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Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) pose serious threats to public health due to their impact on air and water quality and the potential to help in the spread of disease, according to a new study released Thursday.
The study, commissioned by Cedar Rapids-based environmental law center Plains Justice, found that CAFOs can serve as breeding grounds [...]

The Iowa Department of Public Health released information Wednesday on two more deaths attributed to the H1N1 influenza virus, which brings the state total up to 40.

The Iowa Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that three more adult Iowans have died as a result of the H1N1 influenza virus.

Although a local medical examiner may be right that the number of deaths from the H1N1 influenza virus in Iowa is greater than official statistics would indicate, Iowans should not be concerned that this is because the virus has mutated as some rumors have suggested.
Instead, the disparity is caused by deaths among patients who are [...]

According to health department officials, deaths in Iowa have mirrored the state population, with age groups and all major racial and ethnic groups being impacted. Nearly half of the deaths have occurred in adults between the ages of 25 and 49. Five of the deaths were among adults from age 50 to 64, while three deaths were in the 18 to 24 age group. In Iowa, there has only been one child death and one death for persons over the age of 64.

Four additional Iowa influenza-related H1N1 deaths are being reported today by the Iowa Department of Public Health, and one of the new fatalities is not attributable to risk factors associated with an additional medical condition.
The latest victims are identified as adults in Dubuque, Polk, Mills and Monona counties. To date, there have been 11 confirmed [...]

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health are reporting the first death of a child in the state in association with the H1N1 virus. The victim, a resident of eastern Iowa who died during October, had factors that increased the risk of complications from the flu.
“Surveillance is showing a stead increase in pediatric illness [...]

A quarantine template created by the Iowa Department of Public Health and accessible through the Centers for Disease Control Web site should not be of great concern, according to a press release from health department officials.
“IDPH wants to make it clear that Iowa has not issued any isolation and quarantine orders for novel influenza A [...]