The state Department of Public Health has a tremendous amount of resources available to the public and many may not be aware of the wealth of information at the touch of your fingertips using technology.

There’s information on most health-related topics as well as resources on birth and death certificates, boil water notices, child care violations, food permits and regulation, vital records, restaurant inspections and much more that the department handles at www.msdh.state.ms.us.

If you don’t want to spend hours on a website and want some quick hits, you can sign up for the health department’s email newsletter.

The newsletter this week highlighted violations statewide and gave health tips and information on diabetes. The email also blasted out data on reportable diseases.

Did you know there have been 34 cases of primary and secondary syphilis reported in the state so far this year? Another 58 cases of early latent syphilis have been reported. Gonorrhea has reached 935 cases, chlamydia 3,054 and HIV 70. Tuberculosis is still present in the state with four cases of pulmonary TB, two cases of extrapulmonary TB and 73 cases of mycobacteria other than TB.

The good news is there have been no cases of tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, animal rabies, Lyme disease or the West Nile virus.

Those are just a sampling of what’s available in the newsletter. Take advantage of the service and stay informed about what’s going on in the state to keep yourself safe and healthy.