All King County shorelines closed to recreational shellfish harvesting
Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) levels pose health risk, health officials say.
Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) levels pose health risk, health officials say.
Project Homestead aims to help 15 low-income, “high-needs” homeless King County families find permanent homes.
Programs will seek to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and reduce obesity and tobacco use.
Only site locally where persons were potentially exposed is the Seattle Aquarium on April 3, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Risk to general public is low
Some health centers offer free vaccination to those unable to pay.
life expectancy of 81.5 years, nearly four more years than the U.S. national average life expectancy of 77.7 years
Credit: Janice Haney Carr/CDC
Washington state health officials have detected the bacteria E. coli in the water supply of the Riverbend Homesites development in eastern King County and are warning residents to boil their drinking water before use.
About 1,600 people live at the development, which is just off Interstate 90 Exit 32 east of North Bend [...]
Two patients in King County with H1N1 “Swine” flu have been found to have been infected with a strain of the virus that is resistant to the flu drug Tamiflu.
Tamiflu, whose chemical name is oseltamivir, is one of the two drugs recommended for the treatment of H1N1 infections.
The other drug, zanamivir, is marketed under the [...]
A man in his 70s has become the first King County resident to die from H1N1 “swine” flu, health officials said today.
The man, who had been hospitalized, died on June 11th, but it was only today that the state laboratory was able to confirm that he did, indeed, have H1N1 influenza.
To date, 47 people have [...]
For more information about Swine flu:
Swine Flu and You
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm (English)
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/espanol/influenza_porcina_usted.htm (Espanol)
Facts about Swine Flu
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm (English)
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/espanol/swine_espanol.htm (Espanol)
Preventing the Flu
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm?s_cid=swineFlu_outbreak_internal_003 (English)
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/espanol/habits.htm (Espanol)
Latest news from CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ (English)
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/espanol/ (Espanol)
Symptoms and precautions from the Washington State Department of Health
English (PDF)
Spanish (PDF)
Chinese (PDF)
Korean (PDF)
Russian (PDF)
Vietnamese (PDF)
Large type (PDF)
Questions about swine flu?
Call King County’s Swine Flu Hotline
877-903-KING (5464)
Should you go overseas for medical care?
Thousands of Americans now go abroad for medical care. The price is right: well-regarded hospitals in India, for example, can charge 60 percent to 90 percent less than a U.S. facility for the same service.
Most Americans go overseas for cosmetic surgery like facelifts and liposuction but an increasing number [...]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 3,352 cases of H1N1 “swine” flu have now been confirmed in the U.S. in 45 states, including the District of Columbia.
Washington has 176 confirmed cases as of today, the CDC reports. King County reports 120 confirmed cases and 10 probable as of Tuesday afternoon.
To date [...]
Health officials report that they have now identified 120 confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in King County. Another 10 cases have been classified as probable, Public Health – Seattle & King County reported Monday afternoon.
There have been no deaths in King County linked to the new influenza strain. Last week, however, a 30-year-old Snohomish [...]
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu in the U.S. has reached 2,618, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC reports.
Confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in the USA as of May 11
To date, there have been three deaths, two in Texas and one in Washington State, the CDC said.
The [...]
As of Friday, 56 cases of H1N1 swine flu have been confirmed in Seattle and King County and another 10 suspected cases have been identified.
To date, most of the cases have been mild to moderate in severity. Only two cases are known to have required hospitalization.
Washington State now has had 83 confirmed cases and 193 [...]
Because the new H1N1 swine flu is behaving like the typical seasonal flu virus that comes every fall and winter and is generally causing only mild to moderate illnesses, local health officials no longer think it is necessary to close schools when a student comes down with a flu-like illness.
Instead, health officials say parents should [...]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that nine people who came down with flu-like illnesses in Washington state did, indeed, have influenza A (H1N1) or “swine flu”.
Probable and confirmed H1N1 cases by county
Seven of the cases were identified in King County, one in Snohomish County and one in Spokane County.
Washington [...]
The number of confirmed cases of influenza H1N1 or “swine flu” in the U.S. now stands at 403, and health officials have identified another 700 “probable” cases, which await laboratory confirmation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.
In King County, seven cases have now been confirmed and 21 suspected cases are [...]
King County public health officials no longer feel it’s necessary to close schools when a child or staff member comes down with the flu.
Instead, they are asking parents to keep their children home from school if they show signs that they may have the flu.
To help parents decide whether or not to keep a child [...]
A panel of local and international experts will provide an update on the influenza A/H1N1 (“swine flu”) outbreak this afternoon at the UW Medical Center.
The panel will include:
Dr. David Fleming, director of public health for Seattle and King County;
Kathleen Neuzil, director of PATH’s Influenza Vaccine Project
Marie Kimball, UW professor of epidemiology and director of Asia Pacific [...]
Six more suspected cases of influenza A/H1N1, “swine flu”, have been identified in King County, bringing the total number of suspected cases in the county to 22.
Laboratory samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention for confirmation.
To date, most of the illnesses thought to be due to the new [...]
Many parents, concerned about influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu), are bring children with mild or even no symptoms to the emergency room at Seattle Children’s, more than doubling the number of patients the staff usually sees at this time of year.
Most of these visits are unnecessary, hospital officials say, and are overburdening the emergency room’s resources.
“Most [...]
New bicycle guide maps showing bike paths, trails and routes throughout King County are now available online.
The downloadable maps are posted on King County’s Bicycling Resource page, which, in addition to the maps. provides links to dozens of additional resources including information about Metro Transit’s services for cyclists, bicycle skills and safety courses, and state [...]
Facing a $93.4 million deficit in King County’s 2009 General Fund, King County Executive Ron Sims has presented a budget that will lead to substantial cuts in the County’s health services.
In order to protect some health and other services, Sims proposes to use $10.5 million in reserve funds to provide a six-month “lifeline” that will [...]