Health News
Amid a rash of whooping-cough cases, Northern Kentucky health officials will immunize child-care workers against the disease. The effort is to help stop the infection, also known as pertussis, from spreading, Peggy O'Farrell of The Kentucky Enquirer reports.
About three-fourths of children nationwide are immunized against the disease, which requires receiving four shots between the ages of 8 weeks and 15 to 18 months. Kentucky does not require a whooping cough booster, but it does require one against tetanus and diphtheria for 11- and 12-year-olds. Health-care providers often use a vaccine that includes whooping cough. Though pertussis is often associated with children, health officials say adults likely need a whooping-cough booster as well.
- Summer Is A Good Time To Make Sure Your Teenagers Or Preteens Get Their Four Recommended Vaccinations
Vaccines aren't just for babies. Preteens and teens also fall into an age group that has both required immunizations for school and recommended vaccines that can save their lives. Summer is a great time to take care of getting caught up on these vaccinations,...
- Kentucky Has A Statewide Outbreak Of Whooping Cough, Perhaps Because The Child-immunization Rate Is Declining
Kentucky is having a statewide outbreak of pertussis, also called whooping cough, Jennifer Wohlleb reports for the Kentucky School Advocate, the magazine of the Kentucky School Boards Association. This comes at a time when the immunization rate...
- Rural States With Declining Immunization Rates Have Increasing Incidence Of Whooping Cough
In the state that once had the highest immunization rate, Vermont's medical community is not so proud of anymore. Fewer people are vaccinating their children in the nation?s most rural state, reports Dr. Wendy Mahoney, a private practioner in the...
- State Health Department Says 381 Cases Of Whooping Cough Puts Disease At Epidemic Levels
The state Department of Public Health says whooping cough is now at epidemic levels. Department officials told Amanda Stephenson of WTVQ-TV in Lexington that 381 cases of the virus have been confirmed so far in 2012. The Lexington-Fayette...
- Back At School And Already Got The Sniffles Or Other Ailment? Here's A Pediatrician's Advice To Battle Back-to-school Bugs
With school back in session, it probably won't be long before children are coming home with sniffles and sore throats. The average child gets six or more infections each year, reports Dr. Jacqueline Kaari, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at...
Health News
Health officials to immunize child-care workers for whooping cough, which is making a comeback
Amid a rash of whooping-cough cases, Northern Kentucky health officials will immunize child-care workers against the disease. The effort is to help stop the infection, also known as pertussis, from spreading, Peggy O'Farrell of The Kentucky Enquirer reports.
Northern Kentucky had 127 recorded cases of pertussis in 2010, way up from 38 in 2009, said Joyce Rice, an epidemiologist with the Northern Kentucky Health Department. Statewide in 2007, there were 47 cases; last year, there were 250.
About three-fourths of children nationwide are immunized against the disease, which requires receiving four shots between the ages of 8 weeks and 15 to 18 months. Kentucky does not require a whooping cough booster, but it does require one against tetanus and diphtheria for 11- and 12-year-olds. Health-care providers often use a vaccine that includes whooping cough. Though pertussis is often associated with children, health officials say adults likely need a whooping-cough booster as well.
Pertussis is characterized by violent, distinctive coughing that can lead to vomiting or a short loss of consciousness. (Read more)
- Summer Is A Good Time To Make Sure Your Teenagers Or Preteens Get Their Four Recommended Vaccinations
Vaccines aren't just for babies. Preteens and teens also fall into an age group that has both required immunizations for school and recommended vaccines that can save their lives. Summer is a great time to take care of getting caught up on these vaccinations,...
- Kentucky Has A Statewide Outbreak Of Whooping Cough, Perhaps Because The Child-immunization Rate Is Declining
Kentucky is having a statewide outbreak of pertussis, also called whooping cough, Jennifer Wohlleb reports for the Kentucky School Advocate, the magazine of the Kentucky School Boards Association. This comes at a time when the immunization rate...
- Rural States With Declining Immunization Rates Have Increasing Incidence Of Whooping Cough
In the state that once had the highest immunization rate, Vermont's medical community is not so proud of anymore. Fewer people are vaccinating their children in the nation?s most rural state, reports Dr. Wendy Mahoney, a private practioner in the...
- State Health Department Says 381 Cases Of Whooping Cough Puts Disease At Epidemic Levels
The state Department of Public Health says whooping cough is now at epidemic levels. Department officials told Amanda Stephenson of WTVQ-TV in Lexington that 381 cases of the virus have been confirmed so far in 2012. The Lexington-Fayette...
- Back At School And Already Got The Sniffles Or Other Ailment? Here's A Pediatrician's Advice To Battle Back-to-school Bugs
With school back in session, it probably won't be long before children are coming home with sniffles and sore throats. The average child gets six or more infections each year, reports Dr. Jacqueline Kaari, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at...