Lexington is seeing an increase of COVID-19 cases, with 264 lab-confirmed cases last week, compared to 38/week in early July and 106/week at the start of August. Note that home tests are not included in these case counts.

These number remain low compared to this time in 2022, when we reported 887 new COVID-19 cases per week.

Hospitalizations from COVID-19 remain low, with 9 new admissions reported this past week.

We await the new COVID-19 vaccine/booster for the fall. For anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, please don’t wait – get your first COVID-19 vaccine by same-day appointment every Monday-Thursday in our Public Health Clinic at 650 Newtown Pike. Call 859-288-2483 to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine!

It is also important to wear a well-fitted mask/face covering in public areas. Learn more about masks at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html.

You can also help slow the spread of COVID-19 by:

• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick, especially those with COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, muscle/body aches, loss of taste/smell, nausea, etc.);
• Covering coughs and sneezes;
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth;
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory illness spread by coughing and sneezing. It affects people of all ages but can be most serious in infants and those with chronic diseases.

The early symptoms are similar to a common cold: runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and coughing. After 1-2 weeks, the cough often gets worse, changing from a dry, hacking cough to bursts of uncontrollable, sometimes violent, coughing. During a coughing episode, it might be temporarily impossible to take a breath because of the intensity and repetition of the coughs. When finally able to breathe, the person might take a sudden gasp of air, which can cause a “whooping” sound. Vomiting and exhaustion can often follow a coughing spell. For more information about pertussis, call 859-899-5222.

The health department recommends preventive antibiotics for high-risk people who are exposed to pertussis. This includes people with a chronic illness or weakened immune system and those who live in households with the following: a family member with a chronic illness or weakened immune system, an infant or a pregnant woman.

Any children with symptoms of pertussis should stay home from school/daycare and visit their health care provider for evaluation, even if they have previously been vaccinated. If found to have probable or confirmed pertussis, they should remain out of school/daycare until completion of their antibiotics.

The vaccine against pertussis is part of the routine childhood vaccination series and is required for school entry. A booster dose, called Tdap, is required for children entering middle school. Anyone 11 years of age and older who has not received the Tdap vaccine should call their primary care provider or the health department at 859-288-2483 for information about vaccine availability. At the health department, these will be same-day appointments (no walk-ins), depending on eligibility.

The vaccine is effective, however immunity may decrease over time, making the booster important for older children and adults.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is seeing an increase in cases of Legionnaire’s disease, a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. 

The increase of use of outdoor pools and hot tubs during the summer, combined with recent rainfall and the potential for stagnant water, creates a need for reminders about Legionnaires’ disease.

If you operate or visit a public pool, spa or hot tub, please be mindful of this information:

General Disease Info:

• Legionella can cause Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, collectively known as legionellosis.
• Scientists named the bacteria after an outbreak in Philadelphia in 1976. During that outbreak, many people who went to an American Legion convention got sick with pneumonia (lung infection).
• Health departments reported nearly 10,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the United States in 2018. However, because Legionnaires’ disease is likely underdiagnosed, this number may underestimate the true incidence. A recent study estimated that the true number of Legionnaires’ disease cases may be 1.8–2.7 times higher than what is reported.
• About one in 10 people who gets sick from Legionnaires’ disease will die.
• People can get Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever when they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain Legionella.
• In general, people do not spread Legionnaires’ disease to other people. However, this may be possible under rare circumstances.
• Legionella occurs naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made building water systems.

People at risk

Certain groups of people are more likely to get Legionnaires’ disease:

• People 50 years of age or older
• Current or former smokers
• People with chronic lung disease
• People who have health problems or take medicines that lower their body’s ability to fight germs and sickness—such as people whose immune systems are weakened because of cancer, an organ transplant, or HIV

Places legionella can grow

• Showerheads are only one possible source of potable water exposure. Spending time near sink faucets and aspiration of drinking water or ice chips are possible routes of transmission, particularly among immunocompromised patients.
• Being in or near a hot tub or hydrotherapy tub while it is turned on is a possible exposure risk because of the ability to aerosolize water containing Legionella.
• Legionella  are unlikely to grow in typical swimming pools because water temperatures are usually too cold. However, you should sample pools if they are associated with a possible exposure or temperatures are within the permissive range (i.e., 77–113°F).
• Decorative fountains are a possible exposure source for Legionella, particularly in enclosed spaces.
• Submerged lighting and warm ambient temperatures in fountains can contribute to Legionella growth.

General Legionella Information

https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/fs-legionnaires.pdf

Legionella and Hot Tubs/Spas

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/swimming/resources/legionella-factsheet.pdf

As Fayette County students prepare to head back to school, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is making sure they have plenty of opportunities to get their required vaccinations.

To beat the back-to-school rush, the health department will be offering immunizations by same-day appointment at the Public Health Clinic at 650 Newtown Pike. To schedule an appointment or for more information about the immunizations, please call (859) 288-2483.

Participants must be 18 years or younger and be uninsured or underinsured. Medicaid is accepted. Immunization records must be brought to the appointment, and physicals will not be provided. A legal guardian must be present.

When children are not vaccinated, they are at increased risk and can spread diseases to others in their classrooms and community – including babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated, and people with weakened immune systems due to cancer or other health conditions.

Fayette County students who are new to the school district or are entering kindergarten are required to bring a Kentucky immunization certificate in order to enroll. Sixth-grade students and 16-year-olds are also required to have certain boosters and must bring an up-to-date immunization certificate. Please call the health department’s school health division at (859) 288-2314 for more information.

Happy Pride Month, Lexington! We are celebrating daily by putting our values on display for everyone: Caring, Accountability, Respect, Equity and Service!

Pride is more than a month at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

Our Community Health Equity and Education team is helping Lexington be well by working daily to achieve health equity in our areas of diabetes prevention and management, nutrition, HIV testing, wellness, child care health and safety, and tobacco, regardless their race, ethnicity, national origin, faith, age, sex, ability, class, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender presentation.

Learn more by calling 859-288-2446 or visiting www.lfchd.org/health-education.

Be sure to come see us a the 2023 Lexington Pride Festival! We’ll be providing information and some great giveaways, shown below!

One out of every six people get sick from a foodborne illness each year, and a few extra precautions can help keep your summer meals, cookouts and picnics illness-free this year.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department wants to increase awareness of food safety as people head into the summer picnic season. The following food safety guidelines can help you prevent the spread of food-borne illness from picnic meals shared with family and friends:

• Keep hands clean. Wash hands before eating or preparing food, after using the restroom, between handling raw and ready-to-eat items and after handling pets. Wash with hot soapy water and dry with paper towels.
• Clean and sanitize surfaces often. To sanitize surfaces, use a solution of regular household bleach and warm water. Add about 1 tablespoon of bleach to 2 gallons of water for the right concentration. Sanitize by first washing and rinsing the surface and then immerse, spray or swab with the bleach solution.
• Separate – don’t cross-contaminate. Separate raw foods from ready-to-eat foods. Use different cutting boards or wash, rinse and sanitize after contact with raw meat, poultry and seafood. Never use the same plate for holding raw meat and transporting cooked meat.
• Be sure to wash all produce thoroughly before use. Thoroughly clean the outer surface before slicing and keep work surface and utensils clean and sanitized. Handle all cut melons carefully, including cantaloupe and watermelon. Promptly refrigerate sliced melon at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
• Follow the cooking guidelines listed below for proper meat preparation. Cook food to the proper internal temperature. Always check the internal temperature of cooked foods with a metal-stemmed thermometer and cook another 15 seconds after the thermometer indicates it has reached the proper temperature.

 Ground beef: 155 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds

Poultry and stuffed meats: 165 degrees F for 15 seconds

Pork products: 145 degrees F for 15 seconds

Other products: 145 degrees F for 15 seconds

Reheating leftovers: 165 degrees F for 15 seconds

• Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Leftovers should be cooled and maintained within four hours at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or lower or frozen at zero degrees or lower. When you are unsure how long leftover food has been out of proper serving temperature, a good rule of thumb to follow is “when in doubt, throw it out!”

Did you know that when YOU quit smoking everyone around you will benefit too?

Quit smoking and you’ll cut the harmful effects of secondhand smoke (smoke that’s exhaled or comes from the burning end of cigarettes, cigars and pipes) for those around you.

Each year in the United States secondhand smoke:

• Causes about 7,300 deaths from lung cancer in adult nonsmokers

• Causes close to 34,000 deaths from heart disease in adult nonsmokers.

If you’re ready to quit, we’re here to help. LFCHD and the Bourbon County Health Department are partnering to offer “Freedom from Smoking” an online tobacco cessation class starting June 20 (8-week class). There are still spots available to join!

For more information, call 859-288-2377 or 859-987-1915.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s Board of Health has selected Dr. Kraig Humbaugh as the 2023 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero award winner. The award is given annually to individuals who have demonstrated their dedication to improving the health of Lexington residents. The winners are announced each April as part of National Public Health Week (April 3-9, 2023).

Dr. Humbaugh retired as Lexington’s Commissioner of Health in 2022 after serving almost 6 years in the position overseeing the health department’s mission of helping Lexington be well. His legacy continues to be felt in his role during the COVID-19 pandemic. “He worked seven days a week (and) was in frequent and direct contact with city government, the Kentucky Department for Public Health, local schools and universities, homeless and other shelters and a wide variety of community partners,” Dr. Humbaugh’s nomination stated. “Through his insightful and epidemiologically-based leadership, Dr. Humbaugh ensured LFCHD staff were able to provide the community with the latest guidance and disease information and support.”

The award also acknowledges “Dr. Humbaugh’s inspiring leadership and supreme dedication through the greatest public health emergency of our lives. He is the epitome of a public health hero.”

Dr. Humbaugh will be recognized at the April 10 Board of Health meeting at 5:45 p.m. at 650 Newtown Pike.

Previously known as the Public Health Hero Award, the Board of Health renamed the award in 2016 in memory of the late Dr. Rice C. Leach, Lexington’s former Commissioner of Health who spent more than 50 years as a public health physician. Leach died April 1, 2016.

“This is award is humbling and serves to emphasize the great team in place at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department,” Humbaugh said. “To receive an award named after Dr. Leach makes it even more special.”

The Kentucky Department for Public Health is sharing information about a confirmed measles case in a Jessamine County resident. If you or someone in your family is not up to date on their measles vaccine, make plans now to receive the vaccine. Call our Public Health Clinic (859-288-2483) after 8 a.m. Monday to schedule an appointment, if needed. Learn more about measles at https://www.cdc.gov/measles/index.html.

The measles vaccine is part of the required vaccinations for school-aged children. You can learn more here: School Vaccinations.

State health officials announced a confirmed case of measles identified in a Jessamine County resident. The resident, who is unvaccinated, attended a large spiritual revival on Asbury University’s campus on Feb. 18. No further information about the individual will be released due to privacy concerns.

“Anyone who attended the revival on Feb. 18 may have been exposed to measles,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH). “Attendees who are unvaccinated are encouraged to quarantine for 21 days and to seek immunization with the measles vaccine, which is safe and effective.”

All reported cases of measles are thoroughly investigated in Kentucky. KDPH is actively collaborating with Asbury University, Jessamine County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Three cases of measles have now been confirmed in Kentucky over the last three months. The first case was reported in December 2022, in Christian County, and it was linked to the outbreak in Ohio. The second case was reported in January in Powell County and there were no known exposures or connections to the outbreak in Ohio. These two previous cases were thoroughly investigated and neither presented a public health threat.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that is spread through the air. Early symptoms of measles are typical of many upper respiratory illnesses – fever, cough, conjunctivitis and runny nose – and proceed to the characteristic rash three to five days after symptoms begin.

“If you may have been exposed at Asbury University’s campus and develop any symptoms, whether previously vaccinated or unvaccinated, please isolate yourself from others and call your medical provider, urgent care, or emergency department to seek testing,” said Dr. Stack. “Please do not arrive at a health care facility without advance notice so that others will not be exposed.”

In the United States, the first dose of measles vaccine is routinely administered in combination with mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) to children at age 12 months through 15 months. A second MMR dose is routinely administered at age 4 through 6 years. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus.

KDPH is working closely with local health departments in Kentucky to promote MMR vaccination in communities that have low vaccine uptake. Recent data released from CDC indicates that MMR vaccine coverage among Kentucky kindergarteners is among the lowest in the nation and much lower than the Health People 2030 target of 95%

Flu shots are available for free all season by same-day appointment Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at LFCHD’s Public Health Clinic, 650 Newtown Pike. Please call 859-288-2483 to make an appointment; walk-ins will not be accepted in the Public Health Clinic.

“An annual flu shot is the best way to fight the flu each fall and winter,” LFCHD spokesperson Kevin Hall said. “The flu shot remains important this year as we remain in the COVID-19 pandemic. It can help reduce the overall impact on respiratory illnesses on the population, which will lessen the burden on our healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to helping prevent you from getting sick with flu, a flu shot can reduce the severity of your illness if you do get flu and reduce your risk of a flu-associated hospitalization.

The seasonal flu shot is recommended for all people ages 6 months and older and is especially important for people at the highest risk of serious complications from the flu: infants and young children, pregnant women, anyone with underlying medical conditions and adults 50 and older.