Health Officer Update: 7-OH, measles, cyclosporiasis, and bats
Dr. Herbie Duber is the health officer for Kitsap Public Health District. In addition to his work in public health, Dr. Duber serves as a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington and is an attending physician at UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Hello and welcome to my September Health Officer Update. This month, I will focus on 7-OH regulation and ongoing disease outbreaks.
I also hope to see you in person at a community conversation we are hosting at the Port Orchard library on Sept. 29. You can find full event details on our website.
Federal government taking action on 7-OH
As we discussed in my July Health Officer Update, kratom is a plant from southeast Asia that has long been used in traditional medicine. One compound found in kratom leaves — 7-hydroxymitragynine or 7-OH — has been used in mass-marketed products like gummies, pills, tonics, and vapes. 7-OH acts like an opioid, and when used in concentrated form as found in these products can lead to overdose and even death.
Fortunately, the federal government started a process this summer to ban the sale of 7-OH. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) orders will temporarily add 7-OH and three related products to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a class of drugs that are unsafe to use and have no approved medical use.
We don’t know yet how these orders will be enforced locally, but classifying 7-OH as a Schedule 1 drug is an important step toward getting these dangerous and misleading products removed from stores.
Kitsap Public Health District has been working with county partners to share information about the risks of using 7-OH.
Measles outbreaks highlight importance of childhood vaccination
Measles was declared “eliminated” in the United States nearly 30 years ago, as successful childhood vaccine programs made cases and outbreaks rare. Recently, however, widespread measles outbreaks have placed that “eliminated” status in doubt. More than 2,900 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. this year. Sadly, two people with measles died in Pennsylvania.
With children returning to classrooms this month, please check your family’s immunization records and make sure you are up to date on the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. MMR is a safe and extremely effective vaccine that saves countless lives each year. Kids are required to have the MMR vaccine to attend schools and childcare centers in Washington state.
In Kitsap County, we are fortunate to have a community of healthcare providers that strongly support childhood immunization. The Washington State Department of Health honored 22 local clinics with 2026 Immunize Washington Awards for their commitment to keeping patients up to date on immunizations. We are really proud of the work they are doing.
Cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to lettuce
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or water. An outbreak of this illness has been linked to lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico distributed and sold in 22 states across the country.
Fortunately, the contaminated products were not sold in Washington state. As a result, we have not seen any increases in cyclospora illness among Washingtonians without a travel history to a location where the outbreak occurred.
Simple steps, like washing vegetables, can help reduce your risk for food-related illnesses, including cyclosporiasis. I recommend that you take a look at a blog post created by our Communicable Disease team that includes some great food safety tips.
Don’t touch bats!
It really is that simple. Please avoid touching bats with your bare skin. Teach your kids to never touch bats and to tell an adult if they find a bat on the ground. Take steps to keep bats out of your home.
Why? Bats are the only animal in Washington that regularly test positive for the rabies virus. Bats can spread rabies to humans and other animals if they bite them or scratch them.
Rabies is deadly and there is no cure once a person develops symptoms. However, rabies infection can be prevented if a person gets a series of vaccines soon after being exposed to the virus.
If you have direct contact with a bat, try to safely capture it for rabies testing and contact your healthcare provider or Kitsap Public Health as soon as possible. We have more guidance on our Bats & Rabies page.
This has been a busy bat summer for our Communicable Disease team. We received about 50 calls related to bats and other animal exposures in the past month. Eighteen bats in Kitsap County have been tested for rabies this year, with one bat testing positive.
Ebola outbreak in Africa continues to grow
An outbreak of Ebola disease centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to grow at an alarming pace. More than 6,000 cases and 3,000 deaths have been confirmed.
No cases of Ebola linked to this outbreak have been reported in the United States and risk to Kitsap residents remains very low. That said, I believe it is important for us to closely monitor the situation and for the global health community to be given the resources needed to address this growing crisis.
Learn more and keep in touch
You can watch my full report to the Kitsap Public Health Board by clicking on the video below or on Vimeo. You can read past Health Officer Updates on our blog.
Have a question or want to get in touch? Email pio@kitsappublichealth.org.
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