Approved Minutes of June 28, 2023

Browse Search

MINUTES-Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2023 department. Reportable diseases are flagged by the state and sent to local health departments where they are investigated. While the individual's care is the primary concern, there are also follow-ups with the individual, medical facilities, etc. He also noted that the presentation of this report meets Accreditation Benchmark 2.5. Below are some brief highlights. Vaccine Preventable Diseases — • Pertussis— o This number declined due to mask wearing. Vectorborne Illnesses— • June is prime time tick season, which is a prevalent time for tick-borne illnesses, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) and Lyme disease, in OC. Mr. DeFranco spoke about the distinctions between probable and confirmed cases and that they're based on the level of diagnosis (culture, PCR assays, serological assays). There were more probable cases vs confirmed. Dr. Jonnal added that, most of the time, her facility doesn't draw a serology, they just treat the patient as if they were infected as the sensitivity level is so low. Waterborne Illnesses— • Cryptosporidium o These cases involved people that travelled internationally, came back and tested positive. Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI) — • Chlamydia and gonorrhea continue to be the highest cases of STIs in OC. Mr. DeFranco added that the chart only showed cases that were flagged by the state's system and sent to OCHD. In response to being asked if PrEP is offered, Mr. DeFranco stated yes. COVID-19— • In NC, there were over 3 million lab-reported cases with over 29,000 deaths. At-home tests are not included in those numbers. • In OC, there were almost 40,000 lab-reported cases with 159 deaths. • At-home tests were not included in the NC and the OC numbers. Demographics of confirmed cases, broken down by race, age, gender, etc., can be found on the NCDHHS Covid-19 Dashboard. • Mr. DeFranco revisited the COVID-19 vaccination response providing a summary of the activities. Currently, the OCHD offers the Moderna vaccine. • NC DPH recommends the following definition for reporting outbreaks of COVID in congregate living settings. o Criteria to report an outbreak in a congregate living facility. • Two or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents or staff within 14 days in the same facility. o Criteria to declare an outbreak over • 14 days since the date of specimen collection of the most recent outbreak- associated case in the facility • As of May 11, 2023, COVID-19 is no longer a reportable infection to the State or Local Health Departments (LHD) S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda&Abstracts\2023 Agenda&Abstracts/ June Page 4