Common childhood respiratory illnesses such as influenza (flu), COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continue to pose significant health risks in children. Kristina K. Bryant, M.D., epidemiologist and pediatric infectious diseases physician with Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, outlines strategies to help prevent the most common respiratory viruses and…
The following guidance to health care providers has been issued by Norton Healthcare’s infection prevention and employee health department. Current situation in Kentucky On Jan. 16, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory to encourage rapid subtyping for patients hospitalized with influenza A. The Kentucky Department for Public Health…
The following measles guidance for providers has been issued by Norton Healthcare’s department of infection prevention and employee health. When should children receive MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine? Do we need to vaccinate children early because of measles cases in the United States? All children are recommended to get two doses of the MMR vaccine, starting with…
Daniel B. Blatt, M.D., Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, presented “Hot Topics in Global Health” at the 2024 “Just for Kids” symposium. The twenty-first century has seen a wave of severe infectious disease outbreaks, including the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. These outbreaks have an enormous impact on morbidity, mortality and the livelihoods of people around the…
Young people ages 15 to 24 account for at least half of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, despite only making up around 25% of the population, with higher numbers of infections reported among adolescents since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates of syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV are increasing among…
Norton Children’s Research Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, is involved in a study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (authorized as Paxlovid in older children and adults) in symptomatic pediatric outpatients with COVID-19 who are at risk of progression to severe illness. All participants will receive the study medication,…
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) flu vaccine recommendations for the 2022-23 season will mirror the previous season, and pediatricians should begin to plan their flu immunization campaigns. “Kids experience really substantial morbidity from flu, including hospitalization and death,” said Kristina K. Bryant, M.D., physician with Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School…
The patient A young adolescent male who participates in competitive football and basketball and with history of recent COVID-19 infection was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at Norton Children’s Hospital. The initial workup was consistent with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and clinical presentation was consistent with severe MIS-C with respiratory, liver…
Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, has opened a new clinic that will serve the pediatric community by addressing a wide variety of vaccination needs, including special immunization circumstances, catch-up, evaluation for contraindications and precautions, and vaccine hesitancy. The referral-based clinic will have a Vaccines for Children (VFC) designation. VFC…
Even though children are more likely to be spared serious illness from COVID-19, the so-called long COVID-19 in children has brought symptoms like headache and fatigue lasting a month or more. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that long COVID-19 appears to be less common in children and adolescents than adults….
Victoria A. Statler, M.D., M.S., offers specialized care in a relatively new field: pediatric transplant infectious diseases. Dr. Statler, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, educates children undergoing solid organ and stem cell transplants and their caregivers on ways to avoid potentially dangerous infections….
Since October 2020, Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, has offered a clinic for children who continue to feel unwell long after they recover from acute COVID-19. As the pandemic persists, we are learning more about children with long-term post-COVID-19 symptoms. These may be specific and localized, such as headaches,…