Public Health Protectors

July 15, 2008

It has now been over two months since I started at the Health Unit. Before this job, I have to admit that I didn’t have a very good idea of the vastness of areas that are covered by public health in Perth County. Did you know, for example, that you can call in and get travel health advice specific to your trip? For example, if you are going south for the winter, a public health nurse will give you information about any diseases present in the country you are visiting and make sure that you are vaccinated and informed to ensure a safe and healthy visit. Another interesting fact is that many public places in perth county that you may visit are inspected by public health inspectors. These places include restaurants, public pools, and beauty salons/tattoo parlors. There are certain rules and standards which must be met for a business to open and remain open. I have realized there are people watching out for our health and we may not even know it.
In fact…I’m one of those people! I’m hoping to make you aware of the risk of West Nile virus so that you can protect yourself from mosquitoes and help stop them from breeding. I’ve been busy distributing posters around Stratford this morning. This is the third poster run I’ve done in the past two weeks and I hope my efforts are paying off. Please keep an eye out for colourful West Nile posters around the community and do me a favour…take a minute to read them. I know that we are always being bombarded with information and advertising but I assure you that it is worth your while to know how to protect yourself from mosquito bites!

I want to thank everyone who has called in to report dead birds. We have sent in 8 birds so far and all have come back negative for West Nile, which is great news. There was a significant increase in the number of mosquitoes I trapped this week, but none were positive for West Nile. Perhaps you heard the news from Toronto? They have found a positive mosquito. So if you’re planning any trips to the T dot make sure you bring your repellent. Until next time…clean up and cover up!

Joanna MacDonald