As North Carolina continues to prepare for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, the NC State Laboratory of Public Health (NCSLPH) within the NC Department of Health and Human Services is now able to perform testing for the virus. This new capability allows North Carolina to more quickly take public health steps to respond to any positive test result.
Press Releases
A North Carolina person has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The test, conducted by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, is presumptively positive and will be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. The person is doing well and is in isolation at home.
North Carolina is among states rated as high performers in public health emergency preparedness measures by a nonpartisan, nonprofit that advocates for optimal health for people and communities through prevention of illness and injuries.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the final report on the public health investigation into an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in people who attended the NC Mountain State Fair held Sept. 6–15, 2019 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, NC.
Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Kody H. Kinsley from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will testify Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on “A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis.'
A new federal grant will help North Carolina partner with local justice systems — including local law enforcement, courts and others — to prevent opioid overdoses and connect people to treatment. Governor Roy Cooper announced today that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services was awarded $6.5 million over the next three years by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The NC Department of Health and Human Services has released county data for the 10 goals and more than 50 measures that are part of the state's Early Childhood Action Plan. These new data reports are available for all 100 counties and cover issues such as infant mortality, food and housing security, emergency room visits, child health, foster care, early learning and early literacy.
Officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Department of Public Safety will be participating with federal, state and local officials in a multi-state Ebola virus disease emergency preparedness exercise Nov. 4–8, 2019.
Governor Roy Cooper today noted that North Carolina's infant deaths in 2018 reached their lowest rate in the 31 years they have been tracked, decreasing for a third straight year to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births down 4.2 percent from the previous year's rate of 7.1 per 1000 live births.
Public health officials are reporting a case of Legionnaires' disease in a person who did not attend the Mountain State Fair but was present at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center (WNC Ag Center) after the fair ended.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging all North Carolinians to make sure they are up to date on their vaccines in light of recent mumps cases at two Triad area universities.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has received federal funding that will support a key goal of the state's Early Childhood Action Plan and the Perinatal Health Strategic Plan, reducing maternal mortality. A total of $10 million was awarded through the State Maternal Health Innovation Program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.
State health officials are encouraging residents and visitors to take precautions to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses this fall.
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 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 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.