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 (AP) - State epidemiologist Harry Hull announced
Wednesday that he is leaving the state Department of Health after
six years that included managing polio infections in the Amish
community and preparing Minnesota for pandemic flu and bioterrorist
attacks.

      Hull was suspended for five days without pay in June after an
employee alleged he squeezed her arm and screamed at her after
comments he didn't like at a staff meeting.

      "Being tried in the media is difficult," he said in an
interview Tuesday.

      Hull said his suspension was later reviewed and downgraded to a
written reprimand. He said he thinks there are still problems at
the department, but declined to elaborate because of data privacy
laws.

      Health Department spokesman John Stieger said he couldn't
comment on Hull's concerns. He said Health Commissioner Dianne
Mandernach wished Hull well and would start working on a plan to
fill the position. She's traveling in China for the next 10 days.

      Hull said the flap helped him decide to return to his main
career focus of international health and vaccines. He said he was
considering an assignment in Africa.

      "I really want to pursue my technical interests," said Hull,
who advises the federal government on immunizations and visited
Uganda in May to help eight African countries prepare for pandemic
flu.

      As the state's chief investigator of disease outbreaks, Hull led
the state's response to five cases of polio virus infection in a
central Minnesota Amish community. He said the danger of the virus
spreading was over and never posed a serious threat to the general
population because most people are vaccinated.

      But he said it showed the importance of immunizations.

      "This is one of the worrisome things we have in this state -
there is so much inappropriate concern about the side effects of
vaccination, we've got a significant number of children who are
unimmunized or underimmunized," he said.

      Hull also said the state is on the right track in planning for
pandemic flu, but there's always more to do.

      "If we are in a true pandemic, we're going to run out of
supplies of most everything in that worst-case scenario," he said.
"We won't have enough hospital beds, we won't have enough
ventilators, we won't have enough IV fluids, we won't have enough
medical people to take care of everyone."

      Stieger said Hull's departure wouldn't hurt the state's pandemic
preparations.

      In 2001, Hull stopped knee surgeries in Minnesota after three
men died from contaminated tissue. He helped prompt a national
recall of lead trinkets after a Minneapolis boy died of lead
poisoning earlier this year.

      He said his resignation gives the Health Department time to find
a new epidemiologist before the Legislature convenes in January. He
will leave his post by mid-December.

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Health

Politics and Government News

Martiga Lohn

Author

State epidemiologist Harry Hull announced
Wednesday that he is leaving the state Department of Health after
six years in that position.

State's top health investigator steps down

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