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News & Alerts
Stay up to date on news and health issues that impact Texas. Our news releases, news updates, health alerts, and health advisories keep you in the know about public health in Texas.
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Stay up to date on news and health issues that impact Texas. Our news releases, news updates, health alerts, and health advisories keep you in the know about public health in Texas.
Stay up to date on news and health issues that impact Texas. Our news releases, news updates, health alerts, and health advisories keep you in the know about public health in Texas.
Health Advisory: Xylazine in Illicit Drugs Increases Overdose Risks
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is advising health care providers of emerging xylazine-laced drug overdoses in the United States, including Texas. Xylazine is being used to adulterate or “cut” recreational drugs, common opioids...
State Health Officials Warn of Dangerous Drug Combination
The Texas Department of State Health Services has issued a health advisory notifying health care providers of reports that an animal tranquilizer called xylazine has been found mixed with illegal drugs distributed in Texas. Law enforcement has...
DSHS Notifies Public of Missing Radiographic Camera in the Houston Area
The Texas Department of State Health Services is notifying the public of a missing radiographic camera, an industrial device that contains radioactive material. The material is sealed within multiple layers of protection, and the risk of exposure is...
DSHS Scholarships for EMS Training Awarded in Large Numbers Early in Program
More than 1,400 scholarships worth more than $6 million have been awarded since October 2022 through a Texas Department of State Health Services program to fund emergency medical services education and grow the state’s EMS workforce, particularly in...
HEALTH ADVISORY: DSHS adopts new blood lead reference value of 3.5 ug/dL
As of January 1, 2023, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) uses a 3.5 ug/dL blood lead reference value (BLRV) to identify children who should receive medical and public health follow-up. DSHS encourages all health care providers to...
Health Officials Alert Public to Carbon Monoxide Dangers
With this week’s winter storm causing power outages in Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services is urging people to use extreme caution with electric generators and heat sources that produce dangerous carbon monoxide.
DSHS Launches Wildlife Vaccine Bait Airdrop on Texas Border to Combat Rabies
The Texas Department of State Health Services renews its fight next week against domestic dog/coyote and Texas gray fox rabies virus variants with the launch of the 29th Oral Rabies Vaccination Program vaccine bait airdrop. Flights begin Tuesday, Jan...
News Update: TX 1 Oyster Recall
DSHS is reopening the TX 1 shellfish area to harvesting. Extensive bacteriological water sampling in the area after this month’s oyster recall shows that water quality meets National Shellfish Sanitation Program guidelines. Shoreline surveys found no...
DSHS Recalls Oysters Harvested in Area of Southeastern Galveston Bay
The Texas Department of State Health Services has ordered a recall of all oysters harvested in the TX 1 area of southeastern Galveston Bay after reports of a few dozen cases of gastrointestinal illness among people who ate oysters from those waters...
DSHS Announces 2022 Emergency Medical Services Award Winners
The Texas Department of State Health Services EMS-Trauma Systems Program presented its annual emergency medical services awards on Nov. 22, 2022 at the Texas EMS Conference in Austin. Each of the award categories honors a person or organization that...