FREE BROCHURE: NIOSH Cold Injury Prevention

[This is a short and sweet printable document on the signs, symptoms and prevention of cold injuries including:  hypothermia, frostbite, trenchfoot and chilblains.  SDF Blogger]
 
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-115/pdfs/2010-115.pdf

FREE > Isolation & Quarantine Response Planning Toolkit

In the absence of rapid and definitive diagnostic tests, vaccines, or cures, isolation and quarantine remains Public Health's best strategy against the spread of mass illness. Public Health - Seattle & King County (Public Health) is an Advanced Practice Center for Emergency Preparedness and established this Planning for Isolation & Quarantine Response Web Toolkit to support local Public Health jurisdictions in their efforts to plan for and manage a large-scale isolation and quarantine response. The Toolkit is designed for all types of users and is separated by topic for the ease of use and navigation.

FOOD > A Search Is Under Way for Tainted Sprout Seeds

[49 deaths and 4,100 illnesses later...2 mins read]

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

photo coutesy of:  m.ctv.ca

Published: July 5, 2011

Authorities are frantically trying to trace all of the tainted fenugreek seeds from a large shipment linked to a deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe, saying the product was distributed more widely than previously thought.

In a new report, a large shipment of organic Egyptian fenugreek seeds was distributed to dozens of companies in at least 12 European countries, the European Food Safety Authority said on Tuesday. Investigators were still trying to determine if additional countries had received some of the seeds.

“The trace forward operation is becoming complex and widespread and may take weeks,” the report said, referring to efforts to locate the seed shipments.

Investigators are now focusing on a single shipment of more than 16 tons of Egyptian fenugreek seeds that was received by a German importer in December 2009, according to the report.

Authorities say that sprouts grown from the seed, often used in salads, were responsible for two major outbreaks of a rare strain of E. coli bacteria, known as O104:H4.

STATE OF THE OCEAN > 'Shocking' Report Warns Of Mass Extinction From Current Rate Of Marine Distress

Huffington Post

by Travis Donovan

If the current actions contributing to a multifaceted degradation of the world's oceans aren't curbed, a mass extinction unlike anything human history has ever seen is coming, an expert panel of scientists warns in an alarming new report.

The preliminary report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) is the result of the first-ever interdisciplinary international workshop examining the combined impact of all of the stressors currently affecting the oceans, including pollution, warming, acidification, overfishing and hypoxia.

“The findings are shocking," Dr. Alex Rogers, IPSO's scientific director, said in a statement released by the group. "This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."  For more

FREE Medical Training > Immunization Project

[Great NEW training for nurses, immunizations and more. READ MORE]

photo courtesy of University at Albany, Center for Public Health

Nurse Training on Immunization Project

Nurse TIP

Nurse TIP recognizes that nurses play an integral role in the success of immunization programs. Nurses are often the first point of contact at any health care visit and can have considerable influence on the public health practices of a community.

Goals: Increasing the knowledge and competency of nurses in immunization by offering relevant content in a variety of distance-learning approaches.

Engaging nurses in program planning, dialogues with other nurses, and exploring strategies to promote immunization.

Target Audience: Nurses working in medical offices, clinics, community health centers as well as other settings.

Joplin MO > Three neighboring states offer aid to stricken Joplin, MO

Three neighboring states offer aid to stricken Joplin, MO

Tue, 2011-05-24 09:37 AM

By: Jacob Goodwin

Fans at Kansas Speedway will donate to help relief efforts in Joplin

Because it is located in the far southwest corner of the State of Missouri, the devastated City of Joplin is sitting only short distances from its neighboring states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, all of which have offered immediate assistance.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has activated the Missouri National Guard to respond in the Joplin area. “The State Emergency Management Agency is helping to coordinate the deployment of search and rescue teams, a disaster medical assistance team, communications vehicles, mobile command vehicles, heavy equipment and an incident support team,” announced the Missouri Department of Public Safety on May 23. Full article

Small Pox > Decision Delayed on Eliminating Smallpox Stocks

Decision Delayed on Eliminating Smallpox Stocks

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

photo courtesy  ki4u.com

The World Health Assembly on Tuesday pushed back to 2014 any decision on setting a deadline to eliminate smallpox virus strains held by Russia and the United States, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 23).  

Moscow and Washington have said they need to hold onto the world's last known variola virus stocks to allow for continued research and development of additional vaccines and antivirals. They had pressed for delaying a decision on the matter for five years.

While the European Union and nations such as China and Israel backed that position, a bloc of some 20 countries led by Iran had reportedly pressed for a schedule to be set at this meeting of the decision-making body for the World Health Organization. The gathering ended on Tuesday, following two days of consideration of the matter.

"There has been a lot of discussion around the smallpox issue," WHO official Pierre Formenty said to reporters. "Three years from now, we will resume the discussion" (Barbara Lewis, Reuters I/Yahoo!News, May 24).

Iran on Monday had taken the rare step of calling for a vote on establishing the smallpox destruction deadline, Reuters reported.

The 193-member state World Health Assembly typically makes decisions based on consensus. Tehran's proposal was dismissed by other countries who instead backed forming a working group to attempt to bridge disagreements on the schedule issue.  Full article

U.S. Sends Humanitarian Envoy to North Korea

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The United States on Tuesday dispatched an official envoy to North Korea in a rare trip aimed at assessing food scarcity in the impoverished state against the backdrop of a building push to resume the paralyzed aid-for-denuclearization talks, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 23).

photo courtesy:  dailyworldtrends.com

Special envoy for North Korean human rights Robert King and a small delegation of U.S. officials arrived "to consult humanitarian issues" between Washington and Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch.

The last formal trip by a U.S. official to the Stalinist state took place in December 2009.

"Since North Korea sees U.S. decisions on humanitarian aid through a political lens, the food aid assessment might be treated in Pyongyang as a political signal that the Obama administration might finally be open to a broader political dialogue with North Korea," North Korea specialist Scott Snyder stated on the Council of Foreign Relations website.

King's visit occurs while North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is in China -- his third such trip in little more than a year. Experts and envoys believe Kim will use the trip to seek more financial and food assistance from its longtime ally. In exchange for providing badly needed aid, analysts anticipate Beijing will pressure Pyongyang to agree to South Korea's proposal for bilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear activities.

Washington shut off food aid to Pyongyang in 2008 and is waiting for the OK from Seoul to open up the pipeline, according to Reuters.

Opponents of providing further food to Pyongyang argue the regime has previously used the assistance to feed its large army and not its citizenry. Seoul says the North has the same food supplies as in 2010. South Korean officials are also suspicious that Pyongyang wants to build up its food supplies prior to a third nuclear test that would presumably result in further restrictions on foreign assistance (Jeremy Laurence, Reuters/Yahoo!News, May 24) Full article
.

Swimming Safety > CDC promotes Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week --- May 23--29, 2011

image courtesy of
camarillo.macaronikid.com 

May 23-29, 2011, marks the seventh annual Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week. This observance highlights simple steps swimmers and pool operators can take to reduce health and safety risks at pools, water parks, and other recreational water venues.

Recreational water illness can result from ingesting, inhaling aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. These illnesses also can be caused by chemicals in the water or chemicals that evaporate from the water.

This year's observance focuses on preventing swimmer's ear (acute otitis externa), a common and painful infection of the outer ear canal that results in 2.4 million health-care visits and nearly half a billion dollars in health-care costs every year (1). Simple steps, such as keeping ears as dry as possible, can help prevent this illness. More information on preventing swimmer's ear is available at http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/rwi/illnesses/swimmers-ear-prevention-guidelines.html.

Injuries and drowning also can occur in and around the water. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death among children aged ≤14 years (2). Additional information on drowning prevention is available at http://www.cdc.gov/safechild/drowning/index.html.

Technology > New insect repellant may be thousands of times stronger than DEET

Excellent,  good to know info.  Two pg article; first page is for laymen to read, second page for scientists!


The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been supporting a major interdisciplinary research project to develop new ways to control the spread of malaria by disrupting a mosquito's sense of smell; as part of the project, Vanderbilt University researchers developed an insect repellant which is not only thousands of times more effective than DEET -- the active ingredient in most commercial mosquito repellants -- but also works against all types of insects, including flies, moths, and ants

Free Courses > CDC Public Health

Several free Public Health courses

E-learning encompasses interactive instruction delivered through a computer by way of the Internet, intranet, compact disc, or other digital media designed to support specific learning objectives.

The following e-learning products are featured. They have been reviewed by CDC staff and met the following specific selection criteria:

• Instructional design and usability best practices manifested through sound learning objectives, use of media, interactivity, and technical operation
• Accurate content, aligned with CDC recommendations and policy
• Compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Available at no cost

Featured E-learning Products by Title

• BioterroRisk
• Chronic Disease Series — Nutrition and Health
• Chronic Disease Series — Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health
• Chronic Disease Series — Obesity Prevention in Children
• Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention
• Health Literacy for Public Health Professionals
• Hemochromatosis: What Every Clinician And Health Care Professional Needs To Know
• IS-100.b: Introduction to the Incident Command System
• IS-200.B: ICS for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents
• IS-700.A: National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
• IS-800.B: National Response Framework, An Introduction
• Preparedness and Community Response to Pandemics
• Ready, Set, Surge! Fundamentals of Responding to a Public Health Emergency at U.S. Ports of Entry
• Smoking Cessation Clinical Intervention Tutorial
• Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical Activity
• STD Self Study Modules: Chlamydia
• STD Self Study Modules: Gonorrhea
• STD Self Study Modules: Herpes
• STD Self Study Modules: HPV
• STD Self Study Modules: Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
• STD Self Study Modules: Syphilis
• STD Self Study Modules: Vaginitis