HEALTH CORNER
By Judy Nance, R.N.

Volume 20, Number 9, May 2004

West Nile Virus: (you can protect yourself and others)

The State Health Department will be asking for our help to prevent the West Nile Virus. The slogan is “Fight the Bite”. Last year Arizona had 14 cases with one death. If we follow Colorado's experience with the virus, they went from 14 cases to 2,945 with 55 deaths the second year.

You can help protect yourself and others by the following measures

  1. Eliminate standing water including buckets, leaky faucets, birdbaths, children's toys and tires.

  2. Report any standing water, including stagnant swimming pools and mosquito problems to Maricopa County. The number is 602-506-6616.

  3. Wear insect repellant and lightweight clothing at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are more active.

  4. Look for dead birds. They may have died from the virus. Take them to the County Health Department. For drop off places call 602-506-661

For more additional information call the Arizona Department of Health Services at 1-800-314-9243 or 602-364-4500.

Updated Hypertension Guidelines: Medscape has some interesting and helpful information regarding the guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Society of Hypertension. These guidelines are aimed at a global audience and are similar to the US hypertension guidelines. (Update in 2015: url Medscape.com/viewprogram no longer works; see the following link for comment on the myriad often-conflicting hyertension guidelines: http://www.medscape.com/viewcollection/33023. (Free registration required to read the article.)