This summer, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department plans to control mosquito populations in the community by bringing increased focus to eliminating standing water and preventing mosquito larvae from hatching. This includes free mosquito larvicide, available by visiting the Environmental Health office on the second floor of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, 650 Newtown Pike, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Supplies are limited. Educational materials will be provided.

The department will also use mosquito trapping to identify areas where spraying for adult mosquitos would be most useful. The health department has surveyed Lexington neighborhoods to identify and treat large areas of standing water that can serve as prime locations for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Elimination of standing water is the ultimate goal, but in places where puddles exist, the water can be treated to kill mosquito larvae with a chemical called a larvicide.

“We are increasing activities to kill mosquito larvae in areas where standing water cannot be drained,” said Luke Mathis, Environmental Health and Preparedness team leader at LFCHD.  “Targeting immature mosquitoes is a more effective control strategy as it stops mosquitoes from developing into adults that can feed on humans and transmit mosquito-borne diseases like Zika and West Nile.”

The health department will no longer conduct routine mosquito spraying for adult mosquitoes throughout the city on a regular cycle. Instead, mosquito traps will be placed in potential problem areas. If a certain threshold of mosquito activity is reached, the department will conduct targeted spraying in the appropriate areas. Those areas will be announced via the health department’s website, www.lfchd.org, and social media pages.

For spraying, the health department uses Duet, an EPA-approved agent that features a component that stimulates resting mosquitoes in trees and foliage, causing them to fly into the air and come into contact with the spray’s mosquito-killing agent, sumithrin. Duet has been rigorously tested for human and animal safety and is registered for outdoor residential and recreational areas.

Lexington residents can also take steps at home to fight mosquitoes:

● Mosquito-proof your home and yard. Fix or install window and door screens. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Cover or eliminate empty containers with standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items such as tires, buckets, barrels and cans. Refresh the water in your pet’s water dishes and birdbaths at least every five to seven days.

● Be aware of peak mosquito activity times. The twilight hours around dusk and dawn are times of peak mosquito activity. Use insect repellent when outdoors especially during peak activity times, including early morning hours. Look for EPA-labeled repellents containing active ingredients, such as DEET, Picaridin (KBR3023) or oil of lemon eucalyptus (p-menthane 3,8-diol). Apply repellent according to label instructions. When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks outdoors. Mosquitoes can bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent helps prevent bites.

“The battle against mosquitoes starts at every residence in Fayette County,” Mathis said. “By eliminating standing water, even something as small a capful of rain in your yard, you can remove areas for mosquitoes to lay eggs. It’s important for people to walk around their homes to see what they can do to help curb the mosquito population.”

To report a standing water problem in your neighborhood, please call the health department’s Environmental Health section at (859) 231-9791.

Booster doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are now available for everyone ages 5-11 years! The CDC recommends that ages 5-11 receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial vaccination series. Since the pandemic began, more than 4.8 million children ages 5-11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across the U.S., 15,000 have been hospitalized and, tragically, over 180 have died. As cases increase across the country, a booster dose will safely help restore and enhance protection against severe disease.

The CDC is also strengthening its recommendation that those 12 and older who are immunocompromised and those 50 and older should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first. Over the past month, the U.S. has seen steady increases in cases, with a steep and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans. While older Americans have the highest coverage of any age group of first booster doses, most older Americans received their last dose (either their primary series or their first booster dose) many months ago, leaving many who are vulnerable without the protection they may need to prevent severe disease, hospitalization and death.

Whether it’s your first dose in the series, or one of the recommended boosters, now is the time to get one! COVID-19 vaccines, including first and second doses and all appropriate boosters, are available for FREE by same-day appointment every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday in our Public Health Clinic by calling 859-288-2483.

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

• Wearing a well-fitted mask/face-covering in crowded public areas.
• 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;
• Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

A national formula shortage continues to affect families across the country. Our Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program has been working through this issue daily since a major formula recall in February and continues to provide services for about 1,400 infants in our program. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has this fact sheet, including resources, for helping families find formula during this shortage: https://www.hhs.gov/formula/index.html.

For families not part of our WIC program, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service program advises that only medical professionals are qualified to provide advice on acceptable alternatives to formulas that may currently be difficult to find. Please be sure to talk to your child’s pediatrician about safe and appropriate feeding alternatives for your child, if needed. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers these tips: https://healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/Are-there-shortages-of-infant-formula-due-to-COVID-19.aspx.

The USDA also offers some steps you can take to ensure the safety of your infant’s formula:

• Learn more about choosing an infant formula that’s safe for your baby.
• Do not feed your baby cow’s milk or other non-dairy milks until 1 year old, unless you’ve talked to your child’s pediatrician.
• Don’t make homemade infant formula or water down formula; there are serious health and safety concerns.
• Do not buy formula online that comes from outside the U.S., which could be counterfeit, have a fake label or a wrong use-by date.
• Prepare and store infant formula according to the manufacturer’s instructions; do not water down formula.
• Properly clean, sanitize and store infant feeding items.
• Always wash your hands when handling formula and feeding items.
• Talk to your pediatrician about introducing complementary foods by 6 months (no earlier than 4 months). 

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!”

(En español) As of March 21, 2022, Lexington-Fayette County Health Department (LFCHD) will no longer be contacting each individual person who receives a positive test result for the COVID-19 infection. 

This change in our practice was made after careful analysis of data and public health guidance. Public health experts agree that intensive universal case investigation and contact tracing are no longer optimal at this phase of the pandemic. LFCHD will focus on targeting investigations in high-risk settings, congregate settings and those serving vulnerable populations. 

As part of our adjustments, we are encouraging businesses to seek alternatives to requiring an isolation or quarantine order from LFCHD as part of an employee’s sick leave documentation regarding COVID-19. Adjustments may include accepting a copy of a positive test result for an employee and restricting those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms from working on site. LFCHD continues to encourage those who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 to isolate and wear a mask.

This change in our practice will mean the following for you:

• LFCHD will no longer issue isolation and quarantine orders or releases for return to work and or school. If you need proof of your positive test result as a requirement for your employer or school setting, you may obtain a copy of your test result from the provider that ordered the test or from the laboratory that performed the test. You may be asked to complete a medical record request in order to receive a copy of your results. 
• If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please follow the guidance provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Please notify your close contacts so they may begin to quarantine if indicated. Please refer to guidance provided by the CDC as to what is classified as a close contact. 
• If you have provided an email address to the provider that ordered the COVID-19 test or to the laboratory itself, and that email address is provided to the health department, you will receive an email survey.
• If you would like to complete a survey, please email covidinterview@lfchd.org. Please provide a copy of your positive COVID-19 test result. If you obtained a positive COVID-19 test result from a home-performed test, LFCHD cannot accept that test result.
• For questions or specific concerns about COVID-19, you may still call our COVID-19 call center at 859-899-2222 or visit our website for additional resources and guidance at www.lfchd.org.
• LFCHD continues to offer same-day appointments for free COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters (Moderna or Pfizer) in our Public Health Clinic on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Please call our Public Health Clinic at 859-288-2483 to schedule a same-day appointment.
• If you are an employer experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak at your business and need assistance, please email us at covidexposure@lfchd.org.

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Today marks the second anniversary of Lexington’s first COVID-19 case.

Through the end of the first two years, the city has had 91,474 COVID-19 cases and 564 deaths:

·       March 8, 2020-March 7, 2021: 32,600 cases, 297 deaths

·       March 8, 2021-March 7, 2022: 58,874 cases, 267 deaths

The CDC has a new tool to measure community levels of COVID-19 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html), and Fayette County is currently listed as high. This means the CDC recommends:

• Wearing a mask indoors in public
• Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
• Getting tested if you have symptoms

Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness.

If you are not yet vaccinated, or haven’t completed the series including the booster dose, we have the COVID-19 vaccines available by same-day appointment every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday by calling 859-288-2483.

Thank you, Lexington, for doing your part during this worldwide pandemic!

#LexingtonKy #TeamKentucky #TogetherKy #PublicHealth #GetVaxxedYall

Because of the national Similac formula recall (www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-warns-consumers-not-use-certain-powdered-infant-formula-produced-abbott-nutritions-facility), our Public Health Clinic is receiving hundreds of calls per day. Please be patient as we continue to work to receive all the calls for our clinic services. Thank you in advance, Lexington!

The FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum, or EleCare powdered infant formulas if:

• the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37; and
• the code on the container contains K8, SH or Z2; and
• the expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later.

Learn more, including how to check your lot number, at www.similacrecall.com/us/en/home.html. You can also call 1-800-986-8540 for more information. Lexington WIC participants can also call 859-288-2483.

Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. If you live in Fayette County, you can get a FREE radon test kit through our Environmental Health division. Tests can only be picked up in person at the health department (650 Newtown Pike) 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. You must provide a Fayette County address to get a kit.

If you have questions, please call 859-231-9791. Learn more at https://www.lfchd.org/radon-awareness/.

Lexington officially has a new Commissioner of Health.

Dr. Joel McCullough joined the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on Feb. 14, with a Valentine’s Day full of meetings, greeting his team and planning how to continue the department’s mission of helping Lexington be well.

Dr. McCullough has extensive history in public health, including time as a medical epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as medical director of environmental health for the Chicago Department of Public Health. He describes himself as “someone who focuses on the health and well-being of people and the communities that I serve.”

“Lexington will continue with strong public health leadership with Dr. McCullough joining us as the next Commissioner of Health,” said Michael Friesen, chair of the Lexington-Fayette County Board of Health. “We are excited about the next steps for public health in central Kentucky.”

Dr. McCullough earned an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a medical degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington.

Dr. McCullough replaces Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, who had served as commissioner of health since June 2016.

For additional information on the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, follow us on social media: Facebook.com/LFCHD, Twitter.com/LFCHD and Instagram.com/lexpublichealth.