Vol. 7, No. 11
Dec. 2015
The global threat of the MERS virus

This past spring, when an outbreak of MERS — the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome — sickened 186 people and killed 37 in Seoul, South Korea, global public health officials saw this as evidence of the danger of a virus that many see as underestimated so far. In Seoul, the illness was spread from a single person who had come home ill from the Middle East.

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Goldfinch flies into Winter Games

The American goldfinch, Iowa’s state bird, will be the image created on the lake ice in front of Lakeside Lab – Regents Resource Center for the ninth annual Okoboji Winter Games. Volunteers are expected to begin forming the human puzzle around noon on Saturday, Jan. 30, on the ice of West Lake Okoboji. No registration is needed.

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Shigellosis sickens more than 560

A Shigellosis outbreak in the state has sickened more than 560 people from about March 1 to Dec. 18. Shigellosis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by Shigella bacteria that can be spread by person-to-person contact or by infected food.

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Mobile Museum chooses Air Quality

The University of Iowa chose the Hygienic Laboratory’s Ambient Air Quality section - which provides support to the state’s ambient air monitoring program for the Iowa Department of Resources - to be part of its Mobile Museum for the 2016 museum on wheels. Since 2014, the Mobile Museum has traveled to 58 Iowa counties and attracted more than 67,000 visitors to its interactive displays of university programs.

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Perspective built in 17 years

Occasionally, Lab Link visits with a Hygienic Laboratory subject matter expert (SME) for insight into the individual and her responsibilities within the lab. This month, we sit down with Lorelei Kurimski, director of the Office of Organization Development, and leader of the lab’s strategic planning, quality management and systems performance.

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Photo feature – Volunteering a gift for volunteers

A volunteer coordinator once said that volunteering is a selfish endeavor because of the great gratification derived from helping others. Although perhaps no one else would describe donating one’s free time in such a way, the photos featured here capture the satisfaction found by Hygienic Lab staff in giving of themselves.

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