The votes are in. After tallying more than 15,000 online ballots, the Health Department today reveals the winning design for the special limited-edition NYC Condom wrapper. And the winner is? the electronic power button submitted by Luis Acosta of Kew Gardens, Queens. With more than 23% of the votes, Acosta?s entry squeaked past four other finalists to claim first place. Acosta?s design symbolizes New Yorkers? power to take control and practice safer sex. A high-resolution image of the winning design is available at nyc.gov/condoms.
Unintentional drug overdose deaths declined sharply in 2008, falling to the lowest level seen in New York City since 1999, the Health Department reported today. The annual number of deaths fell from 874 in 2006 to 666 in 2008, a new report shows, marking a 27% decline in the city?s drug-related death rate over two years. Yet drug overdose remains the third leading cause of premature death among New Yorkers between 25 to 34 years old, affirming the need to address the health consequences of drug use in the city.
In a report issued today, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranks counties on various measures of health. As expected, the findings show significant health disparities among counties in most states, including New York. Whether counties are ranked by ?health outcomes? (rates of illness and death) or by ?health factors? (characteristics that influence health), counties with large minority populations and high rates of poverty consistently rank as less healthy. Among New York City?s five counties (boroughs), Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island rank relatively high among the 62 counties in New York State. Brooklyn and the Bronx rank at or near the bottom.
The Health Department announced today that it will start vaccinating raccoons in and around Central Park to protect them and the surrounding community from rabies. Since December, health authorities have documented more than three dozen rabies cases among raccoons in Central Park and Upper Manhattan. The vaccination effort ? a collaboration involving the Health Department, the Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy and the US Department of Agriculture ? is an attempt to contain the outbreak. Today, wildlife experts will start humanely trapping raccoons around Central Park, Morningside Park and Riverside Park. Each captured animal will be vaccinated and tagged for identification, then released in the same location.
A traditional morning sickness remedy, commonly known as calabash chalk, has been found to contain lead and arsenic, the Health Department warned today. The agency warns pregnant women not to use the product, which was recently found in local New York City stores selling African remedies. The Health Department was alerted to the potential hazard by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The chalk-like substance ? also known as calabash clay, nzu, poto, calabar stone, mabele, argile or la craie ? can be sold as large pellets or in blocks that resemble clay or mud. It is often packaged in clear plastic bags, with or without labeling. The remedy is used mainly by women from West African communities.
After assessing hundreds of possible package designs for a special limited-edition NYC Condom, a panel of judges has selected five finalists. The Health Department has received nearly 600 entries since December 15, when it invited New Yorkers to design a wrapper that would ?capture the city?s distinctive culture while promoting safer sex.? Designs have flooded in from all five boroughs, and as far away as Perm, Russia. New Yorkers can vote for their favorites starting Thursday, February 11 through Sunday, February 28.
The Health Department continues to identify mumps cases in Brooklyn?s Jewish communities and is encouraging young adults ? especially males ? in the community to get vaccinated unless they know they have been fully vaccinated in the past. Young men in Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Borough Park have experienced high levels of mumps for several months. Most cases have occurred in males and an increasing number of cases have been in young adults, ages 18 to 30. Complications from mumps can include viral meningitis, hearing loss and reproductive problems for men.
The Health Department?s Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) announced the launch of a new program to help primary-care physicians combat preventable health problems. Under the so-called Panel Management program, outreach specialists will work with physicians to identify patients in need of preventive health services such as cholesterol management or blood pressure control, and encourage them to make appointments for care and treatment. PCIP has equipped more than 1,700 New York City medical practices with electronic health records that highlight patients? health risks before they cause acute conditions such as heart attack or stroke.
New Yorkers born in 2007 can expect to live an average of 79.4 years ? a gain of 5 months since 2006 and the longest average life expectancy ever recorded in New York City. Life expectancy has shot up by a year and 7 months since 2001, exceeding national gains, and has now reached 82 years for women and 76.3 years for men. The Health Department announced the new findings in its Annual Summary of Vital Statistics.
The National Salt Reduction Initiative, a New York City-led partnership of cities, states and national health organizations, unveiled its proposed targets to guide a voluntary reduction of salt levels in packaged and restaurant foods. Americans consume roughly twice the recommended limit of salt each day ? causing widespread high blood pressure and placing millions at risk of heart attack and stroke ? in ways that they cannot control on their own. Only 11% of the sodium in Americans? diets comes from their own saltshakers; nearly 80% is added to foods before they are sold. Through a year of technical consultation with food industry leaders, the National Salt Reduction Initiative has developed specific targets to help companies reduce the salt levels in 61 categories of packaged food and 25 classes of restaurant food. Some popular products already meet these targets ? a clear indication that food companies can substantially lower sodium levels while still offering foods that consumers enjoy.
Influenza is still circulating in New York City, and the season is still young. The H1N1 virus is likely to persist in the coming months, and seasonal influenza could increase as well, as it often does during the winter months. Fortunately, there is still time to get vaccinated ? and vaccines to prevent both types of influenza are widely available.
