Planning for a Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: What You Can Do to Prepare at Home, at Work and in the Community

February 13, 2020.Reading time 13 minutes.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus continues to grow in China and cases have been reported from multiple other countries. Widespread transmission is still limited to China and has not been reported from other countries at this time. Fourteen cases have been reported in the US, and there is no community spread occurring anywhere in the […]

Coronavirus and Quarantine: a Q & A with our Health Officer

February 6, 2020.Reading time 14 minutes.

Public Health – Seattle & King County Health Officer Jeff Duchin answers questions about the federal quarantine measures.

King County influenza update

January 17, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

Based on monitoring of influenza-like illness levels at King County emergency departments and results of laboratory tests for flu, it looks like this season’s influenza B outbreak has peaked. Even so, influenza B activity remains elevated at a relatively high level and is likely to continue circulating in our community for many weeks. “It’s good […]

Data Dive: Non-fatal shooting data available from Public Health

January 6, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

Editorial note: This is our third blog post dedicated to explaining data releases about firearm deaths and injuries in King County and Seattle. You can access our firearm injury data products here. Previous posts focused on firearm homicide and firearm suicide. Firearm injuries are a substantial public health issue for our community, causing preventable suffering […]

Deathcap Mushroom Season is here: Mushroom foragers should take extreme care

October 31, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Watch out, mushroom foragers. Fall rains bring blooms of Amanita phalloides, better known as the death cap mushroom. They are common in Western Washington, and were found recently on the University of Washington Seattle campus. The death cap mushroom has no distinctive odor or taste and resembles other nontoxic varieties. Consumption of the Amanita […]

Public Health warns King County residents about severe lung disease associated with e-cigarette and use of THC products

August 30, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Updated as of September 11, 2019: We have updated this information on September 11, 2019 here. Public Health has confirmed one case of vaping-related severe lung disease. The blog post below was published on August 30, 2019. Health Alert from Dr. Jeff Duchin – Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County As […]