Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) announced a vaccine incentive program on Monday for young Minnesotans aged 12 to 17 that offers scholarships up to $100,000 and $200 gift cards if they get vaccinated.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced on Tuesday that the measles outbreak has now spread to a fourth county in the south of the state and the number of cases has increased to 60.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger said, “Significant threats to public health are becoming more frequent and costly,” referencing measles, tuberculosis, and even the Zika virus and syphilis, according to a statement released by the MDH on Wednesday as reported by Hometownsource.com.
On Monday afternoon the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that there are now 48 confirmed cases of measles in the state, the highest level in more than twenty years.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced on Friday afternoon that the number of confirmed cases of measles in the state has now increased to 44, three more than had been confirmed 24 hours ago, and ten more than had
The recent measles outbreak in Minnesota, which was confined to 20 members of the Somali community in Hennepin County, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, has now spread across the state.
A recent outbreak of measles is the latest public health problem among Somalis who live in metropolitan Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota, home to the largest Somali community in the country.
Extraordinarily high levels of latent TB infection among Sub-Saharan refugees who have arrived in Minnesota during the past decade appear to be the ticking time bomb that has exploded into 296 cases of active TB diagnosed in the state among refugees in the past five years.
Two hundred and ninety-six refugees were diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) between 2010 and 2014 in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The scientific findings come from the research team headed by Dr. Timothy Rodwell, “an associate professor and physician in the Division of Global Health at UCSD” and one of the top tuberculosis experts in the world. They belie political arguments made by immigration advocates that reporting on the public health risks posed by high rates of latent TB infection (LTBI) among refugees is a “baseless exercise in fear mongering” and “incite[s] a vast overreaction.”
Two workers at Mercy Hospital and Abbot Northwestern Hospital, both located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and owned by Allina Health, have been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB).
Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, is criticizing the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for allowing refugees to enter the United States without screening and treatment for latent tuberculosis.
One of every five refugees resettled in Minnesota by the federal government tested positive for latent tuberculosis in 2014, according to the state’s Department of Health.
