Local public health capacity is critical in the response to global health emergencies

September 28, 2015.Reading time 9 minutes.

Last year, our local health department worked intensively with King County healthcare systems and our community in response to the ongoing, unprecedented Ebola outbreak. Our director of communicable diseases, Dr. Jeff Duchin (now also health officer), was a leading figure in our local Ebola preparedness and response activities. At the national level, he worked with […]

More protection, less ouchy: What’s new with flu vaccine in 2015

September 25, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

Kids are finally back at school and that means they are passing their germs to each other and bringing them home so that parents can bring them to work. Time to get a flu vaccine! And there are new options. We sat down with Libby Page from our Immunizations Program to find out the latest. Last year’s […]

What an itch! Swimmer’s edition

July 29, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

Close your eyes. You’re floating on your back (wearing a life preserver, most likely) at your favorite lake, with ducks and geese gently quacking as they feed nearby. Puffy clouds overhead, willows on the bank, and lily pads forming a soothing backdrop for your relaxing float. And then a microscopic parasite burrows into your skin. […]

5 simple safety tips for swimming in pools

July 14, 2015.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Click through the images to find out more about why these safety tips are so important. For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention website.

Plumbing and public health – an essential connection

June 18, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

To say that plumbing has an essential connection with public health may be an understatement. The Centers for Disease Control calls the shift from inadequate water supplies to clean drinking water one of the top ten public health achievements of the 20th century because of its fundamental impact on the spread of communicable disease. Many […]

If this vaccine fights cancer, why aren’t more people embracing it?

April 21, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

If you knew there was a vaccine that could prevent several types of cancer—including a form of cancer that kills over 250,000 women each year—would you make sure your child gets it? Consider this: An estimated 79 million Americans are infected with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that causes a range of cancers, as well as […]