Family Life Displaying items by tag: Department of Health
- Missing Product Dumped, Possibly Distributed in Some Nashville Neighborhoods -
NASHVILLE – A truck load of potatoes destined for a landfill after being exposed to smoke and fire retardant was discovered missing and possibly distributed to unsuspecting area residents. The load was involved in a vehicle mishap on I-24 earlier this week.
As a precaution, state Agriculture and Health officials are asking people in Nashville and surrounding areas to not accept or consume potatoes that were not purchased from a reputable source or retail outlet. There have been reports of residents in some North Nashville neighborhoods receiving “free” potatoes. The product should be destroyed.
The product is labeled as Dole brand Russet potatoes and packaged in 10-pound poly bags. Although the health risks are low, the product should not be consumed.
The shipment of about 42,000 pounds of potatoes was headed for distribution to a major retail chain when it was involved in a mishap early Wednesday morning at mile marker 36 on I-24 near Joelton. State Agriculture food safety officials condemned the product, which had been exposed to fire, smoke, fire retardant and possibly other materials.The damaged trailer was being held at a local towing business for transport to a landfill when the product marked condemned was discovered missing.
The potatoes were reportedly dumped on a private lot, but state officials have been unable to account for the product. Reports surfaced today from area residents who may have received some of the contaminated produce.
Health officials recommend anyone who may have consumed this product and is experiencing illness should seek medical attention.
NASHVILLE – William’s the winner for five years running, but Tennessee parents of new baby girls have put Emma back in the top slot on the list of most popular names for children born in 2011.
While the most popular names for both girls and boys born in Tennessee remain largely unchanged from the previous year, new names have made their way into the top 10 on both lists this year. The top 10 names Tennessee parents chose for their new babies born in 2011* are as follows:
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Rank
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Girls
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Boys
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1
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Emma
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William
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2
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Isabella
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Mason
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3
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Ava
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Elijah
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4
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Olivia
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Jacob
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5
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Madison
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James
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6
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Addison
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Jackson
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7
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Abigail
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Jayden (tie)
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Noah (tie)
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||
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8
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Sophia
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|
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9
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Chloe (tie)
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Aiden
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Emily (tie)
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||
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10
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John (tie)
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|
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Joshua (tie)
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*provisional data
William has been the top choice for boys’ names in Tennessee since 2007. Emma has reclaimed the top spot on the 2011 list, after ranking number two in 2010. Emily broke into Tennessee’s top 10 name list this year, moving up from the 11th spot on the list last year. The 2011 top ten list for boys includes three new entries: Mason, making a giant leap from number 14 in 2010 all the way to number 2 this year; and John and Joshua, which both just missed the top 10 list last year.
“As we celebrate the births of these children, we want to remind all Tennesseans that the best way to ensure a healthy baby is to start with healthy parents,” said Michael D. Warren, MD, MPH, director of Maternal and Child Health. “Preconception health is vital to positive pregnancy outcomes.”
Provisional birth data show the average age of Tennessee women giving birth in 2011 as 26.7 years. Nearly 60 percent of women who had babies in Tennessee in 2011 had previously had a child, and just over 41 percent were first-time mothers. Only 3.2 percent of the births were multiple deliveries such as twins or triplets. The vast majority of Tennessee births in 2011, 98.9 percent, took place in a hospital.
“All women of childbearing age should take a multivitamin that includes 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, even if they are not planning to become pregnant. Folic acid helps reduce the risk certain birth defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, if taken in adequate amounts before becoming pregnant and during the very early weeks of pregnancy,” Warren said.
Although all enriched cereals and grain products in the United States are fortified with folic acid, only one third of American women of childbearing age consume the recommended daily amount. Taking a multivitamin with folic acid every day is a simple way for women to get the optimum dosage.
Stopping tobacco use is another important part of improving overall health for prospective parents. The Department of Health offers smoking cessation support at all Tennessee county health departments, and places a special emphasis on assisting pregnant women who smoke. For more information, contact your local health department. County health department locations and contact information can be found online at http://health.state.tn.us/localdepartments.htm.
The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine also offers free counseling and support to all Tennessee residents who want to quit smoking or using other tobacco products. Learn more about this service by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting www.tnquitline.com.
“The first step in getting to zero is for all sexually active people to know their HIV status,” Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, said. “World AIDS Day is an excellent opportunity to emphasize the importance of making HIV testing a routine part of health care and of everyone knowing how to prevent receiving or transmitting the virus.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than one million people in the United States are living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. One in five of those people living with HIV is unaware of his or her infection. Despite increases in the total number of Americans living with HIV in recent years, the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Yet these new infections still continue at far too high a level, with an estimated 50,000 Americans becoming infected with HIV each year.
Tennessee has not escaped the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with cases reported in every county of the state. Figures through the end of 2010 show 23,891 Tennesseans have been diagnosed with HIV. Of this number, 16,483 Tennesseans are currently living with HIV, and to date there have been 7,408 deaths among Tennesseans infected with this virus. As in the rest of the country, African Americans in Tennessee are the most disproportionately affected by HIV, with 65 percent of the 886 new reported HIV/AIDS cases in Tennessee in 2010 within this population.
“The next step in getting to zero is ensuring that all HIV-infected individuals receive timely linkage to medical care,” Jeanece Seals, HIV/STD section director for TDOH added. "The Department of Health and many community partners throughout the state are committed to reducing the number of new HIV infections in Tennessee.”
A person may feel perfectly healthy for several years after becoming infected with HIV, and may be at risk for passing the virus on to others. The only way to know for certain if an individual is infected with HIV is to be tested.
The Department of Health offers confidential HIV testing at all county health department clinics, which also provide counseling with a trained health care provider on ways to reduce the risk of HIV infection, and help link HIV-infected individuals with medical care. To find your local county health department, visit the TDOH website at http://health.state.tn.us/localdepartments.htm.
Other sites that offer HIV tests can be found online at www.HIVtest.org. Mobile phone users can send a text message with their zip code to “KNOWIT’ (566948), and within seconds will receive a text message identifying a testing site near them.
For information about planned World AIDS Day activities across the state, call the HIV/AIDS Hotline toll-free at 1-800-525-2437, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Central time.
