October 24, 2001
Page A3
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Health Officers Calm
Fears Over Anthrax
In the w ake o f recently reported
anthrax cases, doctors have been
deluged with requests for screen
ing tests and preventive treatm ent,
according to public health officials
at the state D epartm ent o f H um an
Services. These include requests
for nasal sw abs, blood serum tests
and antibiotics.
Health officials recom m end that
people w ho are concerned about
respiratory o r skin problem s be
evaluated by their health care pro
vider, as usual. But because there
are no quick screening tests for
anthrax disease and because anti
biotics should not be used as a
routine prevention step, they ca u
tion the public and physicians not
to over-react.
M any peo p le are req u estin g
nasal sw abs and b lood serum tests,
according to M el K ohn, M .D., state
epidem iologist. “T hese tests will
not tell you that you have been
exposed to anthrax,” Kohn ca u
tions. “M eanw hile, running these
tests will take up valuable labora
tory capacity.”
Even w ith the events o f the last
few w eeks, anthrax disease is still
extrem ely rare in the U nited States,
Kohn says. “W e need to m ake ju d i
cious use o f laboratory capacity to
investigate any credible threats o f
anthrax disease. T hat m eans m ak
ing sure that labs are not o ver
w helm ed w ith requests for tests
that are extrem ely unlikely to be
positive.”
H ospitalized patients with sym p
tom s consistent with anthrax should
have an app ro p riate lab o rato ry
evaluation and local health depart
m ents notified im m ediately so that
investigation and control efforts
»
Ethics in Medicine Discussed
1
can be undertaken prom ptly.
K ohn further cautions against
stockpiling antibiotics. “ W e need
to m ake sure w e have adequate
supplies o f antibiotics available. If
a biological attack actually hap
pened, w e w ould need to have
those antibiotics in the hands of
som eone w ho w as truly exposed
rather than sitting in som eone’s
m edicine cabinet,” he said.
T he use o f antibiotics also car
ries the risk o f the developm ent of
resistant bacteria. Illness and even
death from antibiotic resistance
occur every day in O regon, accord
ing to Kohn. “W e know that inap
propriate antibiotic use is a m ajor
contributor to this problem . We
m ust use them prudently and only
w hen the benefits outw eigh the
risks,” he said.
Flu Shot Clinics Set Fall Schedules
Flu vaccines are starting to
arrive at clinics and doctors o f
fices in the Portland area for the
w inter flu season.
But officials are asking that
only the elderly and others m ost
at risk get their vaccinations now.
T hey are asking the young and
healthy to w ait until m ore o f the
vaccine arrives. L egacy V isiting
N urse A ssociation will provide
Flu Prevention Clinics during No
vem ber at Safew ay, Km art and
com m unity sites in the Portland
m etropolitan area.
B ecause flu vaccine suppliers
are predicting a second straight
year o f delays in delivery o f full
vaccine orders. L egacy w ill vacci
nate only persons at high risk for
influenza this m onth.
N ational health officials said
more than half o f the vaccine will be
distributed nationw ide by Hallow -
een, w ith the rest arriving in N o
vem ber and D ecem ber.
“W e need to target the influenza
vaccine that is available now , in
O ctober, to those at high risk of
com plications,” N ancy Cox o f the
C enters for D isease C ontrol and
Prevention said.
T hose w ho should receive their
shots first, officials said, are people
aged 65 and o lder and other at-risk
groups, including:
• R esidents o f nursing hom es
and o th er facilities housing
people w ith chronic illnesses.
• C h ild re n a n d a d u lts w ith
chronic heart or lung disorders,
such as asthm a.
• C hildren and adults w ho need
regular m edical care because
o f such chronic diseases as
diabetes, kidney disease and
im m une suppression.
• People aged six m onths to 18
years w ho are receiving long
term aspirin therapy.
• Pregnant w om en w ho will be in
the second or third trim ester o f
pregnancy during flu season.
• And health care w orkers.
WSU Vancouver Enrollment Increases
j j s f r , T f f . r . r . f J S J . f ’J ’. r - -'■ S S .''.’ . '
G row th in enrollm ent and full or
near full classes are the reality for
W a s h in g to n S ta te U n iv e r s ity
V ancouver this fall. N early 1,700
students are enrolled in junior-,
senior- and graduate level classes
and 44 percent o f all classes are at
m axim um capacity.
“It’s an exciting fall for W SU
V ancouver,” said N ancy Y oulden,
s' d irector o f student services. “W e
are very pleased to exceed o u r en
rollm ent target and there seem s to
be an increase in the num ber o f
students enrolled full-tim e.”
“It appears that m ore students
are choosing the com m unity co l
leges plus W SU V ancouver op
tion. A nd for that reason, w e’re
seeing an influx o f m ore tradition
ally aged college students. I think
this grow th also dem onstrates an
increased aw areness o f our pro
gram s and presence, as w ell as our
com m itm ent to the com m unity.”
W SU V ancouver, one o f four
cam puses w ithin the W SU system ,
provides upper-division and gradu
ate classes leading to 13 bach elo r’s
and eight m aster’s degrees.
The cam pus is located on 351
acres ju st north o f the Colum bia
River.
Joan Sage o f Northwest Kaiser Permanente, Bonnie Reagan o f Portland Adventist
Medical Center and Dr. Susan Toile o f the Center for Ethics in Health Care at
Oregon Health Sciences University talk about end-of-life issues at a recent
seminar at OHSU. How the medical profession deals with death and dying
patients is one o f the most serious subjects facing the health care profession.
Health Center Moves to New Location
T he M ultnom ah C ounty N orth
P ortland H ealth C en ter at 8918
N. W oolsey has m oved to 9000
N. Lom bard.
T he new location in the St.
Johns neighborhood is designed
to serve a larger n um ber o f p ri
m ary health care clients at a m ore
central and accessible location.
T h e new facility is one o f six
prim ary h ealth care centers o p
erated by the county.
Services include O regon H ealth
P lan eligibility screening, fam ily
p lanning, pharm acy, im m u n iza
tio n s, m en tal h ealth treatm en t,
and new b o m /w ell-ch ild care. A n
office fo r m edical w orkers w h o
m ake hom e visits w ill also be
located in the center.
F u tu re p la n s f o r th e tw o -
s to ry ,
2 4 ,0 0 0 -s q u a re -f o o t
b u ild in g in c lu d e g ro u n d le v el
re ta il sp ace.
County Expands Access to Family Planning
M ultnom ah C ounty H ealth
D ep a rtm en t and th e O reg o n
Health Division recently initiated
a process to expand access to
family panning services to unin
sured county residents.
The project provides free birth
control and low -cost reproduc
tive health care to men and women
w hose incom es are below 185 per ing services, patient education,
and birth control m ethods. In the
cent o f the federal poverty level.
A ccording to O regon H ealth future, vasectom ies and fem ale
D iv isio n e s tim a te s, m o re than sterilization may be included in
4 0.000 people in the m etro area are the project.
For more information andeligibil-
in need o f fam ily planning services.
T he health departm ent and other ityrequiremerts,call 1-800-S AFENET
qualified m edical providers offer o r visit the sta te’s w ebsite at
m edical exam s, lab tests, counsel- www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/fp.
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