Dalton (GA) – Public health departments in the North Georgia Health District counties of Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield have placed special emphasis on the importance of early breast cancer detection as part of their recent Breast Cancer Prevention Awareness campaign.

Staff have demonstrated through printed materials, breast exams, discussions, photos (see below) and a proclamation that breast cancer treatment is most effective when the cancer has been diagnosed at an early stage and before it has spread to other parts of the body.

Typically, the focus is on women because nearly 40,000 women die of breast cancer annually.

Canton (GA) – Josefina Arvizu-Villela, WIC Nutritionist and Georgia Department of Public Health Dietetic Intern, believes in promoting healthy eating.

“It’s time to become more conscious about eating healthy,” Arvizu-Villela said, “and that means making healthier choices at the grocery store and learning how to prepare food in a healthy way.”

Arvizu-Villela, through North Georgia Health District 1-2 of the Georgia Department of Public Health and its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, conducted a "Share our Strength” and “Cooking Matters” tour on October 22 at the Kroger Store on Marietta Highway in Canton. Arvizu-Villela’s tour, attended by several local families, provided information about healthy eating, including how to read food labels, compare unit pricing, find whole foods and other important information that families can use while shopping.

The families were also taught how to save money when buying healthy foods and how to prepare healthy meals the smart and inexpensive way.

“Some people are telling me they don’t eat a healthy diet or provide healthy meals to their families because they don’t know how to cook in a healthy way, and they also feel eating healthy is expensive and time-consuming,” said Arvizu-Villela. “Through this tour, participants are learning how to eat well on a budget and how to prepare meals ahead of time so they can avoid making unhealthy or expensive food choices when crunched for time.”

 Enterovirus D68? Influenza? Ebola virus?

STAY INFORMED TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HEALTHY

As parents and childcare providers become increasingly aware of the effects of serious viral illnesses, the North Georgia Health District encourages us to also increase our awareness of how to prevent the spread of these viruses, know what signs and symptoms to look for and know what to do if we suspect there is an illness, especially if the suspected illness could be a viral disease that needs immediate medical attention.

For more information on illness prevention, please see the Georgia Department of Public Health website at:

http://dph.georgia.gov/infection-prevention-tips-staying-healthy

Also, here are some fact sheets that provide information on these illnesses - please click on the fact sheets to enlarge and download:

Don’t forget to drive by and arm yourself against the flu quickly and conveniently at Gilmer County Health Department’s Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic. The clinic will be held on Friday, October 10th from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. at the First United Methodist Church located at 75 McCutchen Street in Ellijay.

This year, the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic will protect you with the 4-in-1 quadrivalent flu vaccine that guards against four strains of flu in one shot. Also, the Fluzone High-Dose Flu shot will be offered to people ages 65 and older. Cost of the 4-in-1 flu shot is $25 and the high-dose shot is $50. Cash, checks, Medicare and Medicaid plus Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield Health Insurance will be accepted.

The best way to arm against the flu is with a flu shot -- the most convenient way to get that shot is at the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic in Ellijay!

For more information, call (706) 635-4363 or log onto www.nghd.org.

Don’t forget to drive by and arm yourself against the flu quickly and conveniently at Cherokee County Health Department’s Drive-by
Flu Shot Clinic. The clinic will be held on Tuesday, October 7th from 7:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. at the Woodstock Health Center at 7545 North Main Street.

This year, the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic will protect you with the 4-in-1 quadrivalent flu vaccine that guards against four strains of flu in one shot.

Also, the Fluzone High-Dose Flu shot will be offered to people ages 65 and older.

Cost of the 4-in-1flu shot is $25 and the high-dose shot is $50. Cash, checks, credit cards, Medicare and Medicaid plus Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield Health Insurance will be accepted.

The best way to arm against the flu is with a flu shot -- the most convenient way to get that shot is at the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic in Woodstock!

For more information, call (770) 928-0133 / (770) 345-7371 or log onto www.nghd.org.

Public Health reminds pet owners to vaccinate pets against rabies

Baits laced with an oral rabies vaccine designed to help stem the spread of a raccoon strain of the deadly disease through Georgia and into other states will be dropped from the air and scattered by hand in six north/northwest Georgia counties -- Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Murray, Walker and Whitfield -- beginning in early October. Ground baiting by hand in urban/suburban areas will begin October 6. Aerial baiting in rural areas by specially equipped fixed-wing aircraft is scheduled to begin October 7.

Humans and pets cannot get rabies from contact with the baits, but area residents are asked to leave them undisturbed should they encounter them. Dogs that consume large numbers of baits may experience an upset stomach, but there are no long-term health risks. If contact with baits occurs, immediately rinse the contact area with warm water and soap.

Most of the 626,000 baits to be distributed will be gone from the environment within 10 to 14 days after being dropped. A toll-free number is imprinted on each bait allowing anyone who comes in contact with the bait to call for advice, assistance or with any questions.

Jasper, GA – Don’t forget to drive by and arm yourself against the flu quickly and conveniently at Pickens County Health Department’s Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic!

The clinic will be held on Tuesday, September 30th from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, located at 1036 North Main Street in Jasper.

This year, the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic will protect you with the 4-in-1 quadrivalent flu vaccine that guards against four strains of flu in one shot. Also, the Fluzone High-Dose Flu shot will be offered to people ages 65 and older. Cost of the 4-in-1 flu shot is $25 and the high-dose shot is $50. Cash, checks, Medicare and Medicaid plus Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield Health Insurance will be accepted.

The best way to arm against the flu is with a flu shot -- the most convenient way to get that shot is at the Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic in Jasper!

For more information, call (706) 253-2821 or click here.

Local World Breastfeeding Week Celebration, October 3rd

Dalton (GA) – World Breastfeeding Week will be celebrated worldwide October 1-7, 2014. The 2014 World Breastfeeding Week theme Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life! acknowledges that when mothers and babies succeed in their breastfeeding plans, they can enjoy a lifetime of benefits.

North Georgia Health District Women, Infants and Children (WIC) invites everyone who is willing to support breastfeeding families to a World Breastfeeding Week Celebration on Friday, October 3 from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. Come with the whole family to the Mack Gaston Community Center at 214 Fredrick Street in Dalton to enjoy a walk, exhibitors and free goodies. Celebratory breastfeeding support bags will also be provided. For more details, please call Kerry Smith at (706) 934-4128.

Gilmer County Events Raise Awareness for

World Rabies Day

Ellijay (GA) – Rabies is 100% preventable. Yet rabies remains a major concern worldwide, killing more than 55,000 people every year. In the United States, one to two people die annually and there were more than 6,000 reported cases of animal rabies in the U.S. in 2012.

World Rabies Day is on September 28. Officially launched in 2007, this day aims to raise awareness about the public health impact of human and animal rabies.

Andrea Martin, Gilmer County Environmental Health Manager, stated, “World Rabies Day is another great opportunity to educate residents on rabies prevention. As part of this focus, I will be providing rabies information to over eighty kids attending afterschool care at the Gilmer County Boys and Girls Club on September 29th. Additionally, a local low-cost rabies vaccine clinic will be held on September 27th and I encourage residents to call my office for more details at (706) 635-6050. Also, our office will be represented at this year’s Senior Health Fair at Gilmer County High School on September 27th from 7:30 to 11 A.M. We’ll place a special emphasis on rabies there.”

What can YOU do to prevent rabies?

Vaccinate your animals and keep them away from wildlife that can spread the disease.

For more information on rabies and rabies prevention, log onto the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov/worldrabiesday.

Dalton (GA) – People 65 and older will be the focus of the Whitfield County Drive-by Flu shot Clinic in Dalton.

The Whitfield County Health Department will offer only Fluzone High-Dose influenza vaccine for people ages 65 plus at their Drive-by Flu Shot Clinic on Tuesday, September 23rd from 8 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center on Dug Gap Battle Road. Fluzone High-Dose influenza vaccine is designed to provide extra protection for people whose immune systems weaken as they age. The cost of the high-dose flu shot is $50, and cash, checks, Medicare and Medicaid plus Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield Health Insurance will be accepted.

The 4-in-1 quadrivalent flu vaccine for residents younger than 65 will be available for $25 later this month at the Whitfield County Health Department located at 800 Professional Boulevard in Dalton.

Call the Whitfield County Health Department at (706) 226-2621 for more information.