Recent News

Baltimore City Health Department, Maryland Department of Agriculture to Conduct Mosquito Control Activities

BALTIMORE, MD (September 10, 2016) – In keeping with Baltimore City’s response plan, the Baltimore City Health Department and Maryland Department of Agriculture will expand mosquito control services in Baltimore City Sunday, due to a public health concern over the potential for mosquito-borne diseases, including West Nile virus and Zika virus. There are currently 11 travel-associated Zika cases in Baltimore City.

Narcan Prices Are Skyrocketing and Cities Are Begging for Help to Buy It (The Daily Beast)

PHILADEPHIA — If it were possible to put a dollar value on human life, few would argue that $37.50 is too high.

But that’s all it cost to purchase the drug that saved Michael C. Meeney’s life when he overdosed on heroin earlier this year on a crowded bus in suburban Philadelphia.

A Healthy Baltimore for 2020 (WJZ)

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Charm City is launching a strategic plan to improve the wellness and reduce violence in our community.

Tracey Leong outlines this new effort.

Redefining public health (Baltimore Sun)

It's well known that the most important health indicators of communities are often closely related to their demographics. People living in wealthy communities generally tend to live longer, be more active and have fewer serious chronic diseases than people living in poor communities. 

Baltimore health Commissioner: New FDA labeling requirement can save lives (The Hill)

By Leana S. Wen

If my patient were in a car accident and experiencing neck pain, I might have prescribed an opioid — such as Percocet or Vicodin — for the pain, and a benzodiazepine — such as Xanax or Valium — to help treat muscle spasms. I might have prescribed to someone who is on benzodiazepines for their anxiety disorder an opioid for pain relief; and vice versa.

Baltimore Explores a Bold Solution to Fight Heroin Addiction (Nationswell)

Health commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen gives every single city resident access to medication that stops an overdose in its tracks.

Should the cost of naloxone be determined by its public health impact? (Modern Healthcare)

The rising cost of naloxone—a 40-year-old drug capable of reversing drug overdoses—is prompting questions about the wisdom of allowing market-forces to determine the price of a vital tool in the public health response to the nation'sopioid crisis.

As Naloxone’s Price Spikes, Baltimore Forges Ahead Against Opioids (U.S News)

BALTIMORE — Volunteers and city health workers have set up a table here at the corner of East Baltimore and North Gay streets – near City Hall in an area filled with peep shows and strip clubs, known to residents as simply "The Block."

Nathan Fields, a community health educator for the city, has been coming to this area regularly for eight years, working with others from the health department to provide needle exchange, HIV testing and reproductive counseling. Today his team is providing passersby with naloxone, a lifesaving drug given to people overdosing on opioids like Oxycontin, Percocet or heroin.

Baltimore task force aims to warn drug users away from fentanyl on the streets (Baltimore Sun)

When drug users buy heroin on the streets of Baltimore, they don't know whether it also contains fentanyl, a synthetic painkiller so powerful that small amounts can kill.

Now the city plans to tell them when and where the heroin is likely to be adulterated.

Mixing opioids and popular sedatives may be deadly (CBS News)

Mixing prescription opioid painkillers with a class of drugs that includes popular sedatives such as Valium and Xanax can cause a fatal overdose, U.S. health officials warned Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will require “boxed warnings” on 389 different products to inform health professionals and the public of this potentially lethal drug interaction, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said during a media briefing.

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