Monthly Archives: January 2018

DHEC in the News: Flu, opioids, adenovirus

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

People are really worried about the flu in SC. What about our schools?

Out of 22 students in Scott Jaillette’s daughter’s kindergarten class, only 10 showed up to school one day this week.

“I know the school officials are doing what they can,” the Columbia father of three said. “The flu is very bad this season. But I can’t keep her out of school and protect her from everything. I mean, she’d never go to school.”

S.C. DHEC still urging people to get flu vaccines

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is still urging people to get a flu shot; 46 people have died in South Carolina as of Jan. 20, according to a press release.

The best protection against the flu is to get a flu shot, and since it takes about two weeks for the body to build up protection, the sooner you get the vaccine, the better, according to the release.

Teens raise awareness about opioid epidemic in the lowcountry

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C., (WSAV) — It’s tearing apart families and killing more than 100 people every single day. Experts say our nation is in an opioid crisis and it’s affecting people of all ages right here at home.

Local leaders and experts in the lowcountry met with members of the community to work toward a real, life-saving solution.

General Interest

There’s another bad virus going around that is not the flu

It looks like flu. It feels like flu. It even puts patients into the hospital like flu can.

There’s another virus out there that could be adding to the seasonal misery, but it’s not being identified.

The virus is called adenovirus, and it can cause very severe flu-like symptoms. It’s so risky that the U.S. military vaccinates recruits against two major strains.

DHEC in the News: Flu, opiods, E. coli

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

Protect yourself and get the flu shot

COLUMBIA – Flu activity is continuing to increase in the Palmetto state and while it’s unknown when the flu season activity will peak, DHEC is encouraging South Carolinians to protect themselves against the flu.

“The Influenza A strain continues to be the most frequently reported this season in South Carolina and nationally,” said Dr. Tracy Foo, DHEC Immunization Medical Consultant. “When there are high levels of the H3N2 strain circulating, there tends to be more severe illness and a higher number of deaths.”

From pain medication to killers: York County officials, leaders discuss opioid crisis

ROCK HILL – For Eric Bedingfield’s son, one choice led to a battle that would eventually take his life.

York County and South Carolina medical professionals, elected officials and community leaders discussed the rising problem of opioid misuse and abuse during the York County Opioid Summit Thursday at the Magnolia Room in Laurel Creek.

In December, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a statewide public health emergency in an effort to deal with the state’s rising death toll related to opioid abuse.

General Interest

E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce over, CDC says

An E. coli outbreak linked to leafy greens distributed to 15 states has been delcared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There were two cases of food-borne illnesses in New York related to leafy greens that had occurred by Dec. 12, the federal agency said.

CDC officials were unable to determine the source of the E. coli outbreak that sickened 25 people and killed one person in California. No recall of romaine lettuce or other vegetables was ordered.

DHEC in the News: More Focus On The Flu

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

DHEC: Protect Yourself and Get Your Flu Shot

Flu activity is continuing to increase in the Palmetto state and while it’s unknown when the flu season activity will peak, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is encouraging South Carolinians to protect themselves against the flu.

“The Influenza A strain continues to be the most frequently reported this season in South Carolina and nationally,” Dr. Tracy Foo, DHEC Immunization Medical Consultant, said. “When there are high levels of the H3N2 strain circulating, there tends to be more severe illness and a higher number of deaths.”

46 people in South Carolina have died from the flu, DHEC says

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Flu activity is continuing to increase in the Palmetto State and while it’s unknown when the flu season activity will peak, officials with The Department of Health and Environmental Control are encouraging South Carolinians to protect themselves against the flu.

As of Jan. 20, 46 people in South Carolina have died. Individuals over 65 have the highest hospitalization rate and number of deaths, DHEC officials said. About one-third of all laboratory-confirmed influenza cases reported this season are in older adults.

DHEC confirms the flu is severe this year, but not unlike past H3N2 seasons

As flu deaths and hospitalizations keep mounting in South Carolina, public anxiety seems to be rising, too.

Numbers published by the state health department this week show influenza activity is widespread throughout the state. In fact, it’s widespread across the country. The flu is everywhere — all at once.

It has hit schools and day care centers and churches. It has even surfaced in the Statehouse and in The Post and Courier newsroom.

Fairfield Co. school reopened after flu-related closure

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, SC (WIS) – A Fairfield County school was hit so hard by the flu this week that officials decided to close its doors.

Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro, SC was closed Wednesday, Jan. 24 due to the flu.

Here Is Why Doctors Say It’s The Worst Flu Season In Recent Years

Columbia, SC (WLTX) — The flu epidemic continues to be on the rise in South Carolina. State health officials say 46 people have died from the flu since the season started.

We are four months into the flu season and currently, there is a widespread epidemic across the country.

From Other Blogs: Health care workers and flu, child nutrition, radon & more

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A collection of health and environmental posts from other governmental blogs.

Healthcare Personnel Working with Flu-like Illness

Most of the United States is experiencing widespread and intense influenza activity. Indicators used to track influenza-like-activity are higher than what was seen during the peak of the 2014-2015 season, the most recent season characterized as being of “high” severity. A NIOSH study recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that more than 40 percent of health care personnel with influenza-like-illness (ie, fever and cough or sore throat) continued to work while sick during the 2014-2015 influenza season. — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) NOSH Science Blog

Child Nutrition Goes Digital: Food and Nutrition Service Launches First Food Buying Guide Mobile App

The start of a new year is a perfect opportunity to assess your normal ways of doing business and adopt resolutions that will help you save time, money, or even frustration. Child nutrition program operators can now resolve to do just that with the launch of Food and Nutrition Services’ first mobile application, the Food Buying Guide (FBG) Mobile App.

The FBG Mobile App represents a major step forward in the agency’s commitment to customer service, providing key information at the fingertips of child nutrition program operators so they can serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals to our nation’s children. — From the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) blog

Radon: We Track That!

CDC’s Tracking Network connects people with vital information on a variety of health and environmental topics. You can use data and information collected about radon to help determine individual and community risk for radon and inform community interventions.  — From the CDC’s Your Health — Your Environment Blog

Progress in Public Health Genomics Depends on Measuring Population Level Outcomes

Public health genomics is a relatively young field concerned with the effective and responsible translation of genomic science into population health benefits. In the past few years, the field has witnessed the emergence of several state public health genomics programs beyond the traditional domain of newborn screening. The field has focused on preventing disease and death from three tier 1 autosomal dominant conditions, collectively affecting more than 2 million people in the United States (Lynch syndrome, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, and familial hypercholesterolemia). — From the CDC’s Genomics and Health Impact blog

DHEC in the News: Flu, radon, stomach virus

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

What To Do About The Flu?

The flu is making its annual presence known – and, as medical professionals warn, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Daniel Island, like many communities across the South Carolina and the nation, is not immune to the impacts of the pesky bug, which can bring fever, fatigue, stomach upset, congestion and other symptoms to those who catch it.

DHEC reports 22 more flu deaths, bringing total this season to 46 in South Carolina

The state health department reported Wednesday that another 22 South Carolinians have died from the flu this season and that hundreds more were recently hospitalized.

Numbers included in the new report offer clear evidence that flu activity has been widespread and rampant across the state this month. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Seventeen of the latest flu-related deaths occurred between Jan. 14 and Jan. 20, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported. Five of those deaths were attributed to prior weeks. Since October, 46 people have died from the flu in this state.

Doctor: ‘This is actually the worst flu season we’ve seen in over 10 years’

Horry County, S.C. (WPDE) — The flu continues to be a problem, causing people to call out of work and school across the country.

It’s been a nasty flu season, with more than 40 thousand confirmed cases in South Carolina so far, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

“This is actually the worst flu season in over 10 years,” Dr. Dennis Rhoades, the Regional Medical Director for Doctors Care said.

Radon test heads off silent killer

The new year brings a focus on good health and progress. Nowhere is emphasis more important than the home, where so many spend so much of their time.

Your home, however, may be causing you harm and you don’t even know it.

The No. 2 cause of lung cancer in the United States is radon gas. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that radon causes more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year. The World Health Organization states that as many as 14 percent of the lung cancer cases in many countries are caused by exposure to radon.

177 students, 21 teachers out of Anderson Co. school due to stomach virus

ANDERSON, SC (FOX Carolina) – Anderson County District Five Schools say 177 students and 21 teachers were out of school due to a stomach virus.

A representative with the school district said a gastrointestinal illness was going around Calhoun Academy of the Arts.