Georgia Coastal Health District

Let’s face it – nobody likes getting shots – but a shot lasts a second; diseases last much longer.

In an effort to protect every adult and child, the Georgia Department of Public Health established Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week, observed March 13-19, 2016, to serve as a reminder for parents to talk with their preteens and teens about getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Our preteens are branching out. They go to overnight camps, attend parties and play sports – they are becoming increasingly social. While these are all fun parts of being a teenager, they can also increase their risk for contracting potentially life-threatening diseases,” said Sheila Lovett, director for the Georgia Department of Public Health Immunization Program. “Let’s protect our children by vaccinating them when they are most vulnerable to exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases.”

According to the Georgia  Department of Public Health Rule (511-2-2), all students born on or after January 1, 2002, entering or transferring into seventh grade and any “new entrant” into eighth -12th grades in Georgia need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster vaccination (called “Tdap”) AND an adolescent meningococcal vaccination (MenACWY). This law affects all public and private schools including, but not limited to charter schools, community schools, juvenile court schools and other alternative school settings (excluding homeschool).

Vaccines are the best defense we have against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. They help avoid expensive therapies and hospitalization needed to treat infectious diseases like influenza and meningitis. Immunizations also reduce absences both at school and after school activities and decrease the spread of illness at home, school and the community.

The CDC currently recommends the following vaccines for preteens and teens:

• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)
• Influenza (flu)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – three doses
• Meningococcal Disease (MenACWY)

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness through schools, health care providers and the media regarding preteen immunizations, particularly Georgia’s pertussis and meningococcal requirements for incoming seventh-grade students. Speak with your physician today to find out if your preteen is up-to-date and if not, make a date to vaccinate.

Get More Information Here
Georgia Preteen Vaccination Fact Sheet [PDF, 29.71 KB]

Diabetes is a serious disease. Nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States live with it. More than a quarter of them—8 million—don’t even know they have it and aren’t getting the medical care they need. It’s estimated that another 86 million people have prediabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. People with prediabetes have blood glucose (sugar) higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In an effort to promote diabetes awareness, the Coastal Health District’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program will offer FREE blood sugar testing at health departments throughout the month of March.

Free Blood Sugar Testing Events

March 9 – Long County
Long County Health Department, Ludowici
584 N. Macon St., 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

March 21 – Glynn County
Glynn County Health Department, Brunswick
2747 Fourth St.
10 a.m. –  2 p.m.

March 22 – Effingham County
Effingham County Health Department, Springfield
802 Hwy. 119 S.
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

March 22 – Chatham County
Chatham County Health Department, Savannah
– 1395 Eisenhower Dr.
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

-1602 Drayton St.
1:30 – 5 p.m.

March 23 – Camden County
Camden County Health Department, St. Marys
905 Dilworth St.
8:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.

March 23 – McIntosh County
McIntosh County Health Department, Townsend
1335 GA Hwy. 57
1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

March 24 – Bryan County
Bryan County Health Department
Pembroke
-430 Ledford St., 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Bryan County Health Department

Richmond Hill
-66 Captain Matthew Freeman Dr., 1:30 – 5:30p.m.

March 25 – Liberty County
Liberty County Health Department, Hinesville
1113 E. Oglethorpe Hwy.
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

According to the American Diabetes Association, common symptoms of diabetes include:

• Urinating often
• Feeling very thirsty
• Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurry vision Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Weight loss – even though you are eating more (type 1)
• Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)

For more information on diabetes symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment: American Diabetes Association.

Often when people hear the word “tuberculosis,” they think of a disease that caused harm decades ago. But tuberculosis, commonly referred to as TB, is still a very real problem in the United States and in Georgia where 335 new cases of TB were reported in 2014. In fact, Georgia ranked fifth highest in the country for newly reported TB cases in 2014.

In 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that causes TB, one in seven people living in the United States and Europe died from the disease. Although we have come a long with advances in prevention and treatment, TB is still a public health threat.

TB is a disease that usually affects the lungs but can attack any part of the body. TB is caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air when a person with active TB coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. A relatively small number of people exposed to the disease actually contract the infection.

People with active TB disease may spread the TB germs to other persons who are usually

individuals with whom they have been with in an enclosed space for a prolonged period of time, such as family members and co-workers. An open air encounter or casual contact with a person with active TB disease, such as passing them in a hallway, generally does not put you at risk for being infected with TB.

Not everyone with TB becomes sick. If someone has active TB disease it means that he/she is sick with TB germs that are active in the body and they usually have symptoms including weight loss, fever, chronic cough, and night sweats. If someone has latent TB infection it means that he/she has TB germs in their bodies but they are not sick because the germs are not active. These people do not have symptoms of TB disease, and they cannot spread the germs to others. However, they may develop TB disease in the future. They are often prescribed treatment to prevent them from developing TB disease.

Symptoms of TB include:
– A bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer
– Pain in the chest
– Coughing up blood or sputum
– Weakness or fatigue
– Weight loss
– No appetite
– Chills
– Fever
– Sweating at night

It is important that anyone who thinks he or she has been exposed to TB to contact a healthcare provider or local health department to get tested. There is treatment for TB disease but left untreated, TB can be very serious and even fatal. Each year, World TB Day is recognized on March 24 and the theme of World TB Day 2016 is “End TB.” That’s a lofty goal but one that can be accomplished through education and prevention.

Find out more about TB and how you can prevent it.
TB General Information English [PDF, 436.83 KB]

TB General Information Spanish [PDF, 154.45 KB]

TB Facts & Prevention English [PDF, 357.17 KB]

TB Facts & Prevention Spanish [PDF, 185.94 KB]

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