Approved Minutes of January 22, 2025

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 22, 2025 deadline for comment is in two days (January 2411) so there is not time for the BOH to submit a resolution without calling an emergency meeting. Dr. Rachel Royce Dr. Royce announced two events which would be taking place on Saturday morning: a Medicaid information and enrollment session in Cedar Grove at Lee Chapel Missionary Baptist Church at 9am, and a community forum to address low barrier housing needs at 10am at the Whitted Human Services Center in the BOCC meeting room. She also commented that she is concerned by upcoming changes to laws and practices wherein health facilities will no longer be protected from raids from ICE and urged the Health Department to prepare as best as possible, for example with staff trainings on immigrant rights and their requirements for legal compliance. She concluded by saying that, in light of Mr. Bagby's announcement that he would be stepping down later this year, she wanted to consider the makeup of the BOH and how it is not reflective of the proportion of the Orange County population that are Spanish speaking, and she wanted to advocate for representation or participation on the board from the Latino community. Dr. Lee Pickett Dr. Pickett also commented on two topics: rabies and H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu). Dr. Pickett shared that the number of reported rabies cases increased this year. In 2024, 13 cases of rabies were reported in Orange County, including 2 cats and 1 cow, while the others were wildlife species. In 2023, 8 cases were reported, all in wildlife. In 2022, 5 cases were reported: 2 were sheep, and 3 were wildlife. She stressed that people should be aware that rabies is around, and they should continue to take all possible precautions to prevent it. She also shared that while H5N1 avian influenza is mostly found in poultry and dairy cows, it has infected more than 70 species of mammals, including cats, dogs and humans. Of those three species, it is most lethal to cats, but it has also killed dogs and at least one human in the U.S. In Europe and elsewhere in the world, H51\11's mortality rate from 2003 to September 2024 has been just over 50% of around 900 cases. Cats and dogs are most often infected by eating uncooked meat or by drinking raw milk. She stressed that cats and dogs should not be eating raw diets for two reasons: there is no benefit to them, and risks include high prevalence of Salmonella and other pathogens which can easily transfer to humans. Raw food includes not just commercial raw and frozen diets but also freeze-dried pet treats and backyard birds. Dr. Alison Stuebe Related to Dr. Royce's comment, Dr. Stuebe shared a New York Times column about the risk of undocumented individuals being swept out of healthcare systems and asked what can be done to avoid this at the health department. Ms. Stewart said that during the last Trump administration the health department had a task force on immigrant safety and rights, which will be brought back for the new Trump administration. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts/ January Page 3