The purpose of this health advisory is to alert clinicians and professionals who work with animals that could be rabid that, effective November 27, 2023:
Please review this information from U.S. CDC on potential risk of lead exposure from certain recalled fruit puree pouches sold in the United States. Maine CDC is not aware of children in Maine with blood lead levels of 5 g/dL or higher (Maine's threshold for investigating sources of lead exposure) related to consumption of these products. Families should not buy the recalled products and should discard any products they may have already purchased.
Influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are three viral respiratory infections that cause the majority of respiratory-related hospitalizations and deaths in our communities. Influenza and RSV cause seasonal epidemics with timing that varies year to year; COVID-19 burden continues to rise and fall with no seasonality. U.S. CDC's initial respiratory season outlook indicated that, with COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and RSV, even an average respiratory season can place substantial strain on the health care system; U.S.
In the wake of Wednesday night's mass shooting event in Lewiston, these resources may be helpful to our clinical partners and your patients as we all struggle to cope with the events unfolding in our state.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to provide options for clinicians to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the context of a limited supply of nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody immunization product recommended for preventing RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease in infants.
The National Weather Service, in coordination with the National Hurricane Center, is reporting that Maine will experience impacts from Hurricane Lee beginning Friday night into Saturday morning due to a westward shift in the storm track and widening storm radius. The storm is predicted to slowly weaken to a Category 1 storm and eventually downgrade to a tropical storm as it makes landfall. Tropical storm force winds, coastal flooding and high surf, and riverine flooding are all possible impacts from the storm.
Please review this information from U.S. CDC on respiratory syncytial virus activity in the southeast, which typically precedes activity in other parts of the U.S. This advisory includes an overview of newly available RSV vaccines and other prevention options.
Vibriosis is caused by Vibrio bacteria that naturally live in certain coastal waters. Most infections occur after eating raw or undercooked shellfish. Some types of Vibrio cause skin infections when an open wound is exposed to salt water or brackish water. Individuals with immunocompromising conditions or chronic liver disease are most likely to be infected with Vibrio. Eating raw seafood and coming into contact with salt water or brackish water can increase the likelihood of acquiring the disease.
Particle pollution concentrations are expected to reach "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" (USG) level Wednesday September 6th, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A dense ground-level plume of smoke from fires in Canada moved into Maine last night. For today, the 24-hour average is expected to be in the USG range for the northern region. For the remainder of the state, the 24-hour average is expected to be Moderate with only a few hours above Moderate.
Please review this information from U.S. CDC on malaria acquired in the United States. In addition to the clinical resources available here, you can also learn more about the clinical management of malaria from the recent U.S. CDC Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) call held on July 20, 2023. A recording of that webinar is available at https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/calls/2023/callinfo_072023.asp.
