Public Health Services for Van Buren and Cass Counties

CDC estimates Salmonella bacteria cause about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year. Food is the source for most of these illnesses.

Most people who get ill from Salmonella have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

Symptoms usually begin 6 hours to 6 days after infection and last 4 to 7 days.

Most people recover without specific treatment and should not take antibiotics. Antibiotics are typically used only to treat people who have severe illness or who are at risk for it.

Some people’s illness may be so severe that they need to be hospitalized.

• CDC Salmonella website
• Salmonella and Food / CDC
• Investigation Notice 5/19/2023: Salmonella Outbreaks linked to Backyard Poultry / CDC
• Food Safety Alert 12/15/2023: Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cantaloupes / CDC

Scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash. The scabies mite usually is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies.

• About Scabies / CDC 

Shigella bacteria cause an infection called shigellosis. Shigella can spread easily from one person to another—and it only takes a small amount of Shigella to cause illness. Learn how Shigella spreads and why some people have a greater chance of getting sick.

• About Shigella / CDC

About 1 out of every 3 people in the United States will develop shingles, also known as herpes zoster, in their lifetime. An estimated 1 million people get shingles each year in this country. If you’ve ever had chickenpox, you can get shingles. Even children can get shingles. Your risk of shingles increases as you get older.

• About Shingles / CDC
• Shingles Vaccination
• Vaccine Information: Zoster/Shingles Recombinant (RZV) VIS Michigan

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), also known as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are very common. Millions of new infections occur every year in the United States.

STDs pass from one person to another through vaginal, oral, and anal sex. They also can spread through intimate physical contact like heavy petting, though this is not very common.

STDs don’t always cause symptoms or may only cause mild symptoms. Therefore, it is possible to have an infection and not know it. That is why getting an STD test is important if you are having sex. If you receive a positive STD diagnosis, know that all are treatable with medicine and some are curable entirely.

There are dozens of STDs. Some STDs, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, are spread mainly by sexual contact. Other diseases, including Zika, Ebola, and mpox, can be spread sexually but are more often spread through ways other than sex.

STDs are preventable. If you have sex, know how to protect yourself and your sex partner(s) from STDs.

• List of Diseases and Related Conditions / CDC
• About STD’s and HIV / CDC Basic Fact Sheet

Tetanus is an infection caused by a bacterium called Clostridium tetani. Spores of tetanus bacteria are everywhere in the environment, including soil, dust, and manure. The spores develop into bacteria when they enter the body. Unlike other vaccine-preventable diseases, tetanus is not spread from person to person.

• About Tetanus / CDC
• Vaccine Information: Td (Tetanus, Diptheria) Vaccine VIS Michigan

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

Basic TB Facts / CDC

• CDC Vaccines & Immunizations: Vaccines for Your Children
• CDC Vaccines & Immunizations: Vaccine Information for Adults (19 and Older)
• Vaccines in Michigan: MCIR Michigan Care Improvement Registry

Vector-borne pathogens are spread to people and animals primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito, tick, or flea. Only a few mosquito-borne viruses can be prevented with vaccines. In most cases, people need to protect themselves from mosquito, tick, and flea bites to prevent infection.

• A-Z Index of Vector-Borne Disease / CDC
• Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus / CDC
• Michigan.gov/lyme
• Lyme Disease / CDC
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / CDC
• West Nile Virus / CDC
• Zika / CDC

Vibriosis causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States every year. People with vibriosis become infected by consuming raw or undercooked seafood or exposing a wound to seawater. Most infections occur from May through October when water temperatures are warmer.

• About Vibrio Species Causing Vibriosis / CDC

Yersiniosis is an infection caused most often by eating raw or undercooked pork contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. CDC estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year. Children are infected more often than adults, and the infection is more common in the winter. 

• About Yersinia enterocolitica (Yersiniosis) / CDC