Case Count in Montana: Two cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Montana.

Updated: 08/17/2022

The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and Gallatin City-County Health Department (GCCHD) confirmed a single probable case of monkeypox virus in a Gallatin County adult.

Initial testing was completed August 9, 2022, at the Montana State Public Health Laboratory and confirmatory testing will occur next with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Gallatin City-County Health Department is performing contact tracing and will communicate with individuals identified as a close contact. The patient did not require hospitalization and is isolating at home. To protect patient confidentiality, no further details related to the patient will be disclosed.

Gallatin City-County Health Officer Lori Christenson said, “We appreciate the continued partnership with DPHHS and our local providers in our collective effort to slow the spread of monkeypox. With this first probable case in Gallatin County, we want to encourage healthcare providers to be on the lookout for monkeypox infections to help minimize transmission. Anyone with symptoms should isolate and consult a healthcare provider.”

As of August 8, 2022, CDC reports 8,934 cases of monkeypox/orthopoxvirus in 49 U.S. states. In recent months, more than 29,844 cases have been reported in 81 countries where the disease is not typically reported. Symptoms of monkeypox can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body.

The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks and most people get better on their own without treatment. At times, monkeypox can cause scars from the sores, the development of secondary infections, such as pneumonia, or other complications.

The virus does not easily spread between people with casual contact, but transmission can occur through contact with infectious sores and body fluids; contaminated items, such as clothing or bedding; or through respiratory droplets associated with prolonged face-to-face contact. Because monkeypox transmission requires close and prolonged contact, close-knit social networks have been particularly impacted.

Individuals who believe they may have been exposed to monkeypox or have the characteristic rash or other symptoms, should contact their health care provider.

There is no treatment specifically for monkeypox. However, because monkeypox and smallpox viruses are closely related, antiviral drugs (such as tecovirimat) and vaccines developed to protect against smallpox may be used to prevent and treat monkeypox virus infections. The need for treatment will depend on how sick someone gets or whether they are likely to get severely ill. DPHHS has pre-positioned a supply of tecovirimat in the state for use, if necessary.
CDC does not recommend widespread vaccination against monkeypox at this time. However, vaccination may be recommended for some people who have been exposed to the monkeypox virus. Jynneos vaccine doses are already in the state and have been placed at several strategic locations, including the Gallatin City-County Health Department to ensure identified close contacts needing a vaccine can access it quickly.

The Health Department and DPHHS will follow CDC vaccination recommendations for monkeypox vaccination and expanded criteria which may be recommended for the following individuals.

• Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP): Adults 18 years and older who have had exposure to individuals with confirmed orthopoxvirus/monkeypox virus infection.
• Expanded post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP++): Adults 18 years and older with certain risk factors that might make them more likely to have been recently exposed to monkeypox may be
considered for PEP++. This may include people that are identified through case
investigations/contact tracing, people who are aware that one of their sexual partners from the
past 2 weeks has received a monkeypox diagnosis, and individuals that report group sex/sex with multiple partners in the past two weeks in association with certain events, venues, or geographical areas in which monkeypox transmission has been reported.
• Pre-Exposure prophylaxis (PreP) Adults 18 years and older who meet one of the following criteria:
• Men who have sex with men and have recently had multiple or anonymous sexual
partners; OR
• Partners of men who have sex with men who have had multiple or anonymous sexual
partners; OR
• Sex workers (of any sex); OR
• Staff (of any sex) at establishments where sexual activity occurs (e.g., bathhouses, saunas,
sex clubs).

Certain healthcare and public health response team members designated by public health
authorities to be vaccinated for preparedness purposes according to ACIP guidance. At this time, most clinicians in the U.S. and laboratorians not performing the orthopox generic test to diagnose orthopoxviruses, including Monkeypox virus, are not advised to receive monkeypox vaccine PrEP.

For more information on the symptoms of Monkeypox, prevention and vaccine information, the spread of the disease, and more, please visit healthygallatin.org website. This is the best location for the most up-to-date information in Gallatin County.

For more information on statewide monkeypox response, visit the MT DPHHS website. This website has details on treatment and vaccination for monkeypox.

Many people struggle with back pain. Whether it's work-related or from a chronic condition, back pain can consume your life and make it difficult to complete everyday activities. The good news is that there is a natural way to help relieve back pain and increase mobility. According to the Mayo Clinic, the ancient practice of yoga can help release tension, relax taut muscles, and reduce reliance on pain medication.

If you're considering adding yoga as an exercise routine and have back pain or a back injury, talk to your doctor about the best way to incorporate yoga to treat back pain. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine's July 2017 research, yoga can help your body manage pain better by improving neural function while strengthening your back, stretching muscles, and aligning your spine.

To try this natural relief method, check out these five best yoga poses for back pain.

1.    Cat/Cow Pose

This pose is perfect for a sore, aching back since it helps warm up and loosen tight back muscles that can cause pain.

Start by getting down on your hands and knees, then transition into Cat pose by slowly arching your spine like a cat. Hold this pose for several seconds. Then move into Cow pose by letting your stomach drop while pushing your shoulders back and raising your head.

Repeat 10 times in a smooth flow from Cat to Cow and Cow to Cat. Repeat this yoga flow as needed until your muscles relax.

2.    Child's Pose

This pose can look like you're not doing anything, but Child's Pose takes us back to childhood basics when we moved naturally. So while Child's Pose looks restful, it creates an active stretch along your neck, shoulders, and back.

Begin the pose by getting down on all fours and stretching your arms over your head. Now, sit back into the pose so that your bottom rests close to your heels without touching. Keep this pose and breathe slowly and evenly 5-10 times. You can repeat this soothing stretching movement as many times as needed.

3.    Downward-Facing Dog

Almost everyone has heard about this famous yoga pose. It targets the large muscles that make up your lower back and spine and supports standing and lifting muscles.

To do this pose, begin on your hands and knees. Place your hands flat on the floor just ahead of your shoulders. Lift up and back, raising your knees from the mat, and push your tailbone towards the ceiling.

You can carefully lower your heels toward the floor if you want to add a gentle hamstring stretch. Then, hold Downward-Facing Dog Pose for 5-10 breathes and repeat the sequence 5-7 times.

4.    Pigeon Pose

Pigeon Pose can seem a little daunting if you're new to yoga. However, it's a great stretch that relaxes your hips and flexors, reducing connected lower back pain.

Here's how to do Pigeon Pose. First, begin in Downward-Facing Dog pose with your feet spaced body-width apart. Next, pull your left knee out and forward and angle it to the left. This will make your left leg bend almost perpendicular to your right leg. Then sink both knees to the floor. Finally, just let your back right left stretch out behind you in a straight line.

Hold this yoga pose for 5-10 breaths, then do the other side. Repeat the flow as needed.

5.    Upward Forward Bend

Our final pose helps alleviate back pain by relaxing back muscles and releasing taut hamstrings. This pose is often called a forward fold since the pose stretches upward and back to elongate the hamstrings and muscles in the back. It also loosens tight muscles in the shoulders. 

Do this pose by standing straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Breathe, bend over at the waist, and stretch to the floor. Even if you can't reach the floor, you can still do this exercise by stretching as far as possible until you feel a gentle hamstring stretch. Do this pose 5-7 times. Keep your position on your final forward bend for 5-10 breaths.

These yoga exercises are designed to unlock tight muscles and align a misaligned spine, hips, shoulders, and neck that can contribute to back pain. The good news is that you can comfortably complete these exercises at home without any equipment whenever you need some pain relief.

On August 16, 2022, at 10:39 am, Gallatin County Dispatch received a call that a rock climber had fallen approximately 100 feet and sustained severe injuries near Bear Basin in Big Sky. The reporting party was with the patient and advised they were on a small ledge about 300 feet up from the bottom.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Big Sky Section, the SAR Heli Team, Big Sky Fire Department, and Life Flight responded to assist with the call. Big Sky Section ground teams deployed on foot to the patient with ropes and rigging gear while the Heli Team deployed from the Valley.  After conducting a recon flight, two members of the Heli Team were flown to the patient where they were able to perform a medical assessment. The patient was packaged and short hauled to an awaiting medical unit. The patient was transferred to a Life Flight helicopter and flown to Bozeman Health for further medical care. The reporting party and a remaining Heli Team member were also short hauled off the mountain.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer would like to commend all involved parties on this extremely difficult and technical rescue. He also commends the reporting party for having a means of communication to call for help when the outing turned into an emergency and was able to advise of the technical terrain the incident was located in.

Photos Courtesy of Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is accepting applications for its new Habitat Conservation Lease Program.

A habitat conservation lease is a voluntary, incentive-based agreement between FWP and private landowners in which the landowner commits to specific land management practices that protect priority wildlife habitat. In turn, FWP pays landowners a one-time per-acre fee for the lease. These agreements would have a term length of 30 and 40 years.

As it has for decades, FWP is still pursuing conservation easements and land purchases where support from landowners, local officials and the community exists. The lease program is an addition to the conservation tools already available to landowners. 

The initial focus of the conservation lease program will be primarily for prairie habitats, with a priority on sage-grouse core areas and other plains habitats recognized by FWP as high priority for wildlife. That focus will be expanded to other priority habitats in subsequent years.

In areas critical to sage-grouse, these leases will ensure habitat protections that help keep populations healthy and allow the bird to remain off the Endangered Species List.

The Habitat Conservation Lease Program potentially could protect up to 500,000 acres in the next five years.

“Beyond protecting important habitat, this program will also be another tool to help keep family farms and ranches on the landscape, which will ensure our vital open spaces stay that way well into the future,” said FWP Director Hank Worsech.

Habitat conservation leases will maintain native habitats by protecting them from specific management that would alter their integrity, including tillage, energy development, building construction, and wetland filling or draining. Normal agricultural operations and noxious weed control will not be impacted.

Public access also will be part of the lease, but the details would be specific to each agreement.

Funding for the conservation lease program includes earmarked Habitat Montana funds, Pittman-Robertson funds and other sources dedicated to specific habitat types (e.g., wetlands). The Habitat Montana funds will be matched by federal funds at a 25/75 ratio, meaning every dollar of Habitat Montana money would be matched by $3 of federal money.

FWP conducted a programmatic environment assessment on habitat conservation leases earlier this summer and issued a decision notice last week supporting Habitat Conservation Lease Agreements.

More information and applications for the program are available on the FWP at https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/habitat/habitat-conservation/lease-program. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30.

FWP is also asking the Fish and Wildlife Commission to approve up to 500,000 acres of enrollments. The commission will make a decision on this proposal at its Aug. 25 meeting.

HELENA – Full fishing closures will go into effect for the following rivers at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 17:

• the entire Jefferson River
• the section of the Big Hole River from the confluence with the Beaverhead River to Tony Schoonen Fishing Access Site
• portions of Fish Creek within a 100-yard radius of the mouth of Fish Creek on the Clark Fork River

The temporary closure on Fish Creek will protect bull trout from the additional stress of fishing while water temperatures stay warm.

Bull trout require cold water to survive and tend to congregate in areas such as the mouth of Fish Creek, where waters temperatures are lower than the river, to seek refuge. This location also receives consistent fishing pressure, adding more stress to the fish in the area.

Bull trout numbers are low in Fish Creek and surrounding areas, and removing any stressor than can contribute to mortality is important to the population. 

Restrictions are also in place for other waterbodies. Anglers can find a statewide list of current restrictions at fwp.mt.gov/news/current-closures-restrictions.

Fishing restrictions, such as hoot-owl restrictions and full closures, are designed to protect trout and other fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when conditions, such as low flows and high water temperatures, combine with other stressors, including catch-and-release fishing.

All stress to fish at this time of year is cumulative, and anglers should consider fishing in cooler waters during times of low flows and higher water temperatures in rivers. Anglers can help reduce stress for fish by following these practices when catching and releasing fish where fishing is allowed, though fish mortality may still occur:

• Fish during the coolest times of day, where permitted.
• Land the fish quickly.
• Wet your hands before handling the fish.
• Keep the fish in water as much as possible.
• Remove the hook gently. Using artificial lures with single and barbless hooks can make hook removal faster and easier.
• If the fish is hooked deeply, you may have to cut the line at the fish’s mouth or consider keeping it if regulations allow.
• Let the fish recover before releasing it.

The City of Bozeman is proud to announce that Bozeman Public Library’s Katie Biehl has been awarded the 2022 Librarian of the Year award by the Montana Library Association. Katie has worked at the Library for 24 years, serving in the Reference, Circulation, Collection Management and Children’s Department throughout her tenure.

Katie’s service to statewide Montana users of the Montana Library2Go collection as a Coordinator of that very heavily used collection has been key to her nomination for this honor. On top of that responsibility, she also curates the Fiction & Large Type Collection, the Audiobook collection, the Most Wanted books for the Bozeman Public Library’s collection and creates a new book list every month that can be found on the Library’s website www.bozemanlibrary.org or printed at any service desk. Katie also serves as the Librarian for the Ask A Librarian service.

 
Katie is a 3rd generation native Montanan who graduated from Belgrade High, and MSU-Bozeman. She earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. She is an avid reader and fan of audiobooks.
 

Brick and mortar stores are known to rely heavily on foot traffic to attract customers and maximize their sales. The stores are typically located side-by-side with others, competing for the attention of potential shoppers. The display of goods determines how you attract passers-by to patronize the store. However, take precautions not to have the opposite effect – repulse potential customers to your shop.  

A particular shop erred in such judgment by displaying child-centric images at their outlet because more than three-quarters of their patrons were under 15. The older potential customers mistakenly assumed the shop was only for kids and did not visit it. The result of the action was lost sales opportunities.

You must position your products and get the best out of future customer attention while balancing the current and potential customer experiences. These expert tips will help you beautify merchandise displays to drive sales.

1. Direct and Keep Customer Informed with Signage

Signage in a store helps guide customers on how to navigate inside the outlet. Some customers come to the shop to purchase and would like to identify what they are looking for and find it seamlessly. If customers take too much time to identify products, they leave in a huff, and you lose the sales opportunity.

Signage is especially critical for new customers unfamiliar with the goods in the outlet. For store visitors who are window-shopping, proper signage can help to make conversions. Strategic signages provide subtle cues to prompt sales and increase brand awareness of the products on display. You can have different signs serving various objectives.

Some signages are purposed to create a lasting impression on customers, and others for an immediate call to action. Hence, the sales conversion can be instantaneous or in the future when the customer revisits the store.      

2. Create a Uniform Color Experience

People are naturally attracted to displays of color and attractive designs. A combination of striking shades evokes particular moods in potential customers who move towards your store. When in the shop, deploying a cohesive visual experience with colors draws attention to specific items in your space.

You never go wrong with playing around with colors to get the desired effect. Particular colors have different effects on people. Red is an attention grabber, typically used to attract people to ongoing sales drives in a shop. Other cool colors like blue are relaxed and provide an impression of security. Orange is energetic and gives a feel-good impression.

Create a uniform color experience for patrons to encourage them to come in and stay long enough to make a purchase decision. If they do not decide to buy immediately, they should come back at a future date. Let your target demographic determine the choice of colors too. For example, a store targeting younger people can be brightly colored.    

3. Find Out What Drives the Choices of Your Customers

Collecting information on what drives customer choices is critical in enhancing your store display. You can obtain such information by surveying customers to get their feedback. Use the findings to develop a targeted approach in the shop arrangement. It may take some slight adjustments which make all the difference in attracting and converting customers.

Customer information such as age, location, income, and education are essential but not the only ones that inform the merchandise displays. Find out what prompts customers to make buying decisions and use the information to your advantage. Based on the customer's needs, you can have specific visual displays.

Objects like custom glitter stickers go a long way in attracting customers to merchandise. Factors like eye-catching single displays or inventively arranged store racks, merchandise visibility, the position of the changing rooms, etc., can make a huge difference in the shopping experience. The bottom line is to have an attractive display that makes it easy for customers to find what they need.  

4. Keep Your Displays Well Lit

Bad lighting will affect even the most creative displays. No customer wants to navigate dark corners to find what they are looking for or struggle to see the labels on merchandise. A well-lit store and noticeable displays help customers to focus on a particular item and buy it. The lights enhance the architectural features of the store by drawing attention to its best features.

Other features like bright lights in the shops enhance visual displays and put customers in the right mood to make quick purchase decisions. Strategic use of lighting can achieve illumination and aesthetic appeal. A combination of different color lights makes merchandise arrangements look clean and sophisticated, appealing to the shop visitors. You can install lighting in ceilings, walls, or even on the floor for the desired effect.

Beautify Displays and Earn Sales Conversions  

There is a correlation between merchandise display and sales conversion. The way call-to-action prompts attract online shoppers, the creative displays also pull the shopper's attention to the physical stores. Have strategies for beautifying your displays with particular objectives in mind, and you will experience more sales conversions in your store.  

On Friday August 12, 2022 at 2:15pm, Gallatin County Dispatch received a call from the International Emergency Response Communication Center (IERCC) stating they had received an SOS from a GPS Communication device regarding a hiker who had a serious lower leg injury.  The IERCC gave a latitude/longitude of the patient’s location, which was described as approximately 150 yards up a trail near the main parking lot at Hyalite Reservoir.

Deputies from the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office responded along with personnel from Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Valley Section, Hyalite Fire Department, and AMR. Rescuers arrived on scene, assessed the patient, and created an extraction plan based on the hiker’s location. Volunteers loaded the patient onto a one wheeled litter and transported them back to the Hyalite Reservoir main parking lot. The patient was transferred to AMR and ultimately transported to Bozeman Health for further evaluation.

Sheriff Dan Springer would like to commend the bystander that activated their GPS communication device to summon help.  The quick SOS activation and the willingness of folks to help a stranger in need made for a more efficient mission and highlighted the character of backcountry users in Gallatin County.

BOZEMAN — Montana State University has once again been named among the top universities in the world for its scientific impact and collaboration.

The university earned a spot on the CWTS Leiden Ranking for 2022, which ordered the 1,318 universities in the world with the largest contributions to international scientific journals. The ranking is done by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies, or CWTS, at Leiden University in the Netherlands. MSU is ranked 163 out of the top 202 universities in the U.S. included on the list.

The ranking is based on universities’ scientific contributions published in scholarly journals, as well as the impact those scientific findings have on the international community. Impact is measured by the number of times the research is cited in subsequent journal articles.

MSU’s overall publication impact rank was 956, with 1,317 published articles appearing in the citation database during the 2017-2020 period used in the latest ranking. Close to a tenth of those articles were among the top 10% of papers cited in their respective fields, signifying their high impact.

Additionally, MSU researchers collaborated on 3,180 publications, more than a third of which involved researchers in other countries. That indicates a significant level of international collaboration and positions MSU in that category among research institutions much larger in size, according to Alison Harmon, MSU vice president of research and economic development.

“This latest Leiden ranking is a reflection of the global importance and impact of our work,” Harmon said, noting that MSU’s strategic plan, “Choosing Promise,” sets goals for increasing international scholarship as part of the university’s effort to improve lives and society through research. “It’s also a reflection of our talented faculty across a wide range of disciplines.”

According to Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert Mokwa, MSU's ongoing inclusion in the rankings is a point of pride for the university's research community.

“Recognitions based on outputs and impact, like the Leiden Ranking, signal that our research and creative solutions to challenging problems are making a difference and improving lives,” Mokwa said. “I am proud of our faculty and staff for their efforts in educating and training students for exciting careers and for providing the state new opportunities with emerging and important sectors that contribute to Montana’s economy. We are humbled and appreciate greatly this recognition for our creative, innovative and hard-working faculty.”

MSU tallied an all-time high for total research expenditures in 2020-2021, totaling $193 million. This marks a 16% increase over the previous year’s expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation and adds to more than a decade of research expenditures topping $100 million.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education also classified MSU as one of 279 universities in the U.S. with “high” or “very high” research activity and one of only two universities that also have an enrollment profile that is majority undergraduate.

The Leiden Ranking is based on a leading bibliographic database, the Web of Science. More information, including the full list, is available at the Leiden Ranking website, leidenranking.com.