Safe and Healthy Summer Fun!
May 24, 2019
ATLANTA – Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer! The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) wants it to be a safe and healthy summer for all Georgians and visitors to the state.
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Protect Against Mosquitoes and Ticks this Season
The most common mosquito-borne disease in Georgia is West Nile Virus, and its season is June through October, peaking in August. Ticks are most active from April to September, and Georgians are particularly susceptible to tickborne Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Now is the perfect time to begin practicing good mosquito- and tick-protection habits, considering Georgia’s winter.
Protect against nuisance mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease like West Nile Virus:
- Wear EPA-registered repellant with DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus
- Tip ‘n toss any standing water (where mosquitoes breed)
- Clean up your yard and your neighborhood (mosquitoes lay eggs in containers like old tires)
- Stay indoors when mosquitoes are bad
Protect against ticks and tick-borne diseases like RMSF:
- Wear EPA-registered repellant with DEET or picaridin
- Do a tick check after walking through grass
- Remove ticks quickly to lower the risk of a tick-borne disease
News
Are You at High Risk for Hepatitis A?
Georgia is experiencing outbreaks of hepatitis A, a highly-contagious, vaccine-preventable liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV)....
Creating a healthy home, Part 1: Improve indoor air quality
Indoor air quality is one of the most important aspects of a healthy and hospitable home. Some common home air pollutants include oven cleaner, cigarette smoke and mold....
Use scooters legally and safely
Although scooters are a convenient mode of transportation for city dwellers, they often cause accidents and other trouble for pedestrians and motorists, not to mention the riders themselves.....
Measles in Georgia: Get vaccinated.
Vaccination is paramount to good health, especially when it comes to highly contagious viral infections, like measles. Measles spreads quickly from person to person through coughing and sneezing....
DPH Commissioner
Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., was appointed commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health by Governor Brian Kemp in March 2019. As commissioner, Dr. Toomey oversees 159 county health departments in 18 health districts, and various public health programs.
Before her appointment to commissioner, Dr. Toomey served as Director of the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. She led the department’s transition to become the Fulton County Board of Health and continuing as district health director until December 2018.
An epidemiologist and board-certified family practitioner, Dr. Toomey’s career in public health is long and distinguished, holding key leadership positions with the State of Georgia and both national and international leadership positions with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She served as the CDC’s Country Director in Botswana. In addition to other leadership positions with the CDC, Dr. Toomey previously served as the Director of the Division of Public Health with the Georgia Department of Human Resources.
Dr. Toomey earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Smith College. As a Fulbright Scholar, she studied indigenous healing practices in Peru. Dr. Toomey earned her M.D. and M.P.H. degrees from Harvard University. In 1985, Dr. Toomey was selected as a Pew Health Policy Research Fellow at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. While in San Francisco, she served on committees looking at the initial cases of emergent HIV.
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News Releases
Board of Public Health May Meeting
May 13, 2019
ATLANTA – The Board of Public Health will hold its May meeting for the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Tuesday, May 13, 2019.
WHEN: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 13, 2019
Three Additional Cases of Measles Confirmed in Georgia
April 26, 2019
ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed three new cases of measles in the metro Atlanta area. The three individuals are all members of one family – none of whom were vaccinated.
