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On October 6, Maine State Epidemiologist Dr.
Siiri Bennett participated in a four-person panel at the Maine Public Health
Association’s annual fall conference in Augusta. The session served
as an informal introduction to many public health partners, since Dr. Bennett
has been in Maine for around five weeks.
The session was titled: Voices of Public Health: Sharing
Visions for the Future. Each panelist was asked to share their
vision for the future of public health. Dr. Bennett identified four
areas that she believes are crucial to the success of Maine CDC’s mission to
preserve, promote and protect the health, safety and well-being of all Maine
people. Those four areas are disease surveillance, collaboration,
education and communication.
Hospital support for breastfeeding has improved since 2007,
according to the latest U.S. CDC Vital Signs report released early October. The
percentage of U.S. hospitals using a majority of the Ten Steps to Successful
Breastfeeding, the global standard for hospital care to support breastfeeding,
increased from approximately 29 percent in 2007 to 54 percent in 2013, a nearly
two-fold increase over six years. Hospitals in Maine that have implemented the
majority of the Ten Steps increased from 72
percent in 2007 to 83 percent in 2013.
Improved hospital care could increase rates of breastfeeding
both in Maine and nationally, contributing to healthier children. According to U.S. CDC’s 2014
Breastfeeding Report Card, approximately 28 percent of babies in Maine were
born in baby-friendly hospitals, a rate topped only by New Hampshire and Connecticut. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)
was established by the World Health Organization and UNICEF and endorsed by the
American Academy of Pediatrics. The core of the BFHI is the Ten Steps to
Successful Breastfeeding, which include:
- Educating all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
- Helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
- Keeping mothers and babies together throughout the entire hospital stay.
- Providing mothers with information about breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to these groups upon discharge from the hospital.
Maine has implemented “6 for ME,” a health care and quality improvement initiative focused on providing
assistance and support to health care professionals, focusing on six of the Ten
Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Maine
CDC, Let's Go!, MaineHealth and the Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition
all link resources to offer technical assistance and educational opportunities
to health care professionals caring for mothers and babies.
For more information about U.S. CDC’s work to improve hospital
practices to support breastfeeding, visit www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding or
Maine’s 6 for ME: Maine takes 6 steps to improve breastfeeding.
Pre-diabetes is when blood sugar levels are higher than
normal and puts a person at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. According to the U.S. CDC and the American
Diabetes Association an estimated:
- 86 million adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes
- 386,000 adults in Maine have pre-diabetes
- $243 million in medical costs contributes to
Maine’s economic burden
If pre-diabetes is left undiagnosed and untreated it can
progress to type 2 diabetes. This can
lead to serious health problems like heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney
disease, amputation or death if steps are not taken to self-manage this
disease. There are steps people can take
to prevent developing type 2 diabetes.
Lifestyle and behavior changes related to eating and physical activity
can decrease a person’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
Maine has the National
Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) available in many communities across
Maine. NDPP classes typically last for
one hour, once a week for 16 weeks then meets monthly for six months. It helps participants make real lifestyle
changes such as healthy eating, daily physical activity and improving
problem-solving and coping skills to help prevent type 2 diabetes. Many people who complete the program stay in
touch with their group for support. In
2014 alone, over 800 adults in Maine completed the NDPP curriculum. To find a program and class near you visit RethinkDiabetes.org.
For more information:
The flu has officially arrived in Maine, with the first
positive test reported last week. Both influenza A and B strains are currently circulating
nationally. The 2015-2016 quadrivalent influenza vaccine contains components of both A strains (H1 and H3) as well as two B
strains and is likely to offer good protection.
Weekly updates on flu cases are available online:
Maine CDC reminds everyone to take everyday preventive measures
against the flu:
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow or into a tissue. Throw the
tissue away.
- Stay home when you feel sick.
-
Get vaccinated. To find a flu vaccine in your area, search http://flushot.healthmap.org/ or
contact your health care provider or pharmacy.
If you have the flu:
- Stay home if you are sick, until you are fever-free
for a full 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow or into a
tissue. Throw the tissue away.
-
Contact your PCP if you have signs of the flu to
discuss possible treatment with antivirals. Although most people can stay home
to recover without seeing a health care provider, it is possible for healthy people
to develop severe illness from the flu. Anyone with the flu should seek medical
attention for:
o
Dehydration
o
Trouble breathing
o
Getting better, then suddenly getting a lot
worse
o
Any major change in condition
For more information, go to www.maineflu.gov
or http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
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 October 13 include:
- 912 cases of Lyme disease, compared to 1,400 for all of 2014
- 125 cases of anaplasmosis, compared to 191 for all of
2014
- 44 cases of babesiosis, compared to 42 cases for all of 2014
Additional Information
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