Subscribe to email notification of Alerts, Advisories and Updates posted to this page by emailing mricci@wakegov.com or by calling 919-250-4462.
*2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)*
FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts
There are no alerts as of 3-30-20.
3-29-20 NC Division of Public Health
Coronavirus Disease 2019
(replaces version dated March 23, 2020)
This memo, for all NC clinicians and laboratory staff, includes the following updates regarding COVID-19:
- Updated criteria for submission of specimens to the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health
- Providers no longer asked to fill out Persons Under Investigations forms for patients tested for COVID-19
- Requirement for reporting of COVID-19 deaths
3-23-20 NC Division of Public Health
This memo intends to provide the latest COVID-19 information to all NC clinicians and laboratory staff. This memo includes the following updates:
- Changes in testing recommendations: People with mild symptoms consistent with COVID-19 do NOT need testing and should be instructed to stay at home to recover. Mild symptoms defined as fever and cough without any of the following: shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest discomfort, altered thinking, cyanosis
- Updated procedures for testing approval from local health departments
- Updated guidance for discontinuation of isolation
- Updated categories of persons at higher risk for severe illness
NCDPH also provides guidance on outpatient triage and assessment as well as patient guidance on what to do if you feel sick.
3-16-2020 NC Division of Public Health
This memo, intended to provide the latest COVID-19 information to all NC clinicians and laboratory staff, includes the following updates:
- Emphasize commercial laboratory testing availability
- Updated guidance for discontinuation of isolation for Persons Under Investigation
- Clarifications to infection prevention and control guidance and
- Updated procedures for testing approval from local health departments
3-13-2020 NC Division of Public Health
This memo intends to provide the latest COVID-19 information to all NC clinicians and laboratory staff. This memo includes the following updates:
- Updated infection prevention and control guidance
- Updated specimen collection guidance and
- Guidance provided to CLIA high complexity testing laboratories that are implementing COVID 19 testing.
3-10-20 NC Division of Public Health
This memo, intended to provide the latest information to all NC clinicians and laboratory staff regarding COVID-19, includes the following updates:
- Updated criteria to guide evaluation for patients under investigation for COVID-19
- Updated guidance for discontinuation of isolation for Persons Under Investigation
- Updates specimen collection instructions, specifically to include NP and OP swabs in a single tube and
- Storage of any unused portions of NCSLPH COVID-19 specimen collection kits for future use
2-28-20 NC Division of Public Health
This memo, intended to provide the latest information to all NC clinicians and laboratory staff regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), includes the following updates:
- Updated criteria to guide evaluation for patients under investigation for COVID-19
- Updated specimen collection and laboratory testing guidance for suspected cases of COVID -19
2-7-20 Wake County Human Services Public Health Division
On February 3, the NC Division of Public Health issued a
new memo with the following updates regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV):
- Updated criteria to guide evaluation for patients under investigation for 2019-nCoV
- A new requirement for NC physicians and laboratories to report all suspected cases of 2019-nCoV
- Specimen collection and laboratory testing guidance for suspected cases of 2019-nCoV.
As information about 2019-nCoV is evolving quickly, healthcare providers are encouraged to visit the following sites often for the most up to date information and resources:
Additionally, NCDPH has established:
- a call line for the public to address general questions about coronavirus: 1-866-462-3821
- an email address for healthcare providers to address non-urgent questions: ncresponse@DHHS.nc.gov
Healthcare providers can also sign up for email notification of Public Health alerts, advisories and updates by contacting mricci@wakegov.com or calling 919-250-4462.
1-24-2020 NC Department of Health and Human Services
This memo provides the latest information and guidance to all NC clinicians regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China, including case investigation, specimen testing requirements and infection control.
1-22-2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This health alert from the CDC is to update and provide interim guidance on the outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, China. This update provides guidance for evaluation of patients under investigation for 2019-nCoV, prevention and infection control guidance, including the addition of an eye protection recommendation and additional information of specimen collection.
12-11-19 NC Division of Public Health
This letter is to notify physicians about a national increase in cases of disseminated gonococcal infections (DGI). DGI occurs when the sexually transmitted pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae invades the bloodstream and spreads to distant sites in the body, leading to clinical findings such as septic arthritis, polyarthralgia, tenosynovitis, petechial/pustular skin lesions, bacteremia, or, on rare occasions, endocarditis or meningitis. DGI is uncommon and thought to occur in 0.5-3% of untreated gonorrhea cases.
10-15-19 Wake County
This letter is to notify physicians that a case of measles has been diagnosed in an individual who traveled through Guilford County. Individuals could have been exposed at the Piedmont Triad International Airport and at the Greensboro Wyndham Garden Hotel on October 2nd and 3rd, 2019..
9-24-19 NC Division of Public Health
NC DPH is working with local health departments to investigate recently reported mumps cases. This memo is intended as a reminder regarding reporting, testing, prevention and control measures for mumps and immunity documentation requirements for healthcare workers.
8-19-19 NC Division of Public Health
This memo is to alert clinicians about recent reports of severe pulmonary disease following vaping. Three cases have been identified in North Carolina since late July; similar cases have been reported from other states. The causes of these illnesses are under investigation. Request to report similar cases.
5-7-19 NC Division of Public Health
This memo describes measles cases in the US from January 1 to April 26, 2019 and provides recommendations for NC clinicians to rapidly identify measles cases and control the spread of infection.