Official insights from Public Health – Seattle & King County staff
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 […]
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Lead exposure can harm brain growth in young children, so it’s important for toddlers and preschoolers to be tested for lead if they have any of the risk factors. We’re offering free lead testing at many events this August, and we have a comic strip to explain why testing for lead benefits young children.
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Public Health – Seattle & King County on Monday afternoon reopened North and South beaches at Discovery Park. These two beaches were closed Friday in an abundance of caution after a West Point sewage bypass into Puget Sound. Water quality tests conducted over the past three days have all come back under the state standard. […]
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Now is the time to get ready for smoke season, especially taking steps to protect your health. Learn what you may need in your home, what to plan for at work, and when to talk to your healthcare provider about smoke exposure.
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By Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer Six months ago, after the release of the comprehensive Fourth National Climate Assessment, I wrote about the many harmful health effects due to climate change that we are currently experiencing and that we can expect to increase, such as longer and more severe pollen and allergy seasons; increases in […]
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Climate change is today’s theme for National Public Health Week to draw attention to one of the greatest threats to public health. Our Climate Health Action Team created this comic with Seattle artist Mita Mahato to illustrate how climate change is already having serious impacts on our health here in King County and what we […]
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