The past month has been one with exceptional volume of very ill patients coming to our emergency rooms and clinics, with many needing advanced care in the ICU. This flu season has ended the lives of many the likes we have not seen since 2010. This is 172 people’s lives cut short by this very deadly disease.... Read More >>

The 2017 CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award is now open for nominations! Anyone can nominate a health care professional, coalition member, parent or other immunization leader who goes above and beyond to improve childhood immunization rates. Self-nominations are welcome.... Read More >>

his year's flu has flared up in recent weeks and caused at least 24 deaths so far. The flu and other viruses have sent hundreds of people to emergency departments and urgent care clinics. This has had a significant impact on hospital capacity, resulting in some people waiting hours in emergency departments before they are seen. The flu is also starting to spread among hospital staff in some areas.... Read More >>

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that January is National Birth Defects Prevention month, and this year’s focus is “Prevent Infections for Baby’s Protection.” The CDC’s announcement states, “Birth defects are common, costly and critical, and they affect one in 33 U.S. babies annually.”... Read More >>

About 6 percent of U.S. completed pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika infection had a fetus or infant with evidence of a Zika-related birth defect, according to a study published in December by the Journal of the American Medical Association.These findings highlight the importance of screening pregnant women for Zika virus exposure.... Read More >>

Like many of you, I’m trying to work in my holiday gift shopping whenever I can, as it’s always one of the biggest tasks of a season that seems to go by very quickly. As a mother of three boys, I know finding the right, age-appropriate gift can be a challenge. And as a mother of three boys, I know that even what might seem like a safe toy can cause destruction around the house or, worse, present a safety hazard.... Read More >>

About 15 percent of adults smoked cigarettes in 2015, down from about 17 percent in 2014 and 21 percent in 2005, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarette smoking rates were higher among men than women, Native Americans than other racial and ethnic groups, and those with less education and income.... Read More >>

Nine children across the state have been hospitalized at Seattle Children’s over the past several weeks with symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare syndrome that causes varying degrees of paralysis. Three of the children are currently hospitalized, five have been released and one has died, the Washington State Department of Health announced last week.... Read More >>

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has launched an early-stage clinical trial to test an inactivated Zika vaccine candidate in humans, the National Institutes of Health announced yesterday. It expects to complete the study by fall 2018.... Read More >>

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assist Washington hospitals in reporting antimicrobial use through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antimicrobial Use and Resistance module.... Read More >>