Carroll County Coalition For Public Health

Archive for the ‘State Press Release’ Category

This year National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is  April 21–28. Its purpose is to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases, many of which can be fatal.
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Immunization Program wants to remind people to protect our most vulnerable citizens, infants and young children, by making sure they are fully immunized against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.
NIIW has been an annual event since 1994 with the goal of serving as a call to action for parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease in the United States, parents are often unaware that their children are at risk for so many serious and life-threatening diseases. In the early 20th century, many children contracted diphtheria and some even died from this infection, but today few physicians graduating from medical school will ever see a case.
“New Hampshire continues to be one of the healthiest states in the nation because our parents know the importance of vaccinations,” said Dr. José Montero, Director of Public Health at DHHS. “In New Hampshire, the pediatricians, family physicians, and other medical providers have been instrumental partners in protecting children who in years past would have been stricken by a number of deadly diseases. Infants are particularly vulnerable to communicable diseases, which is why it is important to protect all children by mmunizing them on time. It is also important to remind healthcare providers, parents, siblings, and grandparents and caregivers
to protect our smallest residents by getting themselves vaccinated against whooping cough and influenza.”
Vaccines for children from birth through age 18 are funded by the Vaccines for Children Program (a federal program) and the New Hampshire Vaccine Association (a New Hampshire insurance fund) and distributed through the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ Immunization Program. For more information, contact the Immunization Program at 603-271-4482, visit the website at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/index.html, or visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.

During this busy holiday season, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Bureau of Food Protection wants to remind everyone to follow some important food safety practices to avoid foodborne illnesses, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) an estimated 48 million cases of illness, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths occurred in 2011 in the United States due to foodborne diseases. Symptoms can vary depending on the illness, but some common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea. It is difficult to say with certainty which microbe is causing a given illness without laboratory testing.
“Don’t let germs ruin your holiday activities by not taking proper precautions against foodborne disease,” said Dr. José Montero, Director of Public Health at DHHS. “There are simple tips for safe food preparation that we should all be following every day, not just at holidays, but large gatherings and people cooking outside their comfort zone can present an opportunity for bacteria to be introduced into our food.”

The following simple precautions should always be followed by cooks and food handlers to reduce the possibility of anyone becoming sick:
· Separate: Use a separate cutting board for cooked foods and raw foods and always wash them after use. Do no cut raw vegetables on the same cutting board as raw meat. Avoid cross contamination. Wash any utensil after preparing one food item before going on to the next item.
· Clean: Always wash hands before touching any food. Wash hands and surfaces often during food preparation and afterward.
· Cook: Make sure all meats are thoroughly cooked by using a meat thermometer: turkey, stuffing, and casseroles to 165ºF; veal, beef, and lamb roasts to 145ºF; and ham, pork, ground beef, and egg dishes to 160ºF. When reheating, leftovers should be thoroughly heated to 165ºF.
· Chill: Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours. The refrigerator should be maintained at 40ºF or lower and the freezer should be at 0ºF or lower. Keep hot foods hot, 140ºF or hotter, and cold foods cold, 40ºF or below. Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, in a cold-water bath, or in the microwave. When using a microwave, meat must be cooked immediately after. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
· Report: Report suspected foodborne illnesses to the NH Department of Health and Human Services by calling 603-271-4496. Often calls from concerned citizens are how outbreaks are first detected. If a public health official calls you to talk about an outbreak your cooperation is  important, even if you are not ill.

For more information visit www.usda.gov, www.cdc.gov, www.befoodsafe.org, or
www.dhhs.nh.gov.

New Hampshire was just awarded a new grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), joining 39 other states in the country in a joint effort to improve the health of moms and babies.

Starting in late 2012, a randomly selected group of mothers of 2- or 3-month-old babies each year will be asked to complete a confidential questionnaire that will help public health officials and others understand what may be causing preventable deaths or diseases among infants. More mothers of low birth weight babies will be invited to participate because babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth have higher rates of deaths and illnesses. Participation is completely voluntary. Survey answers will help DPHS develop a better understanding of how health care professionals and mothers can work together to improve birth outcomes.