Author: wyandottedaily

Health officials today said that a COVID-19 patient has been admitted at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, and they urged residents not to panic but to take steps to be responsible for themselves. “To stay safe, the best thing we can do is what we do ourselves,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System. And that included fairly simple things, he said: Wash your hands really well, cough into your elbow, clean off surfaces, and if you are ill, stay home. Face masks are not recommended unless the patient…

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is confirming its first presumptive-positive case of COVID-19 in Kansas, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The case is in Johnson County, according to state officials. The possible case was identified today with testing sent to KDHE’s Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories (KHEL). KHEL, which is approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to perform COVID-19 testing, found presumptive-positive results this afternoon. These results will be verified by the CDC lab but will be treated as positive unless determined otherwise. “Kansas has been prepared for positive cases…

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is confirming three presumptive-positive cases of COVID-19 in Kansas. The possible cases were identified with testing sent to KDHE’s Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories (KHEL). KHEL, which is approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to perform COVID-19 testing, found presumptive-positive results. These results will be verified by the CDC lab but will be treated as a positive unless determined otherwise. The cases are in Johnson County and involve three people who attended the same conference in Florida. It is believed they contracted COVID-19 in Florida, according to KDHE.…

Health officials today said that a COVID-19 patient has been admitted at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, and they urged residents not to panic but to take steps to be responsible for themselves. “To stay safe, the best thing we can do is what we do ourselves,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System. And that included fairly simple things, he said: Wash your hands really well, cough into your elbow, clean off surfaces, and if you are ill, stay home. Face masks are not recommended unless the patient…

by Murrel Bland More than 100 years ago, in the fall of 1918, Kansas and Wyandotte County, along with the rest of the world, faced a severe challenge because of the Spanish Influenza. Front page stories in The Kansas City Kansan, told of the pandemic with such headlines as “ALL STATE CLOSED,” “FLU SPREADS FAST” and “A FLU DEATH HERE.” The present coronavirus pandemic has caused a comparison to the influenza illness in 1918. Many historians who have studied that illness agree that it had its origin in hog pens in Haskell County near Dodge City, Kansas, in early 1918.…

A discussion was held Thursday morning on how to improve health in Wyandotte County. The discussion was at Mercy and Truth Medical Mission, 721 N. 31st St., Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) by Mary Rupert What’s needed to improve health in Wyandotte County? That was the topic on Thursday morning in an informal “Muffins with the Mayor” discussion at the Mercy and Truth Medical Mission, 721 N. 31st St., Kansas City, Kansas. Mercy and Truth is one of several safety net clinics in Wyandotte County. Some of their clients are uninsured. Participants in the discussion touched on…

by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service Topeka — Kansas schools will require two new vaccines come August, including one against a virus that’s hospitalized 13,000 people and killed 200 across the country since 2016. The new rules, which apply to public and private schools, will be phased in over the next several years. But come August, schools will check that: • Kindergartners and first-graders have gotten hepatitis A vaccine. • Seventh-graders have had their first dose of a MenACWY, a vaccine against four types of meningococcal bacteria. • 11th-graders get a dose of MenACWY, too (even students who received a…

A robot at KU’s School of Medicine takes the vapor from e-cigarettes to test it on human cells from lung donors. (Photo by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service) by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service Many people figure vaping spares their health because it lets them inhale nicotine in aerosols instead of sucking in smoke from burning cigarettes. New research from the University of Kansas casts doubt on that, raising the specter that vaping nicotine may cause some of the same respiratory problems that plague and even kill smokers today. “Vaping is just considered not harmful, even though there are no…

A discussion was held Thursday morning on how to improve health in Wyandotte County. The discussion was at Mercy and Truth Medical Mission, 721 N. 31st St., Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert) by Mary Rupert What’s needed to improve health in Wyandotte County? That was the topic on Thursday morning in an informal “Muffins with the Mayor” discussion at the Mercy and Truth Medical Mission, 721 N. 31st St., Kansas City, Kansas. Mercy and Truth is one of several safety net clinics in Wyandotte County. Some of their clients are uninsured. Participants in the discussion touched on…

by Dan Margolies and Elle Moxley, Kansas News Service The Olathe School District on Friday voted to authorize a lawsuit against the nation’s leading maker of electronic cigarettes, saying the widespread use by students of vaping devices is endangering their health and disrupting their education. In a news release issued after it approved the suit, the district said that it “understands the threat to student health and is taking action against the epidemic.” “The top priority of the Olathe Public Schools is the safety and well-being of its students and staff,” the release states. “Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices pose…