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April 24, 2025

Region C Receives the Good Neighbor Award

Region C received the Good Neighbor Award during the Georgia Red Cross Volunteer Recognition Event. The Good Neighbor Award recognizes an organization that has partnered with the Red Cross to raise awareness of Red Cross' mission and expand the scope of communities the Red Cross is able to serve.

Future Meetings

See all GHA meetings.

Resources

GHA Coronavirus Information

COVID-19 information and resources.

Ebola

The Department of Public Health (DPH) offers answers to your Ebola questions.

State Epidemiologist

24-hour access to a State Epidemiologist: 1-866-PUB-HLTH.

CDC Information

Visit www.cdc.gov to stay up to date on current information.

Disaster Mental Health

The Georgia Disaster Mental Health website addresses the mental health components of disasters.

Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) Visit to access behavioral health services.

SAMHSA: Preventing Suicide

Visit the suicide prevention resource page.

Disaster Simulation Day at Georgia Highland College

The annual Disaster Simulation Day at Georgia Highland College aims to educate nursing students on the pre-hospital response procedures carried out by public safety and first responders during emergencies. Students were divided into two groups and received training from campus police on the "Avoid, Deny, Defend" strategy. They participated in a simulated active shooter event and practiced triage and treatment for victims with injuries ranging from minimal to life-threatening.

Measles Health Update

As of April 17, 2025, a total of 800 measles cases have been reported by 25 jurisdictions, including Georgia. Three measles related deaths have also been reported in an unvaccinated adult and two unvaccinated children. There have been 10 outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases) reported this year, with 94% of cases associated with outbreaks. Georgia has had one outbreak with three measles cases reported so far in 2025.

Emergency Alerts: The Missing Link

Despite significant efforts to increase the capability and resiliency of mobile data technologies since the advent of cellular communications, natural disasters can quickly destroy this increasingly vital link connecting first responders to the general public, with deadly results. During the California wildfires in January 2025, a near-complete loss of cell service in and around affected areas greatly impacted emergency response coordination and prevented some evacuation notices from being sent to people under direct threat from an advancing firestorm.

Dengue Fever on the Rise in the U.S. with Florida and California the Potential Hotspots for Outbreaks

Federal health officials are warning that cases of the mosquito-borne dengue fever are on the rise this year ahead of the summer travel season. Transmission of the viral infection remains high in the U.S. and its territories according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Residents in California and Florida need to be the most concerned as their states typically have the most cases in a given year.

NIH Researchers Supercharge Ordinary Clinical Device to Get a Better Look at the Back of the Eye

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have leveraged artificial intelligence to transform a device designed to see tissues in the back of the eye into one sharp enough to make out individual cells. The technique provides imaging resolution that rivals the most advanced devices available and is cheaper, faster, and doesn’t require specialized equipment or expertise. The strategy has implications for early detection of disease and for the monitoring of treatment response by making what was once invisible now visible.

FDA Classifies Q’Apel Medical Inc.’s Recalled 072 Aspiration System (Hippo) as Class I

On April 7, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), classified Q’Apel Medical, Inc.’s voluntary recall of 1,617 units of its 072 Aspiration System (also known under the product name Hippo, which includes Cheetah, as Class I. On Feb. 26, 2025, the company initiated a discontinuation and recall of 1,617 units of its 072 Aspiration System product. The recall was initiated because the company received a Warning Letter from FDA that raised questions about whether the features and characteristics of the distal tip of the Hippo aspiration catheter were within the scope of its 510(k) clearance.

Harvest NYC Inc Recalls Enoki Mushroom Due to Possible Health Risk

Harvest NYC Inc is recalling its 200g packages of Enoki Mushroom, because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy persons may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

U.S. FDA Suspends Milk Quality Tests Amid Workforce Cuts

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The suspension is another disruption to the nation's food safety programs after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the FDA.

Wellstar MCG Health Achieves Medical First: Procedure Offers Hope for Aneurysm Patients

Neurosurgeons at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center achieved a new surgical approach to treat an aneurysm behind the eye. It’s called endoscopic endonasal clipping of a superior ophthalmic aneurysm. The procedure for an aneurysm in this location is believed to be the first of its kind performed through the nose. This innovative technique offers a promising alternative for patients with complex aneurysms, particularly younger individuals.

NEWSLETTERS

ASPR Health Care Readiness Bulletin - April 21

ASPR HPH Sector Highlights (Cybersecurity) - April 18

Georgia Weekly Influenza Report - Week 15

MESH Weekly Situational Awareness Brief - April 18

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - April 24

MRC InTouch Newsletter - April 2025

News and Notes - April 17

EDUCATION

Emergency Preparedness Systems Training:

Everbridge Training

GHC911 Training

Active Shooter Preparedness Webinar

May 8

Governor's Hurricane Conference

May 11-16

Preparedness Summit

April 29-May 2

RESOURCES AND REMINDERS

Reminder: Identify, Isolate and Inform!

Identify, Isolate and Inform: It is important to continue to ask travel questions. The purpose of this notice is to remind healthcare providers about actions to take in Georgia when evaluating patients for possible serious communicable diseases!

Travel Clinical Assistant (TCA)

The Travel Clinical Assistant provides post-travel clinical information on travel-related diseases for 231 countries. Diseases with recent outbreaks occurring in the last two years are listed first.

Violent Actors and Cyber Criminals Threaten Emergency Services Sector

The Office of Intelligence and Analysis sent an assessment of threats to the Emergency Services Sector— police, firefighters, and other first responders— from violent extremists, other physical threat actors, or malicious cyber actors.