 Maine CDC has been awarded the March of Dimes Virginia Apgar Prematurity Campaign Leadership award in recognition of a more than 8% reduction in pre-term births based on 2014 data compared to 2009 baseline data.
Jamie Foss, Chemist II with the Forensic Chemistry Section at
Maine CDC's Health and Environmental Testing Lab (HETL), recently presented a
paper at the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientist’s Annual
Meeting on his research related to the analysis of drugs by Time of Flight
(TOF) Mass Spectroscopy.
Maine has seen an increase in heroin use and overdose over the
past three years, resulting in an increase in heroin samples submitted to the
lab for identification. To meet this challenge, HETL has been working with
Perkin Elmer Health Sciences to beta-test their direct sample analysis. The
sensitivity and quality of the data generated by this instrument, allows HETL
to rapidly identify drugs and help its partners gain a better understanding of
the types of drugs encountered on the streets as well as improve analysis
turn-around time needed to meet the demands of the judicial system.
US CDC recently issued an MMWR report titled "Controlled Substance Prescribing Patterns - Prescription Behavior Surveillance System, Eight State, 2013." Maine was one of the eight states included.
Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the United States. The death rate from drug overdose in the United States more than doubled during 1999–2013. The increase is attributable primarily to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.
The report is available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6409a1.htm?s_cid=ss6409a1_w
Maine law and rules require that
before a Health Inspection license to operate can be issued, all restaurants,
hotels, inns, B&Bs, campgrounds, youth camps and fairs and festivals must
show that they have safe drinking water and proper wastewater disposal. Maine
CDC’s Health Inspection, Drinking Water and Subsurface Wastewater programs are
co-located within the Division of Environmental Health, which allows for fast turn-arounds for routine applications. For complicated business proposals, technical
teams representing all three programs can be assembled quickly to find solutions
for difficult drinking water or wastewater challenges.
Governor LePage recently received
a letter from a business owner opening a new restaurant in rural Maine. This business person wrote that he expected
that the process would be equivalent to “…pushing a boulder uphill.” He went on to say that “… to the contrary,
these people bent over backwards to help us get the forms complete, inspect the
water source, wastewater system, and the building to get us open as quickly as
possible.”
As a result, Governor LePage
invited the three staff named in the letter, Haig Brochu from the Drinking
Water Program, Sandi Clark from the Health Inspection Program and Jim Jacobsen
from the Subsurface Wastewater Unit, to
his office to personally thank them for their work. They were joined by DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew, Maine CDC Director
and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Albert and Health Inspection Supervisor
Rebecca Walsh. Governor LePage presented
each staff member with a Governor’s coin and thanked them for their assistance.
During 2015, it is estimated that more than 1,000 Maine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 180 women will die from the disease. As National Breast Cancer Awareness month comes to a close, Maine CDC reminds women that regular screening mammograms are critical in diagnosing and beginning treatment of the disease.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Cancer Society recommend an annual mammogram starting at age 40, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening every two years for women aged 50-74. Women with a mother or sister who have breast cancer may warrant testing earlier. Not all breast cancer can be felt as a lump on breast exam, which is why a regular mammogram is so important. A screening mammogram can detect breast cancer early, even before symptoms arise.
The Maine CDC Breast and Cervical Health Program can provide information about cancer screening tests and has some resources available for free cancer screenings.
Women must be age 40 or older and meet financial and other program criteria. Interested women are encouraged to call 1-800-350-5180 or 1-207-287-8068; TTY users call Maine Relay 711.
More details can also be found at: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/bcp/
The flu has officially arrived in Maine. 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/
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