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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/10/03 - Board of HealthBOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS October 3, 2002 Chairperson Commissioner Bob Holter called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. Attendance: Cmmr. Dist. 1, Absent; Cmmr. Dist. 2, Wes Johnson; Cmmr. Dist. 3,Bob Holter. ATTENDANCE Dr. Mark Trucksess, Health Officer Steve Kutz, Health Department Director Debbie Riley, Environmental Health Manager Ron Henrickson, County Administrator Nancy Plews, Clerk Mary Duncan, Mason County Journal, Reporter Dederick Allen, KMAS, Reporter CORRESPONDENCE None APPROVAL OF MINUTES None ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT: Dr. Trucksess reported the Communicable Disease report will contain the information from August and September, because there was no Board of Health meeting in September. There were four cases in August and one in September of Camphylobacter. One case of Giardia in September. Two cases of Hepatitis C in August and one case in September. Three positive PPD'S in August and three positive PPD'S in September, one of these have been started on Latent Therapy. The STD report for August and September which has three cases of Chlamydia in August and three more in September. Two HSV in September. One early Latent Syphilis and one late Latent Syphilis in September. Dr. Trucksess informed the Board there has been a confirmed case of West Nile Virus in Washington. It was found in a Raven from Newport. This is the first bird to be documented with the virus in Washington. A resident found the dead bird on September 13, 2002. There have been no reported human or horse cases reported with the virus in Washington. There is a vaccine that is available for horses if they contract the virus but there is not currently a vaccine for humans that may contract the virus. Dr. Trucksess reported that a routine Influenza surveillance will be conducted this year between October 1, 2002 and May 31, 2003. The method for tracking Influenza will be school attendance records, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratory specimens, physicians and pneumonia deaths reported in Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma. The information will be forwarded to local health departments and also the Center for Disease Control. The recommendation is to vaccinate high -risk people October through January. Healthy or low risk people will be vaccinated November through January. Dr. Trucksess received information about an outbreak of E-Coli in July of 2002 and it was linked to a beef company. There was a recall of 18.6 million pounds of beef. Dr. Trucksess reported that in June, 10 students and two teachers spent time in Ecuador. The students had contact with a wild mammal while there. Four of these students experienced a bite or scratch. The students were given prophylaxis for rabies due to the wild animal exposure. This is just a reminder that travelers should be warned to avoid contact with wild animals and seek immediate medical attention if they do receive a bite or scratch. Dr. Trucksess gave a reminder that reptiles do carry Salmonella. The Public Health Department in King County has reported a rare case of Salmonella in a 2-year-old child. This child attended a daycare center that had a lizard. The reptile was tested and was positive for this rare kind of Salmonella. PERSONAL HEALTH ISSUES Steve Kutz, Department of Health Director reported the cases of Camphylobacter and Giardia were from a child swimming in a lake and in -taking water while swimming and the others seamed to be backpackers and drinking water while hiking. The filters that backpackers are using aren't always going to keep out the bacteria. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS October 3, 2002 - PAGE 2 Steve Kutz informed the Board that the flu vaccine would arrive on time this year. They do have the delivery date and will keep to the schedule that has been set to begin October 21, 2002. This process will begin with the high -risk patients identified by Dr. Trucksess during his presentation. The Health Department has set aside two days to be open for County employees to receive flu shots on November 15`1' and 186 during normal business hours. ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES Debbie Riley, Environmental Health Manager, told the Board that she just received information this morning regarding the dead bird found in Washington. She presented the Board with a handout containing information about the West Nile Virus. Mosquitoes are the carries of the virus to humans and horses. The precautions that can be taken against mosquitoes is to be aware of standing water around your yards, wear protective clothes while outside, clear your roof gutters, and use back woods deep repellant. Debbie Riley informed the Board that there is a process for the public when they have found a dead bird. The bird needs to be tested within 48 hours of it dying. We have sent in one bird from the Grapeview area and it did test negative. The new information that came with this bulletin is that if a dead bird is found on a Friday, the bird can be froze until Monday and then sent in. The reason it can't be over-nighted on Friday is because the lab is not open on the weekend. This new information will be available to the public on the front counter of the Environmental Health Department. Because the warm weather is coming to an end as fall is approaching this concern will not need to be monitored until next spring. At that time we will need to monitor this virus closely. Cmmr. Holter questioned if contact has been made to the veterinarians for awareness. Steve Kutz informed the Board that there has been a mailing sent out with recommendations to inform their patients. ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH WAIVERS/VARIANCES Submitted to the Board by Health Director, Steve Kutz. ADJOURNED The meeting adjourned at 10:24 a.m. due to no further business. HEALTH OFFICER ar Trucksess, Health 0 fice BOARD OF HEALTH MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON IA-Kay-a-d L LQ Bob Holier, Chairperson Wesley F.( ohnso'Commissioner Herb Baze, Commissioner