The Alameda County Public Health Department sends out Health Alerts, Advisories, and Updates regarding communicable disease outbreaks, immunization updates, and other public health concerns to Alameda County clinicians and other partners. See recent releases below.
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Health Alerts
| ALERT | conveys the highest level of importance; warrants immediate action or attention. |
| ADVISORY | provides important information for a specific incident or situation; may not require immediate action. |
| UPDATE | provides updated information regarding an incident or situation; unlikely to require immediate action. |
June 01, 2018 |
Advisory |
Increased Pertussis Cases in School-Aged Children Since January 2018, Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) has noted a marked increase in reported pertussis cases in school-aged children across the county, and clusters of pertussis cases in some schools. Most cases have occurred in high school-aged children. Like the rest of California, Alameda County has experienced a cyclical increase in pertussis cases every 3 to 5 years; the most recent peaks were in 2010, 2014, and now, 2018. |
May 11, 2018 |
Update |
High Levels of Pertussis in Alameda County Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a contagious disease affecting the lungs. It is caused by a bacteria that can spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks near to other people. Pertussis can affect people of all ages but infants younger than 6 months are at greatest risk for severe disease leading to hospitalization and death. The highest rates of pertussis are seen in infants who are too young to have received all their pertussis vaccines, and in teenagers 14 to 17 years old whose pertussis vaccine protection has "worn off". |
April 05, 2018 |
Advisory |
Measles in San Francisco Bay Area Between 3/5/18 and 4/3/18, measles has been confirmed in six (6) unvaccinated patients who are residents of Santa Clara County (5) and Alameda County (1). One (1) additional linked case has been confirmed in Nevada. All cases are linked to an unvaccinated traveler who was exposed in Europe and developed measles after returning to the San Francisco Bay Area. Local health departments in the Bay Area are conducting contact investigations. Measles is very infectious, and airborne transmission can occur in settings with large numbers of people like healthcare facilities, schools, childcares, shopping centers, public transportation, airports, and amusement parks. Clinicians should be vigilant in identifying and appropriately managing suspected measles cases to avoid ongoing transmission and ensuring that their patients and staff are up-to-date with immunizations. |
March 22, 2018 |
Advisory |
School Water Lead Testing and Blood Lead Level Testings Increased levels of lead have been found in water drawn from schools in Alameda County. Schools and school districts are notifying parents about the potential lead exposures at the school and blood lead level testing. As a result, we expect parents and school staff will be requesting a blood lead test and would like you to order a blood lead test for a suspected exposure to lead. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established a new "reference value”"of 5 micrograms per deciliter for blood lead levels, thereby lowering the level at which evaluation and intervention are recommended. Depending on your patient’s age and blood lead level, they may be referred for Lead Poisoning Prevention Services, i.e. a combination of health, environmental and residential hazard reduction services, provided by the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. |
March 21, 2018 |
Update |
Alameda County Public Health and Berkeley Public Health Hepatitis A Guidance for Healthcare Facilities and Clinicians A high demand of single antigen hepatitis A vaccine resulted in a national vaccine shortage toward the end of 2017. Currently, issues with single antigen vaccine supply and ordering appear to be resolved. Medical providers should now be vaccinating based on their own inventory instead of trying to ration or prioritize hepatitis A vaccine. Administer hepatitis A vaccine to any person exposed to a case of hepatitis A (household/sexual contact) and continue to vaccinate all persons in the following risk groups:
If inventory permits, also consider vaccinating persons with close contact to individuals in high risk groups listed above as well as anyone seeking protection from hepatitis A disease. |
January 04, 2018 |
Advisory |
Influenza Testing, Treatment and Vaccination The California Department of Public Health has issued a clinical advisory to direct clinicians about national influenza testing and treatment recommendations. All patients with suspected or confirmed influenza who are hospitalized, severely ill, or at higher risk for complications should be treated as soon as possible with a neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral agent such as zanamivir or oseltamivir and tested using a real-time reverse polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay. The full clinical advisory is linked below. Other Resources: |
October 30, 2017 |
Advisory |
Hepatitis A Vaccine Supply Prioritization: Guidance for Healthcare Facilities and Clinician A hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties means that medical providers in Alameda County and Berkeley need to take particular precautions to:
Full ACPHD & BPH Joint Hepatitis A Vaccine Supply Prioritization Advisory |
October 11, 2017 |
Alert |
Unhealthy Air Quality Due to Wildfires Information is evolving rapidly; please check website resources listed for most current information. Very unhealthy air quality from the North Bay wildfires continues to cause unprecedented levels of air pollution throughout the Bay Area. Due to changing wind patterns, air quality could be impacted for many days. Local air quality will be variable and unpredictable; it may improve at times, or get worse very quickly. Today's air quality for the majority of Alameda County is within the 100-150 range, which is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. Air quality tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are expected to worsen and be designated Unhealthy. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Residents should protect themselves from the impacts of heavy smoke. If you see or smell smoke in the immediate area, avoid outdoor activity, including exercise. Prevention
Website Resources:
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September 29, 2017 |
Update |
Mandatory Influenza Vaccination or Masking of Health Care Workers During Every Influenza Season As Health Officers for Alameda County and the City of Berkeley, we are updating our joint Health Officer orders (originally dated Aug. 28, 2013) mandating that all licensed health care facilities in Alameda County and the City of Berkeley require their health care workers (HCWs) to receive an annual influenza vaccination or, if they decline, to wear a mask during every influenza season while working in patient care areas. This order applies to all facilities regardless of documented HCW influenza vaccination rate. The 2017update defines Influenza Season as November 1 to April 30 of the following year. This order is ongoing and applies to each influenza season, unless rescinded or modified. |
September 29, 2017 |
Advisory |
Joint Hepatitis A Outbreak Prevention Advisory Alameda County Public Health and Berkeley Public Health Outbreaks of hepatitis A are currently ongoing in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties in persons who are homeless and/or using illicit drugs. The outbreak in San Diego is the largest person-to-person hepatitis A outbreak in the US since hepatitis A vaccine became available in1996, and has a mortality rate of ~3.6%. To prevent and control hepatitis A outbreaks, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) and Berkeley Public Health Department (BPH) recommend offering Hepatitis A vaccine to persons who are homeless or who might be using illicit injection or non-injection drugs. Although there have been no reported cases of hepatitis A in Alameda County or the City of Berkeley associated with these outbreaks or among known homeless or illicit drug users, both ACPHD & BPH encourage hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination to prevent an outbreak from occurring locally. Actions Requested of Clinicans:
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August 09, 2017 |
Update |
Updated Guidance for Health Care Providers Caring for Pregnant Women with Possible Zika Virus Exposure On August 2, 2017 the California Department of Public Health released Updated Guidance for Health Care Providers Caring for Pregnant Women with Possible Zika Virus Exposure. This guidance differs from CDC’s 7/28/17 guidance update, which extends discretion to states where regional epidemiology and travel patterns may deviate from patterns seen in other parts of the country. The Alameda County Public Health Department is adopting the new CDPH guidance. As of 8/4/2017,) there have been 37 cases of Zika virus infection in Alameda County (and an additional 3 in Berkeley), many of whom were pregnant women. Providers should continue to screen pregnant women for possible Zika virus exposure and continue advising women who are pregnant or who want to conceive in the near future to avoid unnecessary travel to areas where Zika is circulating and to follow the appropriate recommendations for preventing sexual transmission. When indicated, testing should be ordered through commercial labs for patients with Zika virus exposure related to travel or sexual contact and either uncomplicated clinical illness (regardless of pregnancy status) or who are asymptomatic pregnant women. |
July 31, 2017 |
Advisory |
Immunize to Prevent and Control Hepatitis A Outbreaks in Homeless and Illicit Drug Users Hepatitis A Outbreak Situation UpdateOutbreaks of hepatitis A are occurring among persons who are homeless and/or using illicit drugs in San Diego County and Santa Cruz County. To prevent and control hepatitis A outbreaks, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) recommend offering Hepatitis A vaccine to persons who are homeless or who might be using illicit injection or non-injection drugs. Although there has been no increase in reported hepatitis A cases in Alameda County, ACPHD encourages hepatitis A vaccination to prevent an outbreak from occurring locally. Please see the CDPH advisory for more details about the outbreaks and immunization recommendations. Hepatitis A Prevention by ImmunizationHepatitis A Vaccine Medi-Cal (both fee for service and Medi-Cal managed care) covers hepatitis A vaccine without need for any prior authorization. If a client has Medi-Cal and their regular source of primary care does not carry the vaccine, they can be referred to an in-network pharmacy. To determine an in-network pharmacy, the client can call the member services phone number on the back of their Medi-Cal card. Uninsured clients can find hepatitis vaccine a few different ways. Uninsured clients who are registered patients at the clinics participating in the Vaccines for Adults (VFA) program can be vaccinated there. Other uninsured clients who are not registered with a participating VFA program clinic can receive free vaccines at the Family Justice Center immunization clinic held on Thursday afternoons from 1-4pm in Oakland, or other clinics listed here. We request that if clients will be referred to get vaccinated at Family Justice Center, that the referring provider call in advance to 510-267-3230 to ensure the clinic is prepared to receive adults during back-to-school clinics in August. |