Sept. 17, 2026

Quote of the Week

 I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we're all teachers - if we're willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door.

-Marla Gibbs

Georgia Project Firstline

Keep the EVS Week celebration going! Celebrate your Environmental Services
team for keeping patients safe. Learn from Project Firstline partner California Department of Public Health.

Future Meetings

See all GHA meetings.

Resources

Ebola

The Department of Public Health (DPH) offers answers to your Ebola questions.

State Epidemiologist

24-hour access to a State Epidemiologist: 1-866-PUB-HLTH.

CDC Information

Visit www.cdc.gov to stay up to date on current information.

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) Visit to access mental health services.

SAMHSA: Preventing Suicide

Visit the suicide prevention resource page.

988 Lifeline

Call or Text 988 for crisis care and support 24 hours a day.

Nationwide Increase in Reported Human Rabies Exposures: Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Administration

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory in response to recent reports of increases in human exposures to rabid or possibly rabid animals and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) administration errors.  

Health Update: Outbreak of Measles

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has identified two additional cases of measles. There have now been 10 total cases identified in Cobb County since Aug. 18, 2026, with some associated with a daycare and others indicating potential community spread. All cases were either unvaccinated or under-vaccinated. 

Senior Executives, Crisis Leaders Invited to Apply for Vanguard Crisis Leadership Fellowship

The application period for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Disaster and Emergency Management University (NDEMU) Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellowship is open through Oct. 15, 2026. The Vanguard Executive Crisis Leaders Fellowship is designed for the nation’s most experienced crisis leaders to explore conceptual frameworks and real-world experiences, focusing on current and emerging national challenges. 

U.S. Officials Declare an End to Record-Setting Cyclospora Outbreak, but its Origin is Still Unknown

The largest cyclospora food poisoning outbreak in U.S. history is over, U.S. health officials said on Sept. 11. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials said they are confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific outbreak is off the market. Nearly 13,000 reported cyclospora cases were tied to the multistate outbreak, federal officials say. They represent the bulk of an unprecedented surge in the parasitic diarrheal illness this year.

RECALLS

• Centric Compounding Issues Nationwide Recall of Glutathione, Myer’s Cocktail, and Tri-Immune Boost Due to Elevated Endotoxin Levels

• A&P Creations LLC Issues Nationwide Recall of biQ-FEL Due to Undeclared Sildenafil and Tadalafil
• A&P Creations LLC Issues Nationwide Recall of X10 Natural Enhancement Supplement Due to Undeclared Sildenafil and Tadalafil
  

NEWSLETTERS

Georgia Weekly Influenza Report - Week 35

MESH Weekly Situational Awareness Brief - Sept. 11

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - Sept. 17

News and Notes - Sept. 11

EDUCATION

Emergency Preparedness Systems Training:

Everbridge Training

GHC911 Training

Disaster Mental Health Field Response Training

Oct. 8 - Registration

Georgia Infection Prevention Collaborative Webinar Series

Sept. 24 - Preparing for the 2026-2027 Viral Respiratory Season: An Overview of Influenza and RSV Surveillance

National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference

Dec. 1-3

Region A PFL Education

Infection Prevention in ASCs: Elevating Standards, Reducing Risk - Sept. 29

RESOURCES AND REMINDERS

Reminder: Identify, Isolate and Inform!

Identify, Isolate and Inform: It is important to continue to ask travel questions. The purpose of this notice is to remind healthcare providers about actions to take in Georgia when evaluating patients for possible serious communicable diseases.

Travel Clinical Assistant (TCA) 

The Travel Clinical Assistant provides post-travel clinical information on travel-related diseases for 231 countries. Diseases with recent outbreaks occurring in the last two years are listed first.

ONLINE PREPAREDNESS TOOLS

GHC911

Go to the GHC911 homepage

WebEOC

Add your facility to WebEOC.

Everbridge

Sign up for an Everbridge account.

Accessing Tech Support

Selelia Jiles is GHA's Emergency Preparedness Communications Manager. Contact her at sjiles@gha.org, 770-249-4506 (office) or 404-200-5829 (cell).

If you need to reach GHA for a Disaster/Emergency Preparedness-related issue after hours, please contact Mallory Garrett, 706-934-0711.

The Disaster Readiness Line Newsletter is circulated by Georgia's Healthcare Coalitions to our emergency preparedness partners.