Seventh graders are now required to have the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal (meningitis) vaccines prior to entering school.

Effective July 1, 2014, children born on or after January 1, 2002 who are attending seventh grade and new entrants into Georgia schools in grades 8 through 12 must have received one dose of Tdap vaccine and one dose of meningococcal vaccine. ("New entrant" means any child entering any school in Georgia for the first time or entering after having been absent from a Georgia school for more than 12 months or one school year).

For more information about this and all school required immunizations, go to the Georgia Department of Public Health website.

Shots are available at each of our health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield Counties. Click above on the LOCATIONS tab to find health department contact and location information for each county.

Dalton (GA) May 8, 2014 – Disaster rarely comes in the form of just one event. That is why hospitals and partnering agencies must be prepared to deal with widespread emergencies on multiple levels.

Today, Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton staged a full-scale drill to test response plans for evacuating the hospital due to an imaginary impending storm while a hypothetical chemical leak led to a sudden influx of patients to the hospital’s emergency room.

The full-scale drill was conducted in collaboration with several partnering agencies and Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) Region A hospitals, including Fannin Regional Hospital, Gordon Hospital, Hutcheson Medical Center, Murray Medical Center, North Georgia Medical Center and Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. Hamilton Medical Center is the GHA Region A Coordinating Hospital.

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), set for April 26 - May 3, 2014, is an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrate the achievements of immunization programs and their partners in promoting healthy communities.

2014 marks the 20th anniversary of NIIW. Since 1994, hundreds of communities across the United States have joined together to celebrate the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our children, communities, and public health.

Learn more about NIIW at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/index.html

Spring is a good time of year to get your dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies. Usually, there will be discount rabies vaccination clinics at different locations and times on certain Saturdays during April, May or June. Check with your local environmental health office, veterinary clinic or other sponsoring organization for specific dates, times and locations. Rabies vaccinations are offered at a significant discount and other kinds of pet vaccinations can normally be obtained at the same time.*

     Vaccinating your pet against rabies may save the life of your dog or cat and protect you and your family against this fatal disease. Rabies is always present, to some extent, in various wildlife species such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, bobcats, bats, coyotes and other carnivores. A typical rabies case involves a rabid raccoon coming into the yard of a home and fighting with a pet dog or cat. If the pet has not been properly vaccinated against rabies, our first recommendation is to euthanize the dog or cat. The only other alternative would be to put the pet in strict quarantine inside a double enclosure for six months with no human contact. This is very poor repayment to your pet for protecting your family from a rabid wild animal.

     Do the right thing for your pets and your family by having your dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies at your local public clinic this spring.

     It is also the law that your pets be vaccinated (Rabies Control Law-O.C.G.A-31-19).

     Veterinarians are always available to vaccinate your animals any time of year. Valuable livestock such as cows, horses, sheep and exotics such as llamas or alpacas can also be vaccinated against rabies.

     If you think you, your pets or livestock may have been exposed to the rabies virus, you can get information and guidance from your county health department, veterinarian, county animal control or the Georgia Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Other basic information on rabies exposure can be found on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov/rabies.

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*Click here to see details about the 4-H Rabies Vaccination Clinic in Murray County on Saturday, April 26

***Due to Weather-related conditions, this event had to be cancelled for today - A New date will be determined***

Get your child’s car seat checked for FREE at the Murray County Health Department on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Murray County Health Department is located at 709 Old Dalton-Ellijay Road in Chatsworth.

Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be on hand to check child car seats and child restraint installations to make sure they are properly installed.

Buckling up your child the right way for every ride is the most important thing you can do to keep your child safe in the car, so join the Murray County Health Department, the Murray County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol for this free child car seat check event!

For more information, call the health department at (706) 695-4585.

(Click here to view/download a printable poster and share!)

Dalton (GA) - The Whitfield County School Board voted to revise the school district's tobacco policy for both students and staff at their monthly meeting last evening. With a 4-0 vote (one board member was absent), the verbiage in the policy now better reflects the actual procedures that have been followed in the school system for many years. Under the new policy, no student, staff member or school visitor is permitted to use any tobacco product at any time on school property or at school events. The revised policy also bans the use of electronic cigarettes, better known as e-cigarettes.*

The school board began considering changing the policy several weeks ago when Girl Scout Brownie Troop 12617 of New Hope Elementary School, assisted by the North Georgia Health District, made an appeal to School Superintendent Dr. Judy Gilreath to "make Whitfield County Schools recognized as a Georgia model 100 percent tobacco-free school district." The troop attended the school board meeting last evening to provide a presentation to the board prior to the vote.

"Although Whitfield County Schools has been a tobacco free system since 2001," said Dr. Gilreath, "the revised policy will bring us more in line with the state criteria required in order to be officially designated by the state as tobacco free. It is so encouraging to see this young troop of girls actively involved in making our community healthier for all of us. Troop 12617 and their adult leaders are to be commended for leading this effort."

Waleska (GA) – Cherokee County Animal Control officials reported to the Cherokee County Environmental Health office last week that a raccoon should be tested for rabies after it bit a dog in Waleska, Georgia.

According to Curtis Barnhart, Cherokee County Environmental Health Manager, a resident on Pleasant Arbor Road in Waleska shot the raccoon on April 5 because it was on the resident’s property behaving aggressively. The raccoon then lunged at the resident, who remained unharmed, but the dog was bitten in the process of defending its owner. The resident immediately took the dog to be treated by a veterinarian and called Animal Control to remove the dead raccoon.

Environmental health sent the raccoon specimen to the Georgia State Public Health Laboratory for rabies testing on April 7, and the positive result was returned on April 9.

The dog was current on its rabies vaccination; therefore, the dog only needed a booster shot and it will be quarantined at home for 45 days.

Health officials urge residents to protect against rabies by maintaining rabies vaccinations in their pets and to avoid contact with all unfamiliar animals, both domestic and wild.

For more information about rabies and its prevention, call the Cherokee County Environmental Health Office at (770) 479-0444 or log onto the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov.

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The annual rabies clinic hosted by 4H in Cherokee County will be held this weekend. For details, go to their website and open their April 2014 Newsletter: http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/Cherokee/4h/index.html

Dalton (GA) – Many people are surprised to learn that family and friends are the biggest suppliers of abused prescription drugs, yet according to the Medical Association of Georgia Foundation, it is true, and prescription drug abuse is a national epidemic with well over 16,500 deaths a year from pain killer overdose. More people now die each year from accidental drug overdose than in auto accidents.

National Take-Back Day, now in its eighth year, is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration that provides a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

National Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 26, 2014, and local drop-off collection sites will be available from 10 AM to 2 PM that day at these Dalton and Chatsworth locations:

- K-Mart  - 1308 W. Walnut Avenue, Dalton

- Kroger  - 1205 Cleveland Highway, Dalton

- Bi-Lo  - 502 G.I. Maddox Parkway, Chatsworth

Anyone wishing to drop off their unused or expired medication for safe disposal is encouraged to come that day to the secure, designated drive-through area at these specified locations. No questions will be asked. No identification will be required.

The National Take-Back Day collection sites in Dalton and Chatsworth are being hosted through a collaboration of the Dalton Police Department, the Murray County Sheriff's Office, the Family Support Council, the Family Connection of Murray and Whitfield Counties, the Oakwood Cafe in Dalton and the North Georgia Health District, part of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

For more information about National Take-Back Day, please visit www.dea.gov.

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Click here for Flyer.   Click here for Public Service Announcement.

Prepare your child for the upcoming school year!

The Cherokee County Health Department will conduct a Back-to-School Health Clinic on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 from 1 to 6 p.m. at public health centers in both Canton and Woodstock. The required Hearing, Dental, Vision and BMI/Nutrition Screenings will be available: Total cost for screenings is forty dollars. Also, immunizations will be provided for school-age children (there is a charge for vaccines). Medicaid is accepted. The Canton Health Center is located at 1219 Univeter Road in Canton, and the Woodstock Health Center is at 7545 North Main Street in Woodstock. For more information, please call (770) 345-7371 in Canton or (770) 928-0133 in Woodstock.

(Click here to view/print Flyer - click directly on image at right to enlarge Poster)

Jasper (GA) – Two dogs in Pickens County were potentially exposed to rabies after coming into contact with raccoons that later tested positive for the disease.

Jan Stephens, manager of Pickens County Environmental Health, said the first incident occurred at a residence in the Jerusalem Church area on February 24. A dog at the home that was not yet old enough to have had its initial rabies shot was observed being intimidated by a raccoon. The dog owner shot the raccoon and environmental health submitted it to the Georgia Department of Public Health Laboratory for rabies testing. The positive results were confirmed on February 26.

The dog is under quarantine for six months. After five months in quarantine, the dog will be given a rabies shot and will remain quarantined for the final month.

The second incident was on March 9 at a home in Talking Rock on the Pickens-Gilmer County line. A relative of the homeowner saw the raccoon attack the owner’s dog, so the relative shot the raccoon. The raccoon was prepared and shipped for rabies testing on March 10, and the positive rabies result was returned on March 11.