Topics Related to Public Health

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is urging the public to stay out of the Chowan River near Indian Creek because of an algal bloom producing the highest levels of toxin recorded this year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is investigating recent reports of severe lung disease after vaping. Three patients have been hospitalized in North Carolina since late July and similar cases have been reported from other states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, California and Minnesota. No deaths have been reported.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the Mountain Area Health Education Center to increase the number of doctors who graduate from North Carolina residency programs with the training necessary to provide medication-assisted treatment for patients with opioid use disorder through a grant awarded to the state by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is surveying people living near Chemours' Fayetteville Works Facility about their concerns related to GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Unintentional opioid-related overdose resulted in 1,884 deaths in North Carolina last year, a 34 percent increase from the 1,407 deaths attributed to the same cause in 2016, and state health officials say the increase is due to the increase in potent illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl

With the holiday season gearing up, now is a good time for people who use tobacco to make a plan to quit and give the gift of health to themselves and their loved ones.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that North Carolina is strengthening its fight against the opioid epidemic by expanding the number of pharmacies participating in the Controlled Substance Reporting System. North Carolina is also activating a digital gateway to provide pharmacists and prescribers one-click access to patient information and data to identify those at risk for prescription drug addiction, overdose and death.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released an analysis of four categories of birth defects in Bladen, Brunswick, Cumberland, New Hanover and Pender counties from 2003-2014 using data from the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program. The analysis was done to address concerns raised during the state’s ongoing investigation into GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also referred to as PFAS. 

North Carolina’s infant mortality rate decreased to 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births, compared with a 2016 rate of 7.2 and a 2015 rate of 7.3, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' 2017 infant mortality rates. While the racial disparity between birth outcomes for white infants and African-American infants remains unacceptably high, there was a reduction in the gap in birth outcomes.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first death related to an ongoing outbreak of hepatitis A affecting parts of North Carolina. The death occurred in October. To protect the privacy of the family, additional details about the case are not being released.