Required childhood immunizations and vaccine exemptions: The bottom line

March 20, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

By Jeff Duchin, MD, Health Officer Media coverage of our recent publication in the journal Pediatrics gave some people the mistaken impression that my colleagues and I want to provide children with a choice to “opt out” of required vaccinations, except for measles vaccine. The fact is that families in Washington currently have the ability […]

Health officials say E. coli cases may be linked to Chipotle restaurants in Wash. and Ore. [UPDATED 11/25/15]

October 31, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

Want to keep track of this investigation? Check back here regularly, follow us on Twitter at @kcpubhealth or on Facebook. Update 11/25/15: Based on an updated case definition, King County’s current count of individuals tied to the E. coli outbreak has been reduced to four. No new cases have been identified in King County since […]

Court orders TB patient to comply with treatment

October 27, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

For what is believed to be only the eighth time in more than a decade, Public Health – Seattle & King County has taken the rare step of seeking a court order to detain a potentially contagious patient who resisted treatment for tuberculosis. On October 23, King County Superior Court issued an order for electronic home […]

Public Health investigates E. coli outbreak

September 1, 2015.Reading time 10 minutes.

Public Health is currently investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157 – one of the most serious foodborne illnesses you can contract. Our thoughts are with the families affected by this outbreak, and we appreciate the support of the community as we work to protect the health of the public. A person can get an E. coli […]

Better know a germ: SALMONELLA

August 13, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Our state, and our county in particular, is in the middle of a salmonella outbreak. Government agencies at every jurisdictional level are working hard to stop it. We sat down with Berhanu Alemayehu from our food safety program to learn more about what people can do to keep themselves safe. What is salmonella? How do […]

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.