Wayne County Public Health Department

Name:  Katherine Oliver

Job Title:  Supervisor, Wayne County Department of Public Health

1.        The most common communicable disease in Wayne County is Influenza and people with flu-like symptoms.  Katherine said that it is spread easily in Detroit as many people live in close proximity with one another.  People use public transportation and not as many people as they would like get the flu vaccine.  She said they have been working on encouraging people to get the flu vaccine.  In inner city Detroit there are some locations that the flu vaccine is offered for free for those people who are unable to afford it.

2.       The next most common thing people have been infected with recently is West Nile Virus.  Summer just came to a close in Michigan where there are many mosquitoes.  Katherine said that this past summer in Michigan they had more rain.  This allowed for more mosquitoes to breed because there was a greater amount of standing water compared to last summer.  One way that the city of Detroit has been trying to control the spread of West Nile Virus is through spraying to kill the mosquitoes.  This has helped to contain West Nile slowing its spread.

3.       Pertussis is the next most commonly spread communicable disease in Wayne County.  Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is spread through small droplets from coughing or sneezing.  Pertussis can be spread for up to three weeks after a person has the cough.  The Wayne County Public Health Department is encouraging people to wash their hands consistently, especially after using the bathroom or when preparing food.  They are also working hard to make sure every baby born in Detroit is immunized.

4.       Meningitis has also been spread recently in Detroit.  She said that early diagnosis is very important as bacterial meningitis can have serious consequences.  It is frequently hard for people to recognize that they have meningitis as it produces many of the same symptoms as the flu.  Katherine believes that they have seen a rise of cases of meningitis recently is because enteroviruses are very common during the summer and early fall.  They encourage people to wash their hands and to get the vaccine which is available for certain strands of meningitis.

5.       Viral Hepatitis commonly affects people in Detroit.  She believes that this has always been common in Detroit due to lower socioeconomic conditions and poorly educated individuals.  Most adults are able to completely recover from viral hepatitis without any treatment.  Treatment of hepatitis depends on the type.  In Detroit it is required that all students are vaccinated by the time they enter middle school.  This has helped to slow the spread of viral hepatitis.

By:  Tyler Feuz