06Feb 2025 by Chelsea Song No Comments
Respiratory Season and Antibiotics

Respiratory Season and Antibiotics

Homepage, News Articles
Respiratory illness season is in full swing and many states are seeing high levels of influenza, COVID-19, and RSV. The graph below shows the rates of hospitalizations associated with viral respiratory illnesses in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/resp-net/dashboard/index.html While antibiotics are not effective for treating viral illnesses, they are nonetheless still prescribed in many cases. The use of antibiotics and other infection-fighting medications when not indicated have increased the rate of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. In addition to the threat of antibiotic resistance, the use of antimicrobials increases costs and puts patients at risk of serious side effects. Antibiotics are used with the intention of killing a particular bacteria. The categories of prescribing include prophylactic, empiric, and therapeutic. Prophylactic antibiotics are used to prevent an infection. These are commonly used in patients who…
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31May 2024 by Chelsea Song
Simple Infection Prevention Steps for a Safe Summer

Simple Infection Prevention Steps for a Safe Summer

Latest Articles from KyIP, News Articles
With summer vacations in full swing, taking precautionary infection prevention measures will prevent derailment of the summer fun. Whether your vacation keeps you close to home or takes you to an international destination, hand hygiene remains the cornerstone of infection prevention. The following additional precautions can keep help keep you happy and healthy this summer! Preventing Foodborne Illnesses: Travelers’ diarrhea, generally contracted from contaminated food or water and transmitted via the fecal oral route, is the most common travel-related illness with estimates ranging from 30-70% of travelers impacted (CDC, 2023). Be sure to discuss travel plans ahead of time with your provider as they may want to provide oral rehydration salts or medications to have on hand in case they are needed. Certain measures can help reduce the risk, however…
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18Sep 2023 by Chelsea Song
CDC Recommends an Updated COVID-19 Vaccine for Everyone Ages 6 Months and Older

CDC Recommends an Updated COVID-19 Vaccine for Everyone Ages 6 Months and Older

News Articles
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted in favor of recommending the updated COVID-19 vaccine. This updated vaccine will boost waning immunity and cover the Omnicron variant, including the XBB lineage that is currently circulating. The vaccine, available via Pfizer and Moderna are now available. To locate a convenient vaccination site near you, visit vaccine.gov or talk to your health care provider.  The US is currently seeing an uptick in the number of COVID cases, and cases in Kentucky have tripled over the past month. Currently, about 2.5% of all ER visits in Kentucky are due to COVID-19. The updated COVID-19 vaccine will help prevent severe illness, hospitalizations, and the extended illness known as long COVID. The updated COVID-19 vaccine can be obtained at the same time as…
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07Sep 2023 by Lauren Davis
Safe Injection Practice this Flu Season

Safe Injection Practice this Flu Season

News Articles
Influenza (flu) season is quickly approaching and according to the CDC the yearly flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against the flu. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the Influenza vaccine for all persons over six months of age, who do not have contraindications. There are close to 3.5 million adults in the state of Kentucky. If all of these individuals were eligible for the flu vaccine that could be up to 3.5 million influenza vaccine injections. It is critical that safe injection practices are followed during each patient encounter to ensure patient and staff safety. Every year there are outbreaks associated with unsafe injection practices and since 2001 over 150,000 patients have been involved in outbreak notification and testing. The CDC One…
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07Sep 2023 by Chelsea Song
Take the Learning Needs Assessment

Take the Learning Needs Assessment

News Articles
Calling all Healthcare Workers: Take the Infection Prevention Learning Needs Assessment and let your voice be heard! KyIP Training Center is asking for your help in collecting information about the knowledge and educational needs regarding basic infection prevention.  The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to the gaps between infection control knowledge and practice within healthcare settings. This survey will help KyIP Training Center identify those gaps that occur in training or education. As an individual working in healthcare in the state of Kentucky, your insight is crucial. The results from the survey will provide insight into the educational needs of those working in healthcare regarding basic infection prevention. KyIP Training Center will use responses to guide future education and training plans so that we can continue to provide relevant and specific…
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