Category: Infections
Flu season typically kicks in this month, Seattle health officials warn, so the best time to get your flu shot is now. And for those of you who are shy of needles there is now a painless nasal vaccine that is simply sprayed into each nostril. Flu is often mild but can be severe, even [...]
Seattle health officials have developed a 12-page comic book on pandemic flu that tells the story of one family’s experience of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 20 million people world wide. “No Ordinary Flu” is written for readers of all ages. It illusrates what to expect should a pandemic strike again and [...]
Dr. Catherine Wilfert developed the idea that it was possible to prevent the AIDS virus from spreading from an infected mother to her uninfected newborn by giving an anti-HIV drug to the mother just before and to the child right after delivery. The approach can cut mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 80% and [...]
Dr. Catherine Wilfert developed the idea that it was possible to prevent the AIDS virus from spreading from an infected mother to her uninfected newborn by giving an anti-HIV drug to the mother just before and to the child right after delivery. The approach can cut mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 80% and is credited [...]
An estimated 76 million Americans come down with food poisoning every year. To reduce your risk during the upcoming holiday season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control urges you to follow the four basic rules of food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.
Varicella (Chickenpox) Virus An outbreak of chickenpox has hit Salem Woods Elementary School in Monroe, Washington, and Snohomish Health Officials say children who have not been fully immunized against chickenpox should stay home. To date, sixteen children have come down with the highly contagious viral infection. “Although generally a mild illness,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, [...]
MRSA Infection control measures advocated by the Seattle Times in its series on infections in Washington hospitals by the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA are not supported by the current evidence, Seattle & King County health officials say. In the series, the Times reports that Washington hospitals have failed to introduce aggressive infection control measures targeting the antibiotic-resistant [...]
Washington state hospitals have failed to introduce infection control measures that could reduce the number of serious infections and deaths due to the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA, (Multi-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), according to a series running in the Seattle Times this week. Over the past decade the number of Washington hospital patients with MRSA infections [...]
_______________________________________________________________________________ African Americans, Native Americans and men who have sex with men at higher risk, report says African Americans, Native Americans and men who have sex with men in King County are at much greater risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, according to a new report by Public Health – Seattle & King County. [...]
If you found this page because you were searching Google using the “flu” as a keyword, it may be because you’re feeling under-the-weather. In which case, you’re not alone. Google reports that as flu season approaches more and more people search the web using key words related to influenza. By tracking the trends, Google says, [...]
Two Seattle-based foundations are behind a large malaria vaccine trial being launched in Africa next month.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has safety tips to help you avoid food poisoning during the upcoming holiday season. Incompletely cooked turkey, inadequately refrigerated leftovers and other perils can lead to painful but avoidable bouts of illness. The very young, the very old, pregnant women and people with impaired immune systems are particularly [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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