Month: September 2017

The state Department of Health today announced plans to enhance and expand its tick surveillance and education efforts to safeguard New Yorkers from tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.

The stepped-up efforts come as the state confronts a growing number of ticks, tick-borne diseases, and an increase in the geographic distribution of ticks.

“New York has long been a national leader in tick collection and testing and through our actions to inform the public on how to best protect themselves, their children, and their pets from tick bites,” said Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. “The Department of Health’s expanded tick surveillance and education efforts will help ensure that New Yorkers have the information they need to better avoid tick borne disease.”

Earlier this summer, the department expanded tick collection efforts in Saratoga County after confirming three human cases of Powassan virus, a rare viral disease that can cause symptoms ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to life threatening encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

Officials said the disease remains extremely rare in New York state with only 26 confirmed cases since 2000. The three cases in Saratoga County are the only confirmed cases of Powassan this year.

As part of the expanded collection efforts in Saratoga County, the department visited 30 unique locations and collected approximately 2,700 ticks for testing at the Wadsworth Center, officials said. Five positive pools, comprised of 22 ticks, tested positive for Powassan.

Saratoga Hospital now offers emergency cardiac interventions 24/7 for heart attack patients, officials said.

That means emergency medical services teams can save precious time by bringing heart attack patients straight to Saratoga Hospital for potentially lifesaving procedures such as coronary angioplasty and stenting.

Saratoga Hospital has provided these services since 2014, but not on an emergency basis. Instead, heart attack patients were rushed to hospitals outside Saratoga County—a trip that could delay treatment by 30 minutes or more, officials said.

Now, because of the new, emergency cardiac program, specialists are available at Saratoga Hospital around the clock to provide expert care as quickly as possible.

“Saratoga Hospital assembled the ideal combination of experience, talent and technology,” said Dr. Patrick H. McNulty, the hospital’s director of interventional cardiology. “As a result, the opportunities to be taken care of for heart attack at Saratoga Hospital are as good as anywhere in the Capital Region.”

Interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with minimally invasive, catheter-based procedures—including balloon angioplasty and stenting—to diagnose and treat heart conditions. Procedures are performed in high-tech cardiac catheterization laboratories by specially trained cardiologists.