The Commonwealth is seeing some of the highest rates of viral infections in the country with the flu, COVID, RSV, RSV and the highly contagious norovirus on the rise.

Doctors at UK Health Care Hospital offer ways to avoid infection.

More about that in today's medical news.

Kentucky has been hard hit for a little while, and I think part of it is just different waves of different viruses that have come.

And we've seen a lot more flu in the last several weeks, as well as other respiratory viruses in the common cold type viruses that we don't have, we don't test for routinely or as commonly as we test for flu, RSV and COVID.

When somebody presents to one of our emergency departments or clinics, I think it's been kind of a perfect storm of different waves hitting Kentucky that have kept the levels high as opposed to other states.

We've been seeing an uptick in GI viruses, stomach viruses across the nation.

This winter.

We've seen a pretty significant uptick in one particular virus called norovirus, which has made this season even worse from both a restaurant perspective that a lot of people are getting GI illness.

So that's kind of where we are.

We in infection control at the University of Kentucky.

We track all of these infections for the ones that we test for, specifically COVID flu with RSV and in adults, we have seen a pretty consistent and significant rise, especially in flu cases and even in RSV in adults.

COVID has remained on the higher end in the winter season, which we expected.

We're seeing somewhere between 10 to 20 patients each day in the children's hospital need admission.

That's a significant amount when they stay for a few days and then they get better normally and get discharged.

So we're seeing high volumes.

We are encouraging families to help us help prevent these infections.

Good handwashing, trying to stay home, keep your kids home when they're sick and have a fever and really vaccinations.

It's the best way that we can prevent these infections.

We do luckily have another tool in our toolbox, which is an RSV antibody, kind of boost the immune system of brand new newborns and infants in their first season of RSV.

It helps protect them really, that full first year.

We also have a vaccination for pregnant patients so patients can go to their OB and ask for protection in this way so that their brand new infant after delivery is protected.

Prevention is the key, if we can really emphasize anything.

Good handwashing.

Staying at home when you're sick and vaccinations, it is our best tool to help prevent infections.

I think in pediatrics particularly, this is a key for us.

So go get good information.

Listen to your your physicians and have a good interchange.

I know there's a lot of information out there that's confusing.

So please go in and talk to your pediatricians or your primary care doctors about what is real and what is factual.

We we can prevent lots of these infections for children.

According to doctors.

Parents and guardians should monitor the breathing of any child that has contracted RSV.