Northampton public-health nurses report rises in influenza and Lyme, outline preparedness exercises and a $10,000 prevention grant

Northampton’s public-health nursing team presented the city’s 2025 infectious-disease annual report during a Board of Health meeting on March 19, describing disease trends, surveillance methods and planned readiness exercises.

Shared-services coordinator Kristen Dearborn described the collaborative regional surveillance system and explained incidence-rate calculations and confidentiality rules for small counts. "This is a partnership that strengthens public health capacity across the region," Dearborn said, noting the report covers Northampton plus 14 surrounding towns served by the Hampshire Public Health Shared Services Collaborative.

Respiratory and vaccine highlights: Jennifer Dankiewicz reported that influenza case counts surged during the most recent respiratory season and "exceeded COVID 19 case counts." She said Northampton’s influenza vaccination rate was 47.3% as of January 2026, above the Massachusetts average of 35.8%, and staff ran 15 vaccination clinics in Northampton and Florence; the team noted zero reported pediatric deaths in the community for the season.

Vector-borne and gastrointestinal trends: public-health nurse Em Moulton said Lyme disease incidence has risen in Northampton and across the state, in part tied to changing climate patterns that favor tick activity. Nurses flagged increases in norovirus consistent with national trends and explained that changes in testing and some lab false positives affected reported counts; Mass DPH guidance now narrows routine investigation of individual norovirus cases for some age groups.

Preparedness and grant funding: DHHS reported a tabletop measles exercise coordinated with Smith College and Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a mass-evacuation tabletop planned for May 2026, and a regional shelter exercise with the American Red Cross in June 2026. Staff also announced a $10,000 award from Health Resources in Action to support policy, systems and environment prevention work tied to youth equity projects.

What’s next: nurses offered to obtain additional school-level illness data for the board and encouraged continued coordination with school nurses and long-term-care facilities that report clusters into the state system. The department also invited board members to public-health-excellence meetings and will circulate details of National Public Health Week (April 6–12) events, including an April 7 community event planned for 5:30–7:30 p.m.