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Mississippi is now entering peak flu season, and we can expect high rates of flu to be with us for weeks to come. Flu illness can be serious: nationally, 32 children have already died this season from influenza. There’s still time get a flu vaccination before flu becomes a greater risk. Adult flu vaccinations are widely available, and we provide flu shots for kids at any county health department.
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 The state is heading toward a constitutional amendment to legalize broad use of prescription marijuana under the oversight of the Mississippi State Department of Health. But the state Board of Health has found numerous shortcomings in the proposed amendment that would work against the health of Mississippians. There are serious concerns over the lack of any control over quality, dosing, and medical effectiveness of marijuana that is dispensed, and the risk that increased smoking could bring more health problems to marijuana users.
Read the Board’s full analysis so that you can make an informed decision. |
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- What makes us fat? Processed foods like chips and packaged snacks are a major contributor, while fresh foods keep Americans slimmer (and healthier). A new study reviews what helps, and what hurts.
Read more »
- People who look to vaping as “healthy” need to take another look. A new study finds that smokers who also use e-cigarettes could triple their stroke risk.
Read more »
- Starting 2020 with a plan to eat better? Then check out this national ranking of diets that work for both health and weight loss. (A Mediterranean-style diet tops the list).
Read more »
The Jackson Heart Study is an extensive ongoing study of African American health in the Jackson, Miss. area that focusses on the causes and consequences of heart disease.
 Where you live matters to your physical activity.
Rural Mississippians who are part of the Jackson Heart Study got more daily activity in their lives than ones living in cities. That means you may need to pay extra attention to staying active and taking time for exercise if you live in a city. |
Read the study result » |
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 Birth defects are the leading cause of death in the first year of a baby’s life. More than 100 Mississippi children were born with a birth defect or genetic disorder in 2017. Not all birth defects are a matter of chance, though. Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant can take steps to keep their risk of birth defects is as low as possible:
- Keep healthy during your pregnancy, including staying fit and keeping to a healthful diet, which benefits both you and your baby.
- Talk to your doctor about any outstanding health problems you may have, and make sure they’re addressed while you’re pregnant.
- Take a vitamin with 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. Lack of folic acid, found in leafy greens, has been shown to cause birth defects such as spina bifida.
- Ask your doctor about being tested for sickle cell trait. This can be inherited by a child even if neither parent shows symptoms.
- If you smoke, take steps to quit right away. The Mississippi Tobacco Quitline is a free resource to help you quit successfully.
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“C” inspection scores for the past seven days
Mississippi food facilities are graded A, B or C, reflecting whether critical violations were found during inspections and how quickly they were corrected. The facilities below received a grade of C for a critical violation not corrected at the time of inspection, or a critical violation repeated from a previous inspection.
- Batesville Truck Stop
715 Hwy 35 N, Batesville
- Fuddruckers & The Bazaar
711 Lucky Ln, Robinsonville
- Circle K Store No. 2721541
2525 Hwy 15 N, Pontotoc
- Checkers / Walmart
127 Grandview Blvd, Madison
- Steak Escape
120 Orleans Way, Brandon
- Sher Food Mart
5308 Clinton Blvd, Jackson
- L & K Grocery
103 East Madison St, Bolton
- Penn’s Fish House
1528 Hwy 43 S, Canton
- Kroger No. 363 Deli
201 George Wallace, Pearl
- The Original Stamps Superburger
1801 Dalton St, Jackson
- Rossini
207 West Jackson St, Ridgeland
- Villa Pizza
10000 Factory Blvd, Gulfport
- O’Charley’s
10510 Hwy 49, Gulfport
- Hardees No. 1571
24 Cowart St, Lucedale
Precautions and alerts recently listed by MSDH
Significant violations recently reported from Mississippi child care facility inspections
The Mississippi State Department of Health conducts regular inspections of licensed child care facilities to ensure compliance with state regulations.
Listed below are violations found during recent inspections that resulted in a monetary penalty for the facility. These violations have the potential to endanger children in these facilities, and include failure to maintain the minimum staff to child ratio, leaving children unattended, failure to conduct a background check, and lack of CPR/first aid training.
- Kalita’s Early Years Learning Academy, Yazoo City 12/20/2019
Children left unattended
- Kreative Kids Learning Center, Bruce 1/3/2020
Children left unattended
- Bows and Bow Ties Child Care and Learning Center, Verona 12/30/2019
Failure to conduct staff background check
- Kiddie Korner Daycare Center, Batesville 12/26/2019
Failure to maintain minimum staff to child ratio
- Little Scholars Home Away From Home, Horn Lake 12/26/2019
Failure to conduct staff background check
Online database of child care facilities: Find general information, inspection records and penalties for any registered child care facility with our online database.
Child care facility search »
For a detailed report on any facility, please make a request in writing using our public records request process. Find out more »
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Reportable Disease Statistics
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Mississippi’s reportable disease statistics provide the latest figures and yearly totals for selected diseases of public health interest reported to MSDH by hospitals and other health care providers. Current and past months’ statistics, with details by public health district, can be viewed online.
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A sample of services and programs from the Mississippi State Department of Health
The MSDH Breastfeeding program promotes breastfeeding for all clients of the Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) nutritional program. It also supports breastfeeding awareness activities in the state, and provides information about the benefits of breastfeeding and the rights of mothers to breastfeed in public.
While the state’s breastfeeding rates have been improving, the percentage of Mississippi mothers who regularly breastfeed is still about half the national average. For babies born in 2015, about 57 percent of U.S. mothers breastfed their babies for at least six months, but only about 35 percent of Mississippi mothers did. Increasing both the number of mothers who breastfeed and the number of months babies are breastfed are central goals of the MSDH Breastfeeding program.
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