The Health Department reported the 13th human case of West Nile viral disease in New York City this summer. Because an unusually high number of mosquito pools are testing positive for West Nile Virus throughout the five boroughs, the agency is advising all New Yorkers – especially those 50 and older – to take precautions to avoid bites. West Nile Virus was first introduced in New York City in 1999, and human cases have occurred every year since then. This year, the Health Department has recorded more human cases at this point in the season than it has in any other year since 2000. More cases are expected through October.
Voluntary HIV testing is now part of routine medical care in the state of New York. As of today, due to a change in New York’s State Public Health Law, New York residents receiving health services at most medical facilities should now expect to be offered a voluntary HIV test. With limited exceptions, the new State law requires health care professionals to offer all patients between the ages of 13 to 64 a voluntary HIV test. The law applies to anyone receiving treatment for a non-life-threatening condition in a hospital, a hospital emergency department or a primary care setting, such as a doctor’s office or outpatient clinic.
Some 250 restaurants have now completed New York City’s new two-step process for sanitary inspections, and a tally of their scores shows that many are acing the test. A new summary from the Health Department shows that 80% of the 250 restaurants to complete graded inspections have earned A or B grades. Nearly half – 48% – have earned A’s for their sanitary conditions and food safety practices. Another 31% have achieved B’s. Just 12% of this initial sample received C grades, and 8% were closed until they could correct direct health hazards.
Life expectancy for New Yorkers is at an all-time high. City residents born in 2007 can expect to live an average of 79.4 years – a gain of nearly 5 months since 2006. Yet men continue to die six years younger than women – at 76 years versus 82 years – and more than a third of deaths among New York City men occur before age 65. A new report from the Health Department, Men’s Health in New York City, points to heart disease and violence as leading factors in this longevity gap. The report, available at nyc.gov/health, describes the most common causes of death, and also provides recommendations to improve men’s health, safety and life span.
The Health Department urged New Yorkers traveling to tropical settings to take special precautions to avoid dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness that is occurring at high levels in many parts of the world, including the Caribbean and South and Central America. These regions – all common destinations for New York City travelers – have reported more than 1 million clinical cases of dengue fever this year.
Air quality varies widely among New York City neighborhoods during the summer months, a new report from the New York City Community Air Survey shows. Four major pollutants are heavily concentrated in high-traffic areas such as Midtown and Lower Manhattan, as well as parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island that run along busy freeways. The report – Results from Summer Monitoring 2009 – is the city’s first comprehensive analysis of summertime air quality at the street level.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer today announced the opening of a new asthma walk-in center in East Harlem, where the rate of childhood asthma hospitalizations is the highest in the City. The new state-of-the-art center – an expansion of the East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence and a part of the City’s PlaNYC initiative – will aim to reduce childhood asthma hospitalizations by 50 percent over the next five years. The Mayor and Borough President were joined at the Harlem announcement by Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs, Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley, State Senator José M. Serrano, Dr. Ben Ortiz from the Harlem Asthma Network, Center Director Dr. Betty Perez-Rivera, Janet Arroyo from the Manhattan Smoke-free Partnership and Acting Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Donald P. Brosen.
The Health Department identified West Nile viral disease in a 74-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman. Both are from Staten Island and both received hospital care. The new reports come a day after the agency identified the season’s first human case in a 61-year-old Bronx man, who was hospitalized with meningitis. West Nile viral infections typically begin around this time in the summer. In response to these cases, and the growing number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus, the Health Department is urging New Yorkers, especially those 50 and older, to take steps to prevent infection.
The Health Department confirmed the season’s first human case of West Nile viral disease in a 61-year-old Bronx man who was hospitalized with meningitis. In response to this case, and the growing number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus, the Health Department is strongly urging New Yorkers to take steps to prevent infection.
The Health Department has launched a new awareness campaign to address the city’s obesity epidemic. In the spirit of last year’s “Pouring On the Pounds” campaign, it urges New Yorkers to consider what goes into a large serving of sweetened soda. The answer: up to 26 packets of sugar. The campaign comes amid indications that New Yorkers are starting to cut back on the nation’s leading source of excess calories. New research shows that that the proportion of New York City adults consuming at least one sugary drink each day fell by about 12% between 2007 and 2009.
The Health Department has launched New York City’s new restaurant grading system, awarding the first A grade to a well-kept deli in Long Island City. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley presented the grade to owners Jose and Antonio Araujo, congratulating them for performing so well on an unannounced sanitary inspection. He heralded the luncheonette as a model for the city’s 24,000 other eating establishments. To complement the posting of grades at restaurants, a revamped website was unveiled that makes it easier for consumers to find detailed, up-to-date inspection results for any of the city’s 24,000 eating establishments.
The Health Department has detected West Nile Virus in several areas of New York City this week. The number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus is unusually high at this point in the season. So far this year, through regular sampling of mosquitoes collected from the five boroughs, mosquitoes with the virus have been found in Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. No human cases have been detected. The agency issued an alert today to medical providers throughout the city, asking them to be on the look out for possible cases of West Nile virus and to report them. Next week, the Health Department will conduct adult mosquito control spraying in affected residential and non-residential areas of Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx to reduce mosquito populations.
HIV/AIDS and the risky behaviors that spread it are often associated with youth. However, in the wake of the White House unveiling its first formal national HIV/AIDS strategy, the Health Department reports that 30 years into New York City’s epidemic older adults now account for a growing percentage of people living with the disease. Some 75% of HIV-positive New Yorkers are now 40 or older, and more than a third are 50 or older. Younger adults still account for most new infections –17% of the city’s new HIV diagnoses occur in older adults each year. But, as people with HIV live longer, the number of HIV-positive New Yorkers aged 50 and older continues to grow.
For the first time this season, the Health Department has detected West Nile virus in New York City mosquitoes. The infected mosquitoes were collected from four locations in three boroughs: Old Town in Staten Island, East Williamsburg/Bushwick in Brooklyn and the South Jamaica/Rochdale Village and Auburndale/Pomonok neighborhoods in Queens. So far, no human cases have been detected this season. The Health Department has increased mosquito surveillance and mosquito larvae control efforts in the affected areas.
Starting July 1, New York City smokers will have to pay $11 or more for a pack of cigarettes. The $1.60 New York State tax increase will push the cost of cigarettes to more than $300 a month and $4,000 a year for people smoking a pack a day. Although New York City has reached its lowest rate of smoking on record (15.8%), nearly a million New York City adults are still putting themselves, and often the people closest to them, at increased risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema and many other deadly and disabling illnesses by continuing to smoke. The Health Department encourages New Yorkers to take this occasion to quit. Smokers can get help by calling 311 or 866-NY-QUITS.
