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In this update:
During these hot summer days we can all use a reminder to keep
cool, drink fluids and lie low to prevent heat-related illness.
Older adults, infants, pregnant women, people who have chronic
diseases and those who work outside or in hot environments are most at risk
for heat-related illnesses. On hot days, people need access to air conditioning
or shade and those who are working outside should be sure to drink more fluids to stay hydrated.
It is also a good idea to check
on the elderly and relatives who live alone to make sure they are able
to stay cool.
For more on how to recognize and prevent heat illness: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/heat/index.html
Use the Maine Tracking Network to find data about heat illness
in Maine: https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking
Maine CDC's cancer registry has been recognized by U.S. CDC's
National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) as a Registry of Excellence for
2015.
Maine is one of 22 states to
achieve this designation, which reflects the submission of high quality data for cancer prevention
and control activities. The data met all of NPCR's standards for data completeness
and quality.
In addition, the North American
Association of Central Cancer Registries has recognized Maine CDC's cancer
registry for meeting its Gold Standard on quality, completeness and timeliness
of 2013 data.
The Maine Tracking Network data
portal’s recent expansion around lead poisoning can help in the understanding
and prevention of childhood lead poisoning in Maine.
This significant update continues Maine CDC’s effort to provide data and
tools to track and address childhood lead poisoning. Using the new data and
visualizations available in the data portal, Maine CDC will be able to better
target prevention resources to high-risk areas.
At the local level, new town data will allow organizations
and municipalities to compare the burden and rate of lead poisoning in their
town to other towns and to the entire state, track changes over time, develop
local prevention efforts such as adopting and enforcing building codes and to
work with local health care providers to improve lead poisoning screening and
follow-up testing rates.
The update also includes the debut of Maine data describing
the estimated number and percentage of children with blood lead levels of five
micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL) or higher. A blood lead level of five ug/dL is
the new reference level at which the U.S. CDC recommends public health action.
The new data also align with a 2015 amendment of Maine law that changed the
definition of lead poisoning to a blood lead level of five ug/dL or higher.
It is estimated that the change in definition will
significantly increase the number of children classified as lead poisoned in
Maine. As a result, more children will receive public health services such as
inspections of their home environment for lead hazards.
The new, lower threshold also means there is a lot more data
to use for public health surveillance purposes. As a result, the Maine Tracking
Network now provides lead poisoning data for hundreds of Maine towns.
Previously, data were only available for Maine’s public health districts,
counties and selected high-risk communities, and only for blood level levels of
10 ug/dL or higher.
Other additions included in this major data release include
town-level information about poverty and housing units built before 1950—two
important lead poisoning risk factors—and updated census block group maps for
previously established high-risk areas, which provide street-level views of
lead poisoning and screening, as well as risk factors.
The data are available for the years 2003-2014 and will be
updated annually. In addition to towns, data are available for the state,
public health districts and counties.
The public can explore the data at:https://data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/
Maine CDC's Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL)
is a member of PulseNet, a national laboratory network that connects foodborne
illness cases to detect outbreaks from people eating contaminated food. Since
the network began in 1996, PulseNet has improved food safety systems in
Maine by identifying outbreaks early and identifying the source of the
contaminated food. This network is changing the test methods used to identify
outbreaks.
Through two U.S. CDC grants, the HETL has been able to upgrade
its equipment and protocols to allow for the lab to conduct this
next-generation DNA fingerprinting, known as ‘whole genome sequencing.’ This
method allows the HETL to increase surveillance of antibiotic and antiviral
resistance mechanisms, identify rare bacteria and viruses and increase
foodborne illness surveillance.
July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention
Month. U.S. CDC estimates that about 7,000 babies will be born with a
cleft in the United States this year, a condition created when tissue in the
baby’s upper lip or the roof of the mouth does not join together completely
during pregnancy, leaving an opening in the roof of the mouth.
Clefts are usually repaired surgically in the first year of
life, though many children require additional surgeries and treatments through
adolescence to correct challenges to breathing, eating, or speech development.
Individuals born with cleft lip or palate often need specialized dental or
orthodontic care throughout their lives.
For more information, visit http://www.nccapm.org/
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