The 2010 edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?óÔé¼Ôäós Yellow Book includes new or expanded sections on medical tourism, traveling safely with chronic diseases and conditions, and expert perspectives on popular travel itineraries worldwide. The updated book, which is a definitive guide for healthy international travel, is now available online.
Looks like Louisianans haven?óÔé¼Ôäót been eating prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough and thank goodness.
As of Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 72 persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 30 states (None in Louisiana!). Of these, 51 have been confirmed by an advanced DNA test. More information is available from the CDC.
Today (July 16th) is the 211th birthday of the US Public Health Service. The service was created by Act of Congress for “the relief of sick and disabled seaman” and organized a loose network of Marine Hospitals.
Today the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS states as it’s mission “to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of our Nation.” The USPHS offered free tetanus shots at locales throughout South Louisiana in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
~I got mine on Jefferson Highway from a nurse from Rhode Island.~
According the CDC “Ever 9 1/2 minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV,” and according to AVERT “In 2007, the highest rates of new AIDS diagnoses were in Miami (33.1 per 100,000 people), New Orleans (31.5), Baton Rouge (31.4) and Washington (30.5)”
So what can you do?
June 27th is National HIV Testing Day so take advantage of the testing opportunities taking place around you and learn the facts about HIV.
The list of local testing sites can be found below, or you can find information for other cities by visiting this site.
Who: EXCELth, Inc. HIV Prevention Program
What: Free Rapid HIV Testing
When: June 27, 2009, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Dillard University w/ The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70122
Info: Free Rapid HIV testing, incentives. Contact: Barbara A. Peters, 504-524-1210, bpeters@excelth.com.
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Who: NO/AIDS Task Force – Community Awareness Network
What: Free Rapid HIV Testing
When: June 27, 2009, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where: 7800 Earhart Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70125
Info: Free HIV Testing with free food. Contact: Allison Vertovec, 504-821-2601 ext. 257, allisonv@noaidstf.org.
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Who: NO/AIDS Task Force – Community Awareness Network
What: Free Rapid HIV Testing
When: June 27, 2009, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where: 507 Frenchmen St., New Orleans, LA 70116
Info: Free, confidential, Rapid, HIV Antibody screening tests. Contact: Allison Vertovec, 504-821-2601, allisonv@noaidstf.org.
In an effort to improve the health of Americans, acting Surgeon General, Steven K. Glason, issued The Surgeon General’s Call to Action To Promote Healthy Homes.
The Call to Action places emphasis that “Good health begins at home.” Not only does it include tips on preventing injuries and diseases, the document also urges homebuilders and community leaders to do their part to ensure healthy and affordable homes are available to the public.
Visit the CDC for a user-friendly guide on how to improve the health of your home one room at a time.
The National Headache Foundation has declared that June 7-13, 2009 is National Headache Awareness Week.
Over 45 million Americans suffer from chronic, recurring headaches, with over half of these classified as migraines.
Headaches have numerous causes. Correctly diagnosing and treating a headache patient depends primarily on establishing an accurate and open line of communication.
The American Headache Society provides information on a variety of resources available to patients and medical professionals that are dedicated to the study and treatment of headache. Learn what you can do to help stop the pain.
National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) provides Fact Sheets, Brochures, and Questions & Answers about HIV vaccine research and trials.
HIV Vaccine Researchers are working to develop a vaccine that is 100 percent effective and will protect everyone from HIV infections. HIV research is essential for Louisiana citizens. Look at the facts below.
HIV/AIDS in Louisiana FACTS
?óÔé¼?ó As of March 31, 2008 a cumulative total of 27,744 persons have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Louisiana, including 302 cases in children under the age of 13.
?óÔé¼?ó There are persons living with HIV in every parish in Louisiana, and this number continues to increase each year, largely due to more effective drug therapies.
?óÔé¼?ó A total of 15,795 persons were known to be living with HIV/AIDS in Louisiana, of which 8,281 (52%) had been diagnosed with AIDS as of March 31, 2008.
?óÔé¼?ó In 2007, 1,152 new HIV cases were diagnosed in Louisiana; 30% of the cases were in Region 1 (New Orleans area) and 28% were in Region 2 (Baton Rouge area).
?óÔé¼?ó In 2007, 803 new AIDS cases were diagnosed in Louisiana. Of these cases, 33% occurred in Region 1 (New Orleans) ad 27% occurred in Region 2 (Baton Rouge).
?óÔé¼?ó In 2006, Louisiana ranked 5th highest in state AIDS case rates and 12th in the number of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006.
?óÔé¼?ó Baton Rouge ranked 4th for AIDS case rates among the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2006; New Orleans ranked 8th.
?óÔé¼?ó In Louisiana, 30% of new HIV cases and 31% of new AIDS cases are among women.
?óÔé¼?ó HIV continues to disproportionately affect African Americans in Louisiana. In 2007, 72% of newly diagnosed HIV cases and 75% of newly diagnosed AIDS cases were among African Americans.
Do this simple test to detect stroke symptoms:
Stroke mortality rate has declined over the past few years both in Louisiana and the US.
For 2005:
?óÔé¼?ó Louisiana?óÔé¼Ôäós rate was 17% above the national median rate.
?óÔé¼?ó Age?óÔé¼?Éadjusted mortality rates were 56.7 per 100,000 population for Louisiana and 46.6 per 100,000 population for the US.
?óÔé¼?ó Black females showed the highest stroke death rate of 78.6 per 100,000 population
followed by black males with the rate of 78 per 100,000.
May is National High Blood Pressure Month and it’s a good time to get to know your numbers.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls. It is stated as a set of two numbers, the top (systolic pressure) measures the force of your heart beating and the bottom (diastolic pressure) measures the relaxation between beats.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a high blood pressure diagnosis results when you have repeated readings of 140 over 90. Pre-hypertension is the term given to readings from 120 to 139 over 80-89.
High blood pressure is considered a “silent killer” because often there are no symptoms at first. Through time, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney failure.
More than 72 million American adults, 1 in 3, have high blood pressure. Although certain risk factors, such as age or family history, can’t be controlled, we can make lifestyle changes to help maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Get yourself checked. Learn your numbers now.
April is a popular month for health observances, including National Minority Health Awareness Month sponsored by the US Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Minority Health. Preconception is the theme for 2009 with the slogan “Ordinary couples don?óÔé¼Ôäót plan their pregnancies. Be extraordinary!”
National Minority Health Month
April is STD awareness month! That?óÔé¼Ôäós Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The CDC estimates that there are approximately 19 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.
Let?óÔé¼Ôäós look at how Louisiana is doing. (Reports from the CDC – STD Surveillance, 2007)
Chlamydia ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Mississippi: 21,686 Cases & a rate of 745.1 per 100,000 Population
2 Alaska:
3 South Carolina:
4 Alabama:
5 New Mexico:
6 Georgia:
7 Louisiana: 19,362 Cases & a rate of 451.6 per 100,000 Population
8 Tennessee:
9 Hawaii:
10 Illinois:
Gonorrhea ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Mississippi: 8,314 Cases & a rate of 285.7 per 100,000 Population
2 Louisiana: 11,137 Cases & a rate of 259.7 per 100,000 Population
3 South Carolina:
4 Alabama:
5 Georgia:
Primary and secondary syphilis ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Louisiana: 533 Cases & a rate of 12.4 per 100,000 Population
2 Alabama: 380 Cases & a rate of 8.3 per 100,000
3 Georgia:
4 Maryland:
5 Tennessee:
National Public Health Week is April 6 -12, 2009.
?óÔé¼?ó U.S. life expectancy reached a record high of 78.1 years but still ranks 46th (of industrialized nations).
?óÔé¼?ó Baton Rouge ranked 4th for AIDS case rates among the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2006; New Orleans ranked 8th.
?óÔé¼?ó Minorities experience a disproportionate burden of preventable disease, death, and disability compared with non-minorities.
All of us have the potential to greatly improve our population?óÔé¼Ôäós health. Join the National Public Health Week Organization and the American Public Health Association in promoting their campaign ?óÔé¼?ôBuilding the Foundation for a Healthy America?óÔé¼?Ø locally as well.
An article from the New York times discusses problems with a new colorectal cancer risk assessment tool from the National Cancer Institute that only works for whites.
A new interactive online tool can help older Americans assess their risk for developing colon cancer. The catch is that it only works for whites.
That?óÔé¼Ôäós too bad, since blacks are at higher risk than whites for colorectal cancer, developing it and dying of it at higher rates, and recent reports suggest the racial gap is widening…
N.C.I. officials said they are modifying the risk assessment tool so it will be applicable to blacks, Hispanics and Asians, but said the data they used to test the model?óÔé¼Ôäós precision were drawn from studies with mostly older white participants.
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