The Jasper Newton County Public Health District (JNCPHD) announces that H1N1 clinics will be held in Jasper, Tyler and Sabine counties on:

Friday – January 8, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m
Saturday – January 9, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.

Jasper County locations:

Buna:  Jasper Newton County Public Health District
Highway 96 & FM 1004 – Buna, Texas 77612

Jasper:  Jasper Newton County Public Health District
139 West Lamar Street – Jasper, Texas 75951

Tyler County location:

Woodville: Nutrition for Aging Center
201 Willow Street – Woodville, Texas

Sabine County location:

Hemphill: East Sabine Senior Services
561 Starr Street – Hemphill, Texas

Currently available is the Flu-Mist (Live Attenuated Intranasal vaccine) which is sprayed into the nose and the injectable vaccine.

The free vaccine clinics are opened to the general public. It is recommended that everyone be vaccinated.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the local clinics.

The Jasper Newton County Public Health District (JNCPHD) announces that H1N1 clinics will be held in Jasper and Newton counties (Texas) on Saturday, December 19, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Jasper County location is Kirbyville Jasper Newton County Public Health District Office, 205A East Lavielle Street, Kirbyville.

Newton County location is Deweyville Community Center, Spur 82, Deweyville.

Currently available is the Flu-Mist (Live Attenuated Intranasal vaccine) which is sprayed into the nose. This vaccine is for use in non-pregnant healthy persons age 2 – 49. Also, available is the inactivated injectible vaccine for use in persons older than 6 months. As of December 11, 2009, (except for medical reasons) there is no restriction on who can receive the vaccination. The vaccination will be free to residents of Jasper, Newton, Sabine and Tyler counties.

If you have any questions, please go to our clinic locations page and contact one of the Jasper Newton County Public Health District Clinics near you.

The Texas Department of State Health Services ordered a recall today of all oysters harvested from San Antonio Bay after reports that people in two states outside Texas have been sickened by norovirus after consuming the oysters. DSHS has received no reports of the illness in Texas related to these oysters.

Oysters harvested in San Antonio Bay between Nov. 16 and Nov. 25 are included in the recall. Consumers who purchased oysters Nov. 16 or later that have a label showing they came from San Antonio Bay are advised to dispose of the oysters and not eat them. The virus has not
affected other seafood.

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis. Symptoms usually include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramping. Symptoms usually begin 24 to 48 hours after consuming the oysters and last one to two days. Norovirus typically is not life threatening and does not generally cause long-term effects.
DSHS has received reports that about a dozen people in North Carolina and South Carolina have gotten sick with norovirus after consuming oysters from San Antonio Bay. State health officials in those states, with assistance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are investigating those cases.

San Antonio Bay is currently closed to the commercial harvesting of oysters.

For the official press release from the DSHS website, follow this link about the Oyster Recall.

A total of 142,400 doses of the H1N1 vaccine were earmarked for Texas in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first weekly allocation to states announced last week. Texas had expected to get 237,000 in the first allocation.

The bulk of the 142,400 doses for Texas will be sent to some pre-registered doctors, clinics and other providers to vaccinate healthy 2- and 3-year-olds, part of a priority group to receive the vaccine. All of the doses are the FluMist brand nasal spray form of the vaccine. FluMist is only approved for use in vaccinating people 2 years through 49 years of age who are not pregnant and do not have certain chronic health conditions.

That vaccine is expected to be received over the next two weeks as the selected, pre-registered providers confirm with DSHS that they still want the vaccine in the quantities allotted.

Some 10,600 of the 142,400 doses are being sent to local public health departments and some DSHS regional sites, but DSHS officials said the quantities are not enough for public vaccination clinics and that each local department can determine how best to use the limited, initial supply.

A few of the local health departments received the vaccine Monday. State health officials had not expected any doses to be received in Texas till later this week at the earliest.

DSHS officials expect the weekly availability of the vaccine to be low for the first few weeks with volume predicted to increase later this month. They are urging providers and the public to be patient.

DSHS will provide another update early next week to announce the final Texas vaccine allocation for this week.

Texas expects to receive 15 million doses of the vaccine by the end of January.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is warning consumers not to eat certain imported dried plums and products containing imported dried plums because they have elevated levels of lead.

Most of the products typically are sold as salted or candied treats in Asian and Hispanic markets but also are available in other retail outlets. DSHS officials believe the dried plums came from Asia, but an investigation to identify specific sources is ongoing. Test results from the DSHS laboratory in Austin show that the dried plum products or products containing dried plums contain lead levels ranging from 0.11 parts per million to 30.3 parts per million.

Health officials say lead should not be consumed in any amount but DSHS used a U.S. Food and Drug Administration established maximum of 0.1 parts per million for candy as a guide in assessing elevated lead levels in the dried plums and dried plum products.

A list of products and product photographs are available online at: www.dshs.state.tx.us/foods/. Consumers are advised to discard any of the products and to check the Web page periodically for updates. More dried plum products may be added as pending laboratory test results become available.

DSHS is working with the FDA and with health officials in California and New York, where some of the product distributors are located, in an investigation. DSHS also is working with Texas distributors on product recalls.

Officials emphasized that the warning does not apply to dried plums, or prunes, from the United States.

Lead can accumulate in the body over time. Too much can cause health problems, including delayed mental and physical development and learning deficiencies. Pregnant women, infants and young children especially should avoid exposure to lead. People concerned about blood lead levels should contact their physician or health clinic to ask about testing.

See this link to the Texas DSHS website for the list of affected foods.