Seasonal illness trends are moving lower across Kansas, but the Department of Health and Environment and local providers are still encouraging people to get vaccinated as the winter illness season continues.
KDHE says flu is responsible for 4 percent of all emergency department visits statewide for the week ending Jan. 10, down from a seasonal peak of 6.4 percent for the week ending Dec. 27. That doesn’t sound impressive, but the flu trend had combined with COVID-19 and RSV to account for over 20 percent of all emergency room visits in late December. The combined percentage for the three illnesses is now just over 17 percent across Kansas.
Newman Regional Health Infection Prevention Nurse Jamie Granado says some data is pending, specifically on the number of flu-related visits, but less than 10 patients have been admitted to the hospital emergency room since late December. Granado says people can still get vaccinated and get some benefits.
Granado says hand hygiene is an effective way to minimize the spread, along with other steps.
Temporary visit restrictions continue at Newman Regional Health’s newborn inpatient areas, likely for the rest of the illness season through at least March. Healthy visitors need to clean their hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitizer, both before and after patient visits. Patients coming to Newman Regional Health and have flu symptoms — fever, coughing and/or sneezing, sore throat, runny nose or stuffy nose — are asked to wear masks. Siblings of newborns can get permission to visit once they have been screened for symptoms of a fever or cold and then cleared.
