A bacterial meningitis outbreak at Oregon State University (OSU) has public health officials and medical providers in Idaho on guard as college students head home for the holidays, and encouraging students to get vaccinated against the disease. So far, no cases have been reported in Idaho, but OSU has reported six cases at the University’s Corvallis campus, five known to be caused by serogroup B meningococcal bacteria.
“If you have college students from the Corvallis campus of OSU home for the holiday break, it would be a great idea to check to see if they have been vaccinated against serogroup B meningococcal disease,” said Dr. Christine Hahn, medical director for the Division of Public Health in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “If not, they should be vaccinated with the MenB vaccine to protect them from the disease, which is very serious and can spread in college settings. It can cause loss of limbs, hearing loss, or brain damage. Even with treatment, up to 15% of people can die from it.” Continue reading “Meningitis outbreak prompts reminder to get college students vaccinated”
Holiday parties will offer a tempting array of goodies this winter, but it’s important to remember the basic food safety rules, both as a guest and as a host. Nearly 1 in 6 Americans (or about 48 million) get sick each year from contaminated food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reducing that number by just 10 percent would keep nearly 5 million people from getting sick each year. 
When the U.S. Surgeon General declared in 2004 that National Family Health History Day would fall on Thanksgiving each year, he was acknowledging the importance of knowing your family health history. You and your family share genes, culture, behaviors, and environments – all of which can have an impact on your health. When you know that information and share it with your doctor, he or she can make more informed choices for how to personalize your health screenings and treatment. Thanksgiving can be a great time to talk with your family about how your health is related, so you can give your doctor the best information possible. 
This Thursday, Nov. 16, is the Great American Smokeout, the day each year when smokers are encouraged to make a plan to quit. Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, but about 40 million Americans still smoke cigarettes. 
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