Rodents, your car, and hantavirus: What to do if you suspect rodents are living in your vehicle

April 21, 2017.Reading time 9 minutes.

Here at the Insider, we’ve been talking to Dr. Meagan Kay, Medical Epidemiologist, about the cluster of hantavirus cases that we’ve had in King County over the last several months. Meagan, what is hantavirus? Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare but sometimes deadly disease that people can get by breathing in hantavirus contained in […]

Public Health’s role in protecting people from water contamination

February 17, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Picture from Free Press Journal Earlier in February, equipment failures and heavy rains caused King County’s West Point Treatment Plant to divert wastewater into Puget Sound. We sat down with Public Health’s Environmental Health Division staff to ask about potential health impacts and Public Health’s role during this event and others like it. Why is […]

Mumps continue to spread in King County: Know the symptoms

February 17, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

There have been 196 cases of mumps reported in King County since the beginning of the outbreak in late November, with the vast majority of cases in the Auburn area. The number of mumps cases across the state has risen to 469 cases in ten counties. This week, a student at the University of Washington tested […]

King County among the first in the nation to achieve a global milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS

February 9, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

King County is among the first major metropolitan regions in the United States – and possibly the first – to reach a major milestone set by the World Health Organization in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A broad partnership led by Public Health – Seattle & King County achieved what is known as the 90-90-90 […]

TB evaluation at the University of Washington Seattle campus

October 27, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

An X-ray of the chest of a man with tuberculosis. The areas infected with TB bacteria are colored red. Science Photo Library/Corbis

Public Health – Seattle & King County is following up on a person at the University of Washington Seattle campus who was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB). Public Health is working with the UW to determine whether others have contracted TB from exposure to this person. The University and Public Health are contacting all individuals who had […]

Q&A: PUBLIC HEALTH TAKES ON LEAD POISONING AT WORK

October 19, 2016.Reading time 8 minutes.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/lead-poisoning-201602029120

When we think about people at risk of lead poisoning, we may think about children exposed to lead-based paint, or those exposed to lead through certain hobbies. But did you know that thousands of workers in this country are exposed to lead at their workplaces – day in and day out? Alarmingly, the federal and […]

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