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By adamg - 12/15/22 - 12:51 pm
Rabid cat

The Boston Public Health Commission reports that a cat acting oddly at 132 Glenway St. in Dorchester around 3:20 p.m. on Monday has tested positive for rabies. Read more.

By adamg - 12/9/22 - 9:43 am

The Boston Public Health Commission reports 700 new flu cases in Boston over the past week - along with "a rapid increase in influenza-related pediatric hospitalizations." Read more.

By adamg - 12/5/22 - 12:12 pm
Where the sewage monitors are, or soon will be

Map of installed and planned Covid-19 test sites, from BPHC

Boston has hired the company that has been sampling sewage at Deer Island for the presence of Covid-19 viral particles to perform similar tests at 11 sites across Boston, Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Bisola Ojikutu told a City Council committee today. Read more.

By adamg - 11/12/22 - 11:59 am

Boston and Chelsea managed to reduce Covid-19 rates among their public school students and staff simply by requiring them to keep wearing masks after the state lifted its requirements, researchers report in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article. Read more.

By adamg - 9/30/22 - 10:35 pm

Java with Jimmy and Mass. General are putting on a HealthyJava health fair between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Twelfth Baptist Church, 160 Warren St. in Roxbury. Read more.

By perruptor - 9/30/22 - 6:29 am

From the Guardian:

Boston bans artificial turf in parks due to toxic ‘forever chemicals’ Read more.

By adamg - 9/29/22 - 9:50 am
Covid-19 numbers from Deer Island

Covid-19 particles found in sewage at Deer Island (from northern half of MWRA; southern half is similar).

Jon Levy, chair of environmental health at the BU School of Public Health, took a look last night at the latest Covid-19 viral particle numbers from the Deer Island treatment plant and noticed the rather sharp spike - which should mean an increase in actual Covid-19 numbers in another week to ten days. Read more.

By adamg - 9/19/22 - 9:34 am

BPS alerted parents this morning that "an adult member of our BPS community has been diagnosed with monkeypox." Read more.

By adamg - 7/15/22 - 12:40 pm

The number of new Covid-19 cases in the city has increased 39% over the past week - and that levels of viral particles in the MWRA sewage system, an indicator of what we could see over the next week to ten days, is up 28%, the Boston Public Health Commission reported today. Read more.

By adamg - 6/23/22 - 11:50 pm

The state Department of Public Health today reported six more cases of the viral disease, bringing the state's total number of cases to 13 since it reported the year's first case on May 18. Read more.

By adamg - 6/22/22 - 1:33 pm

In a recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, several doctors at the hospital collaborated to describe the US's first monkeypox case this year, how they diagnosed it, and the way the hospital and the state mobilized to respond to it (note: The report has several photos of the unnamed patient's sores). Read more.

By adamg - 6/14/22 - 11:29 pm

The state Department of Public Health announced the state's fourth case of monkeypox, a virus related to, if less deadly than, smallpox: Read more.

By adamg - 5/18/22 - 11:11 pm
Deer Island numbers going up

Latest Covid-19 viral counts from the northern half of the MWRA sewer district. Source.

The Boston Public Health Commission reports the Covid-19 test positivity rate across Boston is now 11.5%. Statewide, the seven-day average rate is 9.13%, the state Department of Public Health reports. Read more.

By adamg - 4/13/22 - 11:21 pm

The Boston Public Health Commission reported today that the citywide Covid-19 test positivity rate has reached 6.2%, up from just 2.2% in early March. Read more.

By adamg - 4/6/22 - 9:25 am

The FDA is warning restaurants and retailers not to sell oysters harvested in certain parts of Baynes Sound, British Columbia and shipped to, among other places, Massachusetts, because they've been linked to norovirus. The FDA alert provides information on what to look for on oyster shipments and describes norovirus symptoms.

By adamg - 2/21/22 - 9:56 pm
Paul Farmer

NPR reports the death of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard Medical School professor and co-founder of the Boston-based Partners in Health died in his sleep while in Rwanda.

By adamg - 2/8/22 - 4:46 pm

Mayor Wu today set up the criteria the city will use to end the current requirement that patrons and visitors to public indoor spaces, such as restaurants and gyms, have to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination: Read more.

By adamg - 1/12/22 - 9:49 am

In court filings this week, Boston officials say they ordered employees to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination not just to protect them, but to protect the public they serve. Read more.

By adamg - 1/10/22 - 11:56 am

Mayor Wu said today that 83 people who had been living in tents along Methadone Mile have been placed in new, "low-threshold" housing - with heat, hot water and ready access to counseling and health services. Read more.

By adamg - 12/20/21 - 10:17 am

COVID-19 Announcement - 12/20/21

Mayor Wu this morning announced "one more step" in an aggressive battle against Covid-19: Starting Jan. 15, everybody over 12 entering private venues in Boston will have to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination. Read more.

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