Spray what? Tips for good hygiene at spray parks

August 3, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Anyone with a kid – or anyone who was once a child – knows the joy of cooling off in a public spray park on a hot and sticky summer day. They are a great way for pre-swimmers and swimmers alike to have fun while staying safe. Recently, we have been asked about water quality […]

Surge in communicable diseases, funding shortages threaten public’s health

July 17, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

If you’ve followed the Public Health Insider, you know that we’ve seen a surge of communicable disease outbreaks in places like schools, health care facilities, jails and restaurants. And those are just the most visible ones. As the local health department, it’s our mission and legal responsibility to track down and stop over 50 communicable diseases in […]

World TB Day: Global epidemic hits home

March 24, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

Every week, two new people on average are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in King County. Many of these cases are investigated, treated and managed through our local TB program without public attention, but we’ve seen recent instances in schools (here and here) and a university, health care facilities (here and here), a group residence and jail […]

TB evaluation at Seattle supportive housing

September 26, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

Public Health – Seattle & King County is following up on a person at 1811 Eastlake who was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB). Public Health is working with DESC, which operates 1811 Eastlake supportive housing, to determine whether others have contracted TB from exposure to this person. TB is an infectious disease, but it’s much harder to spread […]

Two patients at local hospital test positive for Legionnaires’ disease

September 8, 2016.Reading time 18 minutes.

Update 10.10.16 UW Medical Center (UWMC) has not detected any additional Legionella cases. To-date, water samples taken from the in-patient unit in Cascade Tower have tested negative for Legionella bacteria since UWMC completed the hyperchlorination process on September 20. Two scrub sinks in the operating room showed a very low level of Legionella bacteria; those […]

Public Health investigating possible outbreak at a Lake Sammamish swimming beach

August 29, 2016.Reading time 6 minutes.

Update 9/2/16 Tibbetts Beach at Lake Sammamish is approved to reopen. Public Health is aware of 15 people who got ill after swimming at Tibbetts Beach on Friday, August 26th. Based on their symptoms, the timing between when they swam and became ill, and the duration of illness, we suspect that the likely cause was […]