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A recent U.S. CDC report shows that Maine’s vaccination rates for 19-35-month-olds are the best in the nation.
These results are a cause for celebration and reflect an effective partnership that has been built across the state to address this important health issue. Our success can be attributed to the hard work of clinicians, partners, educators and funders who have collectively made the vaccination of Maine’s children a public health priority.
Maine CDC is proud of this accomplishment and looks forward to working with our partners to build upon this success in the coming year.
Additional information is available in these PowerPoint slides.
The Maine Shared Health Needs Assessment
& Planning Process (SHNAPP) Project - a collaborative of
Central Maine Healthcare, Eastern Maine Healthcare System, MaineGeneral Health,
MaineHealth and the Maine Center for Disease Control and
Prevention - works to improve the health status of Maine
residents and track results.
The goal is to create a framework and approach for a Shared
Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) that can:
- Address community benefit reporting needs of hospitals,
- Support state and local public health accreditation efforts, and
- Provide valuable population health assessment data for various
organizations concerned with the health of Maine’s communities and citizens.
SHNAPP has DRAFT Shared CHNA reports that are available now for review and input.
Drafts of the State report and the Kennebec County report can be downloaded and
comments submitted to us from this site. We appreciate all of your
feedback.
According to the Institute of
Medicine, one of the core functions of public health is assessment: the
systematic collection, assembly, analysis and sharing of information on the
health of the community. As such, Maine CDC provides a great deal of data
on its website. We are working to improve the organization, accessibility
and usability of that data and seek your feedback. Please follow this
link to access an outline survey by September 15 to
assist us: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6TQMDMB
Although most influenza activity occurs from October to May
in the U.S., flu viruses are detected year round. Providers in Maine have reported positive
rapid influenza and serology tests in the last month. Summer and early fall are also the prime time
for agricultural fairs, which provides an increased risk for flu associated
with swine contact.
Maine
CDC requests that all rapid positive influenza samples during the summer months
be forwarded to Maine’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL) for
confirmation and typing. This will allow
us to monitor the circulating strains, and identify any variants if present.
If
a provider sees a patient with flu-like symptoms who has swine or bird
exposures; samples should be sent to HETL for testing. Rapid tests may not pick up variant strains,
and only the state lab is capable of determining if a strain is a variant.
Reporting
requirements
- Suspected novel or variant cases should be
reported immediately by phone to 800-821-5821.
- Outbreaks and pediatric deaths are required to
be reported
- We appreciate all positive lab tests, reported
by fax (207-287-6865 or 800-293-7534) or by phone (800-821-5821) but this is
not required
Additional Information
On August 18, 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS
Resources Emergency (CARE) Act was signed into law, creating what is now the
largest Federal program exclusively providing care and treatment services to
people living with HIV – the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
Twenty-five years later, the Health Resources and Services
Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau commemorates this historic anniversary
and honors the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which has played a critical role in
the United States’ public health response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The theme: Moving Forward with
CARE: Building on 25 Years of Passion, Purpose, and Excellence” reflects
the passion that inspired the legislation, purpose that continues to drive the
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and excellence in health outcomes for people living
with HIV receiving Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded care.
HRSA has also produced a new video to highlight the work
of the program: http://hab.hrsa.gov/ryanwhite25/
Ticks are generally found in brushy or wooded areas and near the ground. They cannot jump or fly.
Ticks are attracted to a variety of host factors, including body heat and
carbon dioxide. They will transfer to a potential host when one brushes
directly against them and seek a site for attachment.
Ticks cause a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease,
anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Powassan and Rocky Mountain spotted
fever, all of which are reportable in Maine.
Cases of tickborne diseases reported in Maine through August 31 include:
- 673 cases of Lyme disease, compared to 1,400 for all of 2014
- 115 cases of anaplasmosis, compared to 191 for all of
2014
- 28 cases of babesiosis, compared to 42 cases for all of 2014
Additional Information
Arboviral diseases, including eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)
and West Nile virus (WNV), are very serious infections that are transmitted by
the bite of an infected mosquito. Additionally, Powassan virus is an
arboviral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. Although
rare, these diseases have potentially severe and even fatal consequences for
those who contract them. Maine CDC reminds clinicians of the potential
for human disease activity in Maine and to consider testing for arboviral
disease in patients presenting with unexplained encephalitis, meningitis or
fever (≥100.4°F or 38°C) during the summer and early fall.
Although
no cases of EEE and WNV have been identified yet in Maine this year, Maine CDC
recommends the following preventative measures to protect against
mosquito-borne illnesses:
- Use an Environmental Protection Agency-approved repellent when
outdoors, especially around dawn and dusk. Always follow the instructions on
the product’s label;
- Wear protective clothing when outdoors, including long-sleeved
shirts, pants and socks;
- Keep window and door screens down to keep mosquitoes out of the
home;
- Limit time outdoors at dawn and dusk when many species of
mosquitoes are most active;
- Remove containers holding water in and around the home, as water
can attract mosquitoes.
Information
on pesticides and repellents is available at the Maine Board of Pesticides
Control website at: http://go.usa.gov/jt6F
Additional
Information
- Disease
consultation and reporting available through Maine CDC at 1-800-821-5821
Cases of pertussis (whooping cough) continue to be reported
statewide.
As of August 31, 205 cases have been reported in Maine this
year, and the majority of the cases are in school-aged children.
Maine CDC encourages providers who see patients for cough in
an outbreak area to test for pertussis and treat empirically. (Providers do not
need to wait for positive results to return or a two-week history of cough in
order to treat.)
DTaP vaccine is recommended for all infants and children.
Tdap vaccine is recommended for all preteens, teens and adults, including
health care providers. According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, Tdap is also recommended in the third trimester of every
pregnancy.
For more guidance and
information, visit http://go.usa.gov/dCO
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