Pet, livestock and wildlife wastes, and untreated wastewater from sewage treatment plants that are overloaded by an excess of rainwater can all end up in natural waters used for recreation and pose risks to human health, according to the agency. In general, Virginians should avoid entering natural bodies of water
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The James River is now safe for recreational swimming, according to the VDH, but the department still recommends that people take precautions when swimming in the river. Some of those include showering after swimming, washing hands frequently, and avoiding going in the water if you are vomiting or have diarrhea.
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The Virginia Department of Health is continuing its forever hunt to find the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, present in the state by testing for them in water systems serving small and disadvantaged communities. “We suspect they haven’t done PFAS monitoring yet, and so they
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Fatal overdose rates remain high in Virginia, even as the state begins to spread opioid settlement money to state and local agencies to help tackle the epidemic. Death from drug overdoses, opioids and fentanyl in particular, has remained the dominant method of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013, according to
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A statewide outbreak of meningococcal disease has infected 27 people since June 2022 and killed five of them, and Virginia Department of Health officials have declared a statewide outbreak of the disease. The illness is caused by the bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis type Y. The cases have been reported in
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