The goal of the surveillance for West Nile Infections in Humans is to describe the disease burden of the West Nile infection on the
human population.
This annual report summarizes Louisiana Tuberculosis cases/rates by parish.
This report describes vital events data reported on Louisiana’s Vital Event Certificates of Live Birth, Spontaneous Fetal Deaths, Induced Termination of Pregnancy, Death, Marriage, and Divorce. Data collected on these certificates are used to describe year 2008 status and trends by race, gender and age groups.
Monitoring the health status of a population is an essential step in evaluating the effectiveness of various health programs and in developing programmatic policy for the future. Monitoring the status of a population relative to certain health indicators over a number of years is an especially effective tool for health planning. Act 985 of the 1995 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session, enacting R.S. 40:1300.71, requires that the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals annually prepare a report card relative to health and health-related issues.
Health officials characterize West Nile infections three ways: neuroinvasive, West Nile fever and asymptomatic. A neuroinvasive illness is severe and typically results in a swelling of the brain or spinal cord. People with this illness are at risk of brain damage or death. West Nile fever is less severe, with most people only suffering mild, flu-like symptoms. Asymptomatic individuals were never ill and were only discovered to have the West Nile virus in their blood when blood work was done for some other reason, such as blood donation.
Louisiana Arbovirus Surveillance Summary Reports. Surveillance for WNV was initiated in Louisiana in the Spring 2000 and currently involves the testing of dead birds, live birds, sick horses, mosquito pools and sentinel chicken flocks. With the exception of horse testing, WNV testing is performed at the request of individual mosquito abatement districts throughout the state.
These indicators provide a snapshot of health statistics common to Maternal and Child Health issues. Data are avaialble at the State, Regional, and Parish Level.
