Health Department Biweekly Reports Folder 0066, 2000-2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani -2 - February 7, 2001

The survey was conducted by the Health Department between October 3 and October 8, 2000, in randomly selected neighborhoods on Staten Island. Out of 1,607 households that were randomly selected for the survey, 635 households volunteered to participate in the survey, and 871 individuals age 12 and over in those households completed interviews and volunteered blood samples. DOH has notified participants in the survey of their individual test results by mail, and the four people in the survey who tested positive have been notified by telephone and by mail.

The results of the survey indicate that the people infected with the virus did not significantly differ from other survey residents by age or gender. Most of those infected reported no symptoms, and those who were infected were more likely to report symptoms of fever and headache than persons who were not infected. In the January 26, 2001, edition of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article on the three separate West Nile virus surveys conducted in 2000, estimated rates of infection in the other survey sites ranged from less than 0.5% in Fairfield County, Connecticut, to 0.12 % in Suffolk. County. It is noted that many factors could contribute to these different estimates obtained from these surveys, including the intensity of each local outbreak and geographic differences in the surveyed areas.

DOH Announces New Lead Poisoning Numbers On January 25, DOH announced the launching of a new Health Department public education campaign to alert home and apartment dwellers to the dangers associated with lead poisoning. In addition, DOH released the most recent data concerning lead poisoning cases in New York City, As part of the public education campaign, the Department will air a television spot advising parents of the possible hazards of peeling paint and encouraging parents to call the Health Department's lead poisoning information line at 212-BAN-LEAD to learn more about protecting children from lead hazards.

Over the past few years, New York City has seen a continuing dramatic decline in childhood lead poisoning that began in 1970. The numbers of new cases of children ages 6 months to less than 6 years old with elevated blood lead levels (10 micrograms/deciliter (mcg/dl) or higher) have declined 46% in the past five years, from 8,921 in 1996 to 4,831 in 2000. The number of cases reported declined in the past year even as the number of children tested increased from 369,451 in 1999 to 401,644 in 2000.

Number of Newly Reported Cases of Children (Ages 6 months to <6 years) with a Reported Blood Lead Level of 10 Micrograms/Deciliter (mcg/dL) or Higher* 1996-2000

I Calendar Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

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