News

Over the past several decades, rates of cervical cancer have decreased significantly, largely due to the increase in regular screenings and prevention efforts. This includes an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization rates, a virus that most often is the cause of cervical cancer.

January is Birth Defects Prevention Month and the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is joining with leading prenatal health experts from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, March of Dimes, Teratology Society, and Mother To Baby, to increase awareness and emphasize five ways to prevent birth defects.

The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is reporting a sharp increase in influenza activity and is reminding North Dakotans that it is not too late to get an influenza vaccine.

On December 13, the eighth medical marijuana dispensary in North Dakota is expected to open in Dickinson.

In an Administrative Rules Committee meeting today, legislators approved rules for cottage food products. The rules do not add additional regulation but clarify what is currently written into state law under the North Dakota Cottage Food Act. The clarifying language will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. More information can be found on the NDDoH website at health.nd.gov/cottage-food.

As part of National Influenza Vaccination Week, December 1-7, 2019, the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is reminding all North Dakotans to get their flu vaccine before the holidays.

In observance of World AIDS Day on December 1, the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is urging all North Dakotans to know their HIV status.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested at least once as part of routine health care.  Currently, one in seven individuals infected with HIV are unaware of their infection.  

North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) encourages residents to take precautions to prevent foodborne illness, commonly known as food poisoning. Each year, one in six people in the United States will get sick from eating contaminated food, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safe handling, preparation, and storage of food can help prevent foodborne illness due to contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins.

The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is advising patients and their families to use antibiotics only when necessary to further reduce antibiotic resistance, the spread of superbugs, and protect patients from side effects from antibiotics. During Antibiotic Awareness Week, November 18-22, the NDDoH promotes Be Antibiotics Aware, an educational effort to raise awareness about the importance of safe antibiotic use.

The State Health Council, the advisory body of the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH), will hold a meeting Wednesday, November 13, 2019, in Conference Room 212 located in the Judicial Wing of the North Dakota Capitol Building in Bismarck at 8:00 a.m. If special accommodations are needed for the meeting, please call the NDDoH at 701-328-2408.