococcal Disease Fact Sheet

    Meningococcal Disease Fact Sheet

    Meningococcal disease is a sudden, severe illness caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. The disease manifests most commonly as meningitis and/or meningococcemia, but may also cause pneumonia, arthritis or pericarditis. The symptoms include sudden high fever, chills, severe headache, stiff neck and back, nausea, vomiting, purpural rash, decreased level of consciousness, difficulty breathing and seizures.…

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  • “What is Public Health?” from American Public Health Association

    “What is Public Health?” from American Public Health Association

    Learn why public health is essential in American Public Health Association’s “What Is Public Health?” article. Read article

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  • Measles Diagnosis Information

    Measles Diagnosis Information

    Most people in the United States are protected against measles through vaccination, so local measles cases are uncommon. However, every year measles is brought into the United States by unvaccinated travelers (Americans or foreign visitors) who get measles while they are in other countries. They can spread measles to other people who are not protected…

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  • Adult Syphilis Treatment Guidelines

    Adult Syphilis Treatment Guidelines

    This article is excerpted from CDC’s 2015 STD Treatment Guidelines. The preferred drug for all stages of syphilis treatment is Penicillin G administered parenterally. Preparation, dosage, and length of treatment depend on the stage and clinical manifestations of the disease. Selection of the appropriate penicillin preparation is important. T. pallidum can reside in sequestered sites…

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