PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the first reported flu-related death of the 2026-2027 flu season, which will be shared in next week’s NC Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard update. An adult in the central part of the state died due to complications of flu during the first week of October. To protect the privacy of the family, no additional information will be released. NCDHHS is encouraging people to take steps now to protect themselves and their families from seasonal respiratory illnesses — flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial
Press Releases
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is working alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help prevent the spread of rabies. Starting in early October, Wildlife Services will be distributing oral rabies vaccine for raccoons in western North Carolina
PRESS RELEASE – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced an expansion in donor human milk access sites across North Carolina, making it easier for families to obtain and donate pasteurized donor milk.
PRESS RELEASE — Babies born in North Carolina will now be screened for two additional disorders, along with the other disorders screened for by the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Newborn Screening Program. Newborns will now be screened for Infantile Krabbe Disease and Guanidinoacetate Methyltransferase (GAMT) Deficiency. This comes as NCDHHS celebrates the 60th anniversary of the state’s Newborn Screening Program this September during National Newborn Screening Awareness Month.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has posted findings of a public health investigation to identify the source of exposure for a previously reported rare brain infection case caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba (one-celled living organism) commonly found in warm freshwater.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Buncombe County Health and Human Services (BCHHS) Division of Public Health and Henderson County Department of Public Health have been informed of a measles case in a resident of another state who traveled through Asheville while infectious. To protect the individual’s privacy, no additional information about this case will be released.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is sharing additional exposure details related to recent rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo located in Iredell County.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo located in Iredell County. Several goats at Farm Adventures have tested positive for rabies by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health and may have been in direct contact with people at events while infectious.
PRESS RELEASE — Public health officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are reporting a case of rare illness caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba (one-celled living organism) commonly found in warm freshwater, in a central NC teen. The patient is critically ill and receiving medical care. To protect the family’s privacy, no further information will be released.
PRESS RELEASE — As children and teens across North Carolina return to school this month, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reminds families that vaccinations remain an important part of overall health and school success.