Category: Latest Articles from KyIP

Children are gearing up for back to school, and some have already returned. When children miss school, they miss valuable opportunities for learning, social development, and emotional development. Let’s plan for a healthy school year. This starts with sufficient sleep, nutritious meals, and adequate physical activity to promote wellbeing. Even following those steps, children can become ill with any of the numerous common childhood illness. With students, families, and school staff following proper precautions, this will minimize disruptions from illnesses in the ever-important educational environment. For illnesses to spread, there needs to be a source, transmission, and a host. Transmission can be through contact with contaminated surfaces (e.g. desktops, doorknobs), sprays and splashes (e.g. from sneezing or coughing), inhalation from aerosolized particles, and vectors (e.g. mosquitos, ticks). The below measures…

Cancer—a heavy, scary, daunting diagnosis. Millions of Americans are affected by cancer every year, either themselves or someone they know. Technology is advancing at the speed of light, and for years now we have had access to a vaccine that prevents Human Papillomavirus (HPV), indirectly preventing many types of cancer, especially cervical cancer. It might sound strange to call the HPV vaccine an anti-cancer shot. However, when it prevents over 90% of HPV related cancers, it’s hard to explain it any other way. National Women's Health Week (May 12th-18th) is a pivotal time to spotlight the significance of the HPV vaccine in safeguarding women's health. By emphasizing the HPV vaccine in our newsletter during this month, we underscore the critical role it plays in preventing cervical cancer and promoting overall…

Per the Kentucky Respiratory Disease Dashboard, there is a continuous increase in hospitalizations and Emergency Department visits related to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV (Workbook: DPH RSP 001 Respiratory Diseases (ky.gov)). A recent Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory from the CDC highlights alarmingly low vaccination rates for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. The coverage for the seasonal 2023-2024 influenza vaccine has notably decreased across all age groups compared to the previous season, with only 43.8% of individuals aged 18 and above and 43.9% of children aged 6 months to 17 years having received the flu vaccine, as reported on the CDC weekly flu vaccination dashboard as of December 23, 2023. The statistics for COVID-19 vaccination are even more concerning with only 7.7% of children aged 6 months to 17 years and 18.2%…

It’s that time of year again when respiratory illnesses show up around the community in higher numbers and provider’s offices, clinics, and emergency rooms are filling up with people seeking treatment. So, the question is do they need antibiotics or supportive care?The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) lists respiratory infections as colds/runny nose, sore throat, excluding group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (strep throat), COVID-19, influenza, bronchitis or a chest cold, middle ear infections, sinus infections, and pertussis, epiglottitis and laryngitis (1,2). So when might you need to prescribe an antibiotic? Antibiotics would be appropriate for patients who test positive for pertussis, strep throat, or have epiglottitis. However, for other respiratory infections, the need for an antibiotics is based on presentation, duration of…