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Public-health quarterly report: rabies submissions, STI outreach, WIC and water-quality concerns
Summary
The Division of Public Health reported lower confirmed follow-ups for rabies in 2025 compared with 2024, expanded STI and social-media outreach, a rise in WIC breastfeeding initiation, small increases in elevated lead screenings, and ongoing water-quality concerns including high nitrate detections; officials also noted two measles cases reported in 2026.
Mr. Kavarinsky presented the Division of Public Health’s quarter-four highlights, citing program-level changes and year-over-year comparisons.
On animal exposures and rabies testing, he said last year’s bat-related submissions were high and the county has arrangements with three local veterinarians who receive a $45 stipend for submitting samples to the state lab. He reported fewer overall follow-ups in 2025 versus 2024 and flagged ongoing variability in sample types.
The department reported increased STI outreach: outreach materials distributed rose from 18,464 in 2024 to 28,428 in 2025, and social-media contacts (Facebook and Instagram) increased from about 16,309 to 23,275. The department said chlamydia case counts trended down slightly.
WIC and maternal-child metrics showed mixed changes: the breastfeeding initiation metric rose to about 78.6% in 2025 from 66.7% in 2024; the WIC caseload and some nutrition measures increased while breastfeeding at 12 months trended down slightly. The presenter also noted a rise in limited-English-proficiency PNCC clients (24.5% in 2024 versus 44% in 2025), increasing demand for interpreter services.
Environmental-health updates included more water-sample submissions and an increase in systems with high nitrates; the presenter said 28 systems had high nitrate detections compared with fewer in the previous year and mentioned an unexpected reporting dip in radon kits that the department expects to correct in the annual report.
On communicable disease, the presenter said the county had just received word of a second measles case in 2026 in Dane County unrelated to earlier cases; he stressed measles is highly infectious and the department will follow up with school-immunization reporting where appropriate.
The report also described service-level changes and demand for homeless-related supplies, transitions in where Lifeline services are offered, a decrease in syringe distribution numbers, and changes in Narcan distribution to vending machines and outside responders.
Board members asked for data on school immunization coverage for specific districts; the presenter offered to run targeted reports for follow-up. No formal board action was taken.
