April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Friday, April 1 is Wear Blue Day! National Child Abuse Prevention Month recognizes the importance of families and communities working together to strengthen families to prevent child abuse and neglect, just as we do with our CASA advocacy. Below are some ways YOU can get involved this April!

1. Wear Blue
   This Friday and every Friday in April, wear blue to raise awareness.
    
2. Learn More
   Interested in resources or additional information on Child Abuse Prevention? Visit the Dept. of Health and Human Service’s CAP Month page to get started learning more!
    
3. Post on Social
   If you’re comfortable, share a picture of yourself in blue or information on how your friends and family can do their part to prevent child abuse using the hashtags below:

#WearBlueDay2022  #BeAConnection #BlueRidgeCASA #ChangeAChildsStory

From Blue Ridge CASA for Children: https://mailchi.mp/blueridgecasa/friday-is-wear-blue-day

From Food Safety News by Joe Whitworth – 3/15/22

Another child has died and more than 20 other infants are part of an E. coli outbreak in France.

Santé publique France and the National Reference Center for E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella at Institut Pasteur are investigating an increase of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and severe E. coli infection reported since early February. HUS is a type of kidney failure that can result in lifelong, serious health problems and death.

A total of 26 cases of HUS or serious infection, linked to E. coli bacteria with similar characteristics, have been identified. This means they likely came from the same source. Officials have yet to clarify the strain or strains of E. coli involved.

The sick children, aged from 1 to 15 years old with a median age of 8, showed symptoms between Jan. 18 and Feb. 23. Health officials reported that two of the children have now died.

Six patients live in Nouvelle Aquitaine, five in Hauts-de-France, four in Ile-de-France and Pays de la Loire, three in Bretagne and one each in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Ongoing search for source of infection

French authorities also revealed that another 22 cases are under investigation.

In France, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) surveillance is based on HUS in children younger than 15, so it only catches the most severe cases.

Santé publique France, the Directorate General for Food (DGAL), Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF), and Directorate General for Health are analyzing all cases of pediatric HUS reported in 2022 to see if there is a link between them and if they find a common source of contamination, action such as a recall and withdrawal of contaminated products will be taken.

The epidemiological investigation has yet to find a source of contamination. This work includes surveying parents on the risk exposures of their children, such as the foods consumed.

As the source of infection has not been found, officials reminded people of the general recommendations, in particular for children younger than 16 years old.

These include proper handwashing and thoroughly cooking meat. Also, raw milk and dairy products, such as cheeses, made from raw milk should not be consumed by children younger than 5 years of age. Uncooked foods should be kept separate from cooked or ready-to-eat foods.

About E. coli infections

Anyone who has developed symptoms of E. coli infection should seek medical attention and tell their doctor about their possible food poisoning. Specific tests are required to diagnose the infections, which can mimic other illnesses.

The symptoms of E. coli infections vary for each person but often include severe stomach cramps and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Some patients may also have a fever. Most patients recover within five to seven days. Others can develop severe or life-threatening symptoms and complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About 5 to 10 percent of those diagnosed with E. coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening kidney failure complication, known as a hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Symptoms of HUS include fever, abdominal pain, feeling very tired, decreased frequency of urination, small unexplained bruises or bleeding, and pallor.

Many people with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent injuries or death. This condition can occur among people of any age but is most common in children younger than five years old because of their immature immune systems, older adults because of deteriorating immune systems, and people with compromised immune systems such as cancer patients.

People who experience HUS symptoms should immediately seek emergency medical care. People with HUS will likely be hospitalized because the condition can cause other serious and ongoing problems such as hypertension, chronic kidney disease, brain damage, and neurologic problems.

Original article: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/03/another-death-in-france-as-authorities-search-for-source-of-e-coli-infections/

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – News Release

Release Date: July 14, 2021

Release Number: 21-165

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com, the world’s largest retailer, to force Amazon to accept responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold on Amazon.com.

“Today’s vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency,” says Acting Chairman Robert Adler. “But it’s a huge step across a vast desert—we must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them.”

The complaint charges that the specific products are defective and pose a risk of serious injury or death to consumers and that Amazon is legally responsible to recall them. The named products include 24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that fail to alarm, numerous children’s sleepwear garments that are in violation of the flammable fabric safety standard risking burn injuries to children, and nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without the required immersion protection devices that protect consumers against shock and electrocution.

The Commission voted 3-1 to approve the complaint, which seeks to force Amazon, as a distributor of the products, to stop selling these products, work with CPSC staff on a recall of the products and to directly notify consumers who purchased them about the recall and offer them a full refund. Although Amazon has taken certain action with respect to some of the named products, the complaint charges that those actions are insufficient.

CPSC urges consumers to visit SaferProducts.gov to check for recalls prior to purchasing products and to report any incidents or injuries to the CPSC.

One pediatric death due to influenza is one too many. Last season, 2018-2019, there were 136 pediatric deaths reported due to flu-related illness.

From the Centers for Disease Control

Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality:

One influenza-associated pediatric death was reported to CDC during week 38. The death was associated with an influenza A (H3) virus and occurred during week 37 (the week ending September 14, 2019).

A total of 136 influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2018-2019 season have been reported to CDC.

Additional information on influenza-associated pediatric deaths including basic demographics, underlying conditions, bacterial co-infections, and place of death for the current and past seasons, is available on FluView Interactive (http://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html).

Child Passenger Safety Week is September 15-21, 2019

What you need to know:

• Rear-facing car seat: Birth until age 2–4.

For the best possible protection, infants and toddlers should be properly buckled in a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limits of their seat. Check the seat owner’s manual and/or labels on the seat for weight and height limits.

• Forward-facing car seat: After outgrowing rear-facing seat and until at least age 5.

When children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should be properly buckled in a forward-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of their seat. Check the seat owner’s manual and/or labels on the seat for weight and height limits.

• Booster seat: After outgrowing forward-facing seat and until seat belts fit properly.

Once children outgrow their forward-facing seat, they should be properly buckled in a belt positioning booster seat, in the back seat, until seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck). Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and aged 9–12.

• Seat Belt: Once seat belts fit properly without a booster seat.

Children no longer need to use a booster seat once seat belts fit properly. Seats belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck). Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and aged 9–12.

Remember, always properly buckle children age 12 years and younger in the back seat!

To learn more about child passenger safety, please visit: www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety.

Harrisonburg, VA — September 6, 2019. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, has just announced that vaping may be responsible for more than 200 reported cases of severe lung disease in the United States and possibly 2 deaths… thus far. So what is the attraction for kids and young adults?

Yesterday while driving down the main street of the town in which I live and shop, a car pulled up next to mine at a stoplight. I had my window open and the adult driver of the car next to mine had his car windows open as well. I looked to the left, and noted that he was vaping and, just then, a cloud passed out of his mouth into his car and out his window… and some of it floated into my car. I didn’t have time to shut the driver-side window. First of all, the vapor had a horrible, stale odor and made me cough. My immediate thought was, what in the world was in that pipe, bong or whatever you call it?!!! When I returned home, the news was on TV and it was all about vaping! What a coincidence!

Not happy news either: “U.S. health officials are investigating 215 possible cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping across 25 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement Friday.” (CNBC.com, August 30, 2019)

And:

“DC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarette product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) use. This investigation is ongoing and has not identified a cause, but all reported cases have a history of using e-cigarette products.” (www.cdc.gov, 9/5/2019)

“E-cigarettes are devices that deliver an aerosol to the user by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. E-cigarettes can also be used to deliver marijuana or other substances.” (www.cdc.gov, 9/5/2019)

We have long known (since I was working at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in the 1970s) that the Surgeon General, head of the Public Health Service, issued a warning then that cigarettes may be harmful to your health… and now, almost 50 years on, we have e-cigarettes, another way to get your tobacco and nicotine… and vaping.. And no one knows what’s in the vapor that people are inhaling, but two people have died and others across 25 states are seriously ill with severe lung disease associated with e-cigarettes and/or vaping.

Somewhere along the line, people need to be taking responsibility for their actions:

The e-cigarette and vape manufacturers and vendors, the suppliers of flavoring chemicals (yes, they are chemicals) additives to the vaping devices may even be liable in deaths due to the use of these products. Here comes another health-related cash cow for lawyers! And another big problem for parents if their children become addicted to e-cigarettes and/or vaping. Did I mention that the American Academy of Pediatrics believes that e-cigarettes lead children to begin smoking regular cigarettes?

There’s another side to this issue beside the health issue: e-cigarettes and vaping are now contributing to medical costs across the board…and invisibly (to the consumer) raising the risk of insuring you and your family and increasing the cost of your insurance…and your family’s insurance.

Back to my original question: What is the attraction for children and young adults? Looking cool? Whatever it is, if I were a parent of teenagers right now, we would have to have a serious talk about vaping and e-cigarettes and what could possibly happen to them if they used these products that are widely available. In my father’s vernacular, the law would have to be laid down. This would not take place in our home (and hopefully, no where else) and no money for this pursuit would pass from my purse to their wallets. There would be serious consequences if they were identified as vaping or having vaped or participated in the use of e-cigarettes. And I would have to trust them not to do this and end up in the ER or worse.

So perhaps it’s up to parents–and people who care– to protest the availability of products like e-cigarettes and vaping devices that can make their kids (and others) sick.

On July 31, recognize National Heatstroke Prevention Day by educating your community about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars

Responding to a call for a child who dies of heatstroke in a hot car is one of those events that EMS and other public safety professionals never forget, and those who haven’t experienced it hope they never do. Since 1998, more thank 800 children have died from heatstroke in hot cars in the U.S., including 52 in 2018. On average, one child dies from heatstroke inside a vehicle nearly every 10 days in the U.S.

Most cases occur when a child is mistakenly left inside or gets into a vehicle unattended – and then becomes trapped. It doesn’t take an especially hot day for a child to die from heatstroke. When the outside temperature is as low as 60 degrees, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach all the way up to 110 degrees. If a child’s body temperature reaches 107 degrees, that child will die from heatstroke.

The Office of EMS encourages the EMS community to join NHTSA’s efforts to educate parents, caregivers and the public by sharing campaign materials available on https://www.nhtsa.gov/heatstroke and remembering to #checkforbaby on and off the clock.

To promote further social awareness and amplify the conversation about this vitally important safety issue, NHTSA will host a “Tweet-Up” on National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Every 15 minutes, beginning at 7 a.m. ET on July 31, NHTSA officials will post stats, prevention tips and heatstroke awareness messages using the hashtags #heatstrokekills and #checkforbaby on all the agency’s social media channels. Share these messages with your colleagues and community members to make sure they know the dangers of heatstroke.

 

More information including downloadable campaign materials and fact sheets are available online. For questions about the campaign, please contact Mike Joyce at Mike.Joyce@dot.gov or 202-366-5600.

Release Date: July 18, 2018

Release Number: 18- 191

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal rule intended to improve the safety of booster seats for children, including booster seats used at home and in restaurants. A booster seat is a “juvenile chair” that is placed on an adult chair to elevate a child, up to five years old, to standard dining table height.

The new rule does not include children’s booster seats intended for use in cars.

The new federal safety rule incorporates the most recent voluntary standard developed by ASTM International (ASTM F2460-18, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Booster Seats). It also addresses a number of factors to ensure consumers know the correct way to use a booster seat and how to keep children safe while using them. Requirements in the new standard include:

• The retail package of the booster seat must indicate the minimum dimensions of the adult chair on which the booster seat will fit.
• All booster seats must have an active means of attaching to an adult chair, in order to prevent booster seats and children from falling off of the adult chair.
• Warnings on the booster seat must remind consumers to make sure the booster seat is securely fastened to the adult chair before each use.
• To prevent falls, consumers are also warned to stop children from pushing away from the table while in the booster seat.

CPSC is aware of a total of 912 incidents, including two fatalities, related to booster seats, occurring between January 1, 2008 and October 31, 2017. Falls out of booster seats resulting in injuries to the head are the most common injury hazard. Other hazard patterns associated with booster seats include restraint/attachment problems, seat-related issues, including lock/latch failures, and tray and design problems.

This rule will become effective 18 months after date of publication in the Federal Register and applies to products manufactured or imported on or after that date. This rule will make it illegal to sell products in the United States that do not meet the regulation.

The Commission is required by Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act) to issue consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. The Commission has approved new federal safety standards for several durable infant or toddler products, including full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, play yards, baby walkers, baby bath seats, children’s portable bed rails, strollers, toddler beds, infant swings, handheld infant carriers, soft infant carriers, framed infant carriers, bassinets, cradles, portable hook-on chairs, infant sling carriers, infant bouncer seats, high chairs and baby changing products.

The Commission voted 4 to 0 to approve the standard on June 26, 2018.

About U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals–contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

For more lifesaving information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC or sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline

Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:

800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)

Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime

Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.