Official insights from Public Health – Seattle & King County staff
Several years ago, local comics artist David Lasky and I created this comic book about Michelle, a real-life survivor of Hurricane Ike that struck Texas in 2008. We offer it now as we’re collectively thinking of those affected by Hurricane Harvey as part of National Emergency Preparedness month. Even though we don’t have hurricanes here, […]
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The news from Hurricane Harvey has been heart wrenching. Among the memorable images that emerged was one of nursing home residents sitting in wheelchairs, waist-deep in flood water as they waited for help to arrive. As reported by the New York Times, among the thousands of posts to volunteer rescue groups were common pleas such […]
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Three rabid bats have been found in public areas within King County since August 19 and an additional two rabid bats were found in 2017 that had no exposure to the public. I sat down with Vance Kawakami, DVM MPH, one of our public health veterinarians and an epidemiologist, to find out what is going […]
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NOTE: This posting first appeared on our blog in early August of 2017. The health information is still relevant anytime the air quality is declared unhealthy due to wildfire smoke. Wildfires from British Columbia have resulted in poor air quality here in the Puget Sound, as anyone who takes a look out the window can […]
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Hot weather isn’t just uncomfortable – it can be dangerous. When temperatures are very hot in King County, we see a rise in the number of hospitalizations, Emergency Medical Service calls, and most sadly, deaths. And it’s not just heat stroke and heat exhaustion: heart problems, stroke, and kidney failure are common health problems on […]
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It’s been just over a year since King County had its first diagnosed case of Zika virus infection. We caught up with medical epidemiologist Dr. Meagan Kay, DVM, to find out what we’ve learned about Zika virus since then, and what concerns health experts have now. At this time last year, Meagan, you were expecting […]
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