Baby Safety Month
Safety Around the House & Nursery
As stated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, “Babies represent our most precious and vulnerable population.”
· Use outlet covers to help prevent electrocution.
· Avoid sharp edges and points with children under eight.
· To reduce the risk of SIDS & suffocation, place baby to sleep on his back in a crib that meets safety standards.
· To prevent suffocation never use a pillow as a mattress for the baby to sleep on or to prop baby’s head or neck and never allow a gap larger than two finger widths at any point between the sides of the crib & mattress.
· Never place a crib near a window with blind or curtain cords b/c infants can strangle on the cords.
· Avoid small parts around children under three, which can cause choking.
· Avoid magnets around children under eight, they can cause serious injury and/or death.
· Verify that furniture is stable on its own.  For added security, anchor to the floor or attach to the wall.
· Look for toy of sturdy construction and appropriate to age.
· Set up play yards according to instructions.  Use only the mattress provided. Do not add extra mattresses, pillows, or cushions.                                                                      
Information taken from CPSC Release # 08-394

Flu Season is Here!!!
Learn How to Protect Yourself  & Your Loved Ones

What is the Flu?
Flu, also called influenza, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.  It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. 
Every year in the United States:
- 5 to 20% of the population gets the flu
- More than 200,000 people are hospitalized, includes 20,000 children
- 36,000 people die from the flu

How to Prevent the Flu?
The best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated yearly between October and December.  However, getting vaccinated later in the flu season still provides protection, since the flu normally peaks in January or later.

Who Should Get Vaccinated?
EVERYONE!!!
Although those at the highest risk are:
- Children 6 months to 18 years
- Pregnant women
- People over 50 years old
- Those with chronic medical conditions
- People in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities
- People who live with or care for the above mentioned

What are Flu Symptoms?
- Fever                         - Headache                  - Muscle Aches
- Sore Throat               - Extreme Tiredness    - Runny or Stuffy Nose
- Dry Cough                - Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
Complications Include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions.

How is the Flu Spread?
The flu is mainly spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes.  Infected people can spread the flu 1 day prior to any symptoms and for 5 days after showing signs of illness.
Information obtained from: www.ded.gov/Features/FLU 9/22/08

What is shigellosis?
- Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella.
- Shigellosis is a bacterial infection that causes mild to severe diarrhea, fever, and cramps.
- The disease is contagious and is easily transmitted from person to person by the bacteria passing from the stool or soiled fingers on an infected person to the mouth of another person.

Is Virginia seeing an increase in shigellosis?
- Increased levels of shigellosis have been identified in some regions of the state.
- As of December 10, 2008, most of this increase has been geographically limited. The Central Region has had 68 infections reported, compared with 12 in 2007; the Northwest Region has had 40 infections reported, compared with 12 in 2007.
- Most of this increase has occurred between September and December.

What is the health department doing?
- The Virginia Department of Health is working with the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to provide information to daycares and school healthcare professionals to better raise awareness among staff and students/attendees.
- Local health departments are working with local school districts and daycare centers by providing educational             materials, epidemiological support and in some cases launching good-hygiene campaigns.
- The Virginia Department of Health is working to support private physicians by updating them on the status of the outbreak and recommending that stool samples be sent for testing.

Where are the majority of outbreaks?
- Outbreaks have occurred in several schools and daycare centers.
- Some outbreaks have occurred in places of work.
-Epidemiologists have identified three different genetic types of Shigella in recent cases. This suggests that there have been multiple sources and not one large outbreak.

How does Shigella spread?
- A Shigella infection can occur if an infected person does not wash his/her hands after going to bathroom and then handling food that others eat.
- People can become infected with Shigella if they do not wash their hands after changing the diaper of a child infected.
- Some toddlers who are infected and are not fully toilet trained can spread Shigella.

What is the treatment?
- Most people with shigellosis will recover on their own within five to seven days.
- Persons with diarrhea should drink plenty of fluids and avoid anti-diarrheal medicines.
- Antibiotics are sometimes used to treat severe cases or shorten the duration of the illness or shedding of bacteria.

How to Keep Summer Foods Safe Outdoors
By Lambeth Hochwald and Michael Gollust, From Health magazine
If it’s summer, chances are you—and your food—will be spending a lot of time outside. Here’s how to keep your food from getting contaminated and you from getting sick.

At your summer picnic
Since July is National Picnic Month, we want all of our outdoor eating this summer to be fun—and safe, says Justin Wangler, executive chef at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center near Santa Rosa, California, who does his share of summer picnics. But there are plenty of food-safety pitfalls that can ruin the fun—so take these precautions.

• Transport picnic foods in the passenger seat; your trunk can reach temperatures of 150 degrees F.
• “If you’re going to grill, always make sure to keep all of your raw meats separate from your cooked foods,” Wangler says. Pack them on the bottom of your coolers so the juice doesn’t drip onto your produce.
• Keep foods in coolers or on ice whenever possible, and keep it away from the direct sun and insects, says Steve Loehndorf, a food-safety expert at Reser’s Fine Foods, one of the largest deli-salad manufacturers in the United States. And use clean dishes and utensils to serve the foods (not the ones used for food prep), he says.
• Pack plenty of moist towelettes or hand sanitizers, in case you’re not near hand-washing facilities. Clean hands frequently during food prep and before serving. That means you shouldn’t touch raw chicken and then serve the salad, for example.

At the farmers’ market
Farmers’ markets have traditionally had relaxed methods of food handling because the produce was uncut and would be cleaned at home, Chandler says. Now that they’ve become social events with tastings, you need to pay more attention to food safety. Her tips:

• Sample foods only from booths where there is evidence of clean hands at work. Look for gloves, hand-sanitizing gels, or even a bowl of clean water.
• If foods are being cut on site, separate knives should be used for meat and other foods, and they should be cleaned between uses.
• Don’t eat samples that are clustered on a plate, allowing passersby to pick up a piece. This is a breeding ground for cross-contamination, thanks to dirty hands. Chandler recommends only eating samples that are pre-toothpicked.
• Skip a sample if flies are buzzing around; they can carry Campylobacter jejuni, the leading cause of bacterial diarrhea in the United States.
• Wash before eating. Those grapes you eat on the way home may not be clean.

At your next barbecue

• A common mistake is soaking raw meat, shellfish, fish, or poultry in marinade before grilling and then returning the cooked food to the same dish or using the soaking marinade for basting. Dispose of all soaking marinades after using.

• Finally, keep an eye on how long food is sitting out on your BBQ buffet. It doesn’t take long for food to spoil, says Ellie Krieger, RD, host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite:
• “When I host an event, I stagger the times that I put out different platters. And ever since I learned how bacteria grow, I’ve followed the two-hour rule of packing and refrigerating foods that haven’t been eaten at room temperature within that time frame. If it’s a hot summer’s day and you’re outside, pack up or toss food after it’s been out for one hour.”

Health. http://living.health.com/2009/05/19/keep-summer-foods-safe-outdoors/. Accessed 6/30/2009.