Auckland Regional Public Health Service Media Releases and News http://www.arphs.govt.nz Influenza cases continue to rise in the Auckland region with laboratory notifications showing a sharp increase over the last month, particularly in the last two weeks. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20100722_Influenza.asp Almost a year after the first incident of poisoning from toxic sea slugs, surveillance of sea slugs around Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf beaches this week indicates there is a risk again this winter. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20100618_SeaSlug.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is spreading the smokefree message to students including future nurses and other health professionals at AUT North Shore for World Smokefree Day. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20100525_SmokefreeDay.asp Auckland Medical Officer of Health, Dr Andrew Lindsay, says the risks to the public remains low from last night’s fire at the Southdown freezing works site. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20100515_SouthdownFire.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is reminding people about the potential for poisonous sea slugs on Hauraki Gulf beaches, and still advising some caution. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20091217_MeaslesTraveller.asp Public Health advice on a number of topics relevant to the summer season. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20091126_SummerSafety.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is reminding people about the potential for poisonous sea slugs on Hauraki Gulf beaches, and still advising some caution. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20091022_HaurakiGulf.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is still advising some caution at the beach – particularly on Narrow Neck and Cheltenham beaches. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20091015_HaurakiGulf.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is still advising some caution at the beach – particularly on Narrow Neck and Cheltenham beaches. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090925_HaurakiGulf.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is no longer advising complete avoidance of Hauraki Gulf beaches but is recommending that those who use the beaches do so with great care. Children must be supervised at the beach at all times and should not be allowed to eat anything found at the beach/ http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090828_HaurakiGulf.asp The number of 18 month old Māori tamariki in the Auckland region who have received their first dose of the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is low at just 6 out of 10 infants. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090826_Measles.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) confirms that a strong caution is still in place for activity on beaches in the Hauraki Gulf, in particular for the safety of children and dogs on beaches. This warning follows the death of another dog after exercising at Stanmore Bay during the weekend. The facts of this dog’s death are unclear and scientists from government agencies are investigating. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090820_HaurakiGulf.asp The number of people in the Auckland region becoming ill with measles is increasing. To date there are a total of 18 people reported as confirmed with measles in the Auckland region. For each of these cases numerous contacts have had to be followed up. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090819_Measles.asp Tests have identified the toxin associated with the death of a dog after a visit to Narrow Neck Beach as tetrodotoxin. Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is advising continued caution and is strongly recommends that the public follows health advice on Hauraki Gulf beaches. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090814_BeachWarning.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is working with North Harbour Gymnastics Centre in Glenfield to provide information about measles to members of the public who visited the Gymnastics Centre on Monday 27th July and Tuesday 28th July. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090811_Measles.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is unable to rule out the risk to the public for the Hauraki Gulf and Great Barrier Island until results from testing are received. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090807_HaurakiGulf.asp New measles cases in two Auckland schools prompt a reminder to immunise children http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090805_MeaslesAlert.asp People should avoid sea water and sea life in the Hauraki Gulf and Great Barrier Island http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090805_HaurakiGulf.asp As the number of measles contacts rise Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS), Clinical Director, Dr Julia Peters is advising parents to get their children immunised now. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090804_MeaslesAlert.asp The public are urged to take care following recent reports of dog and sea life deaths on eastern beaches and within the Hauraki Gulf. Various agencies are investigating these deaths to determine the cause. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090804_BeachWarning.asp As Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) responds to an expected rise in notified measles cases it is advising parents to check their children’s immunisation record and get their children immunised now. ARPHS is seeing a higher number of cases in Auckland in 2009 than in several years previously. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/downloads/090731%20Measles%20Auckland%20Region%20July%202009%20doc.pdf Swine Flu situation update and FAQs. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090506_Influenza.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) has confirmed that a year 12 student at Westlake Girls High School on the North Shore has tested positive for Influenza A H1N1. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090614_Westlake.asp Dr Simon Baker, Medical Officer of Health at Auckland Regional Public Health Service, today lifted the public health warning which was put in place on 7th May 2009 for all shellfish harvested from the Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090603_Shellfish.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) continues to manage the contact tracing of passengers on flight NZ1 that arrived in Auckland at 0500 on 25 April 2009. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090428_NZ1PassengersContacted.asp Anyone suffering flu-like symptoms who has travelled from Mexico, and other parts of Central or North America over the past two weeks, should stay at home and phone their doctor for medical advice immediately. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090427_InfluenzaUpdate.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is investigating an influenza-like illness amongst a group of 25 people from Rangitoto College, on Auckland’s North Shore, following the group’s return yesterday from a school trip to Mexico. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090426_SwineInfluenza.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service is advising people to be careful around poisonous plants after a dog died from eating karaka berries in an Auckland park. Karaka berries are attractive to both children and dogs. The berries fall from the trees in summer, are two and a half to four centimetres long, oval in shape and turn from green to orange. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/Dog's%20death%20prompts%20warnings%20about%20NZ's%20poisonous%20plants%20.pdf Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is reminding the public that gathering and eating shellfish is always a risky activity. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20090217_WhangateauHarbour.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is issuing advice for safe food and recreational water practice following the power cut today, to parts of Auckland - affecting up to 74,000 customers. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/Power outage 3 FEB Media release .doc Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is warning of a recent rise in the number of people with whooping cough (pertussis) in greater Auckland and is urging parents to immunise their babies on time. The number of cases of whooping cough notified to ARPHS has more than doubled in the past six weeks compared with the same period a year ago. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/Media release Whooping cough Jan 09 final.pdf Auckland Medical Officer of Health, Dr Denise Barnfather, says the risks to the public remain very low from the fire at the Southdown freezing works site. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20081223_southdownfire2.asp Auckland Medical Officer of Health Dr Denise Barnfather says risks to public health are very low following yesterday’s fire at the Southdown meatworks site. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20081221_southdownfire.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) was involved in a response on 8th and 9th of December to advise on safety precautions and manage any risk to public health following a fire in Mitre 10, Onehunga. ARPHS has been working closely with the emergency services and regulatory agencies to effectively reduce any health risk to the public and business in the area. ARPHS identified the main potential risk to public health may arise from asbestos residues forming into dust. “Due to prompt clean-up action, and wind direction at the time of the fire, the risk from asbestos residues is low,” said Dr Denise Barnfather, ARPHS medical officer of health. The wind carried airborne residues away from the township and rain prevented further asbestos dust forming. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20081210_fire.asp Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) can confirm that test results show Norovirus is the cause of a recent outbreak of gastroenteritis in the hospital section of a retirement home in Auckland. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/downloads/Norovirus%20update.pdf Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is aware of a number of schools with outbreaks of flu-like illness. http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20080814_influenza.asp The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is investigating incidents involving gastroenteritis linked to the consumption of raw Pacific Oysters and the grower has recalled potentially affected product http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/20080724_norovirus.asp Public Health welcomes PM’s call to cut numbers of liquor outlets http://www.arphs.govt.nz/Media_Releases/Liquor outlets final June 2008.pdf