Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infectious Disease topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Douglas County health officials report measles concern, pertussis uptick and changes to COVID reporting; small pertussis grant approved
Summary
Douglas County health officials told the board COVID hospitalizations are down while influenza is up and pertussis cases have increased; the board approved a small state grant to bolster pertussis surveillance.
Director Hill told the Douglas County Board of Health that COVID hospitalizations in the county are down, but cautioned state reporting changes make comparisons with prior years unreliable. Elizabeth (state representative on the call) said the state now makes single cases of COVID-19 reportable only when they involve hospitalization or long-term care facilities; the change reduces reported case counts at the state level.
Hill reported that influenza hospitalizations are up statewide and that RSV activity is steady. He said Douglas County has seen a few more flu hospitalizations this year and similar RSV counts compared with previous seasons. On pertussis, Hill noted the county experienced roughly double the number of cases in a recent six-month period compared with the prior year; cases were concentrated among elementary and high school students, which raises concern about infant household contacts.
Hill described regional activity around measles, citing clusters in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma; he said the county maintains a high school vaccination rate (reported in the meeting as 96.3 percent) and emphasized coordinated regional preparedness. The department has updated public messaging, is coordinating with metro-area health directors on consistent communications and planning vaccination clinic coordination, and said epidemiology and preparedness teams are running tabletop exercises to prepare for possible cases.
The board approved acceptance of state funding received since December, which the director said included approximately $5,200 to support enhanced pertussis surveillance and deliverables. The pertussis funds are intended to offset staff pay and training and minor resources for epidemiology functions; the director said the amount is modest and primarily offsets existing epidemiology work.
Director Hill and staff noted that tracking of some events (for example, psilocybin-related hospitalizations) is limited when the state does not require reporting; the board discussed methods for seeking additional data, such as HIE or toxicology reports, but no new data authority was approved at the meeting.
