Russell County Health Department in Kansas

08/25/2026

🚐💙 Our outreach team is on the move Wednesday, 8/26!

We’re hitting the road with supplies to support our neighbors in need across northern Kansas.

📍 This week’s stops: Chapman, Russell, Enterprise, Belleville, Plainville

All are welcome! Families who meet income guidelines can receive:
🥫 Monthly food boxes
🧼 Hygiene kits (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, deodorant, laundry detergent)
🍼 Diapers, wipes, and more

👉 Full schedule and info at: https://buff.ly/WYU89bv

We can’t wait to see you there!

08/25/2026

Talk to your doctor about immunizations, what's right for your body and what will help protect you and those you care about. Age, travel plans and season can affect the immunizations you may need.

Find your recommended vaccinations: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2319/For-Patients

08/21/2026

STAY TICK AWARE
🏕️ Ticks are common in Kansas, and a natural part of the environment. If you spend time outdoors you will encounter ticks.
🤒Ticks can cause diseases such as Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Tularemia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Heartland virus, Bourbon virus, alpha-gal syndrome and Lyme disease.
🚫Prevent tick bites:
🚨DRESS🚨
- Wear light-colored long shirts and pants.
- Treat clothing with permethrin before spending extended periods outdoors.
🚨DEFEND🚨
- Use EPA-registered insect repellants.
- Avoid brushy areas and stay in the middle of trails.
- Shower when returning indoors.
- Heat clothes in dryer at high heat for 10 minutes.
- Use vet recommended tick preventatives for pets. NEVER use insect repellents on animals.
- 🏡Keep your yard tick free by keeping grass and bushes trimmed, removing fallen leaves, stacking wood in dry areas, keeping bins tightly lidded, having a 3-foot wide wood chip or gravel barrier between your lawn and wooded areas, keeping wildlife out and positioning recreational areas away from yard edges.
🚨DETECT🚨
- Check yourself, children and pets from ticks.
- REMOVE any ticks quickly and safely: Grasp the tick close to the skin, pull upwards evenly without twisting. Wash hands and the bite site. Don't use nail polish, petroleum jelly, essential oils, or heat.
🩺Call your DOCTOR if you develop a fever, rash, or flu-like illness within 30 days after tick exposure. Early treatment can prevent severe illness.

🔗Learn about ticks in Kansas: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2241/Ticks

🔗Learn about tickborne diseases: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/57611/Tickborne-Diseases-Infographic-PDF

08/20/2026

Stay Connected With Your Local Health Department 🩺💙

Have you followed the Russell County Health Department yet?

We’re here to help keep Russell County healthy, informed, and prepared! From children’s and adult immunizations to family planning, WIC, health education, emergency preparedness, disease prevention, and community health events, we provide services and information for people of all ages.

By following our page, you’ll be among the first to see:

📢 Important local health updates
💉 Immunization information and clinic reminders
🦠 Disease prevention and health tips
🌡️ Seasonal safety information
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family health resources
🚨 Emergency preparedness information
📅 Community events and programs
❤️ Helpful health information for you and your family

Your health. Your family. Your community.
Let us help you stay informed!

👉 Follow the Russell County Health Department page and share our page with your family and friends! Every new follower helps us reach more people in our community.

Russell County Health Department
📍 Serving Russell County, Kansas
📞 785-483-6433

Send a message to learn more

08/19/2026

School is starting, and hopefully cooler temperatures are just around the corner! 🍂 As we head into the “Ber” months, spooky season is upon us—and what goes better with spooky season than bats? 🦇
This time of year, we may begin to see and hear about more encounters between bats and people. While bats play an important role in our ecosystem, it’s important to know what to do if you come into contact with one and understand the potential risks of exposure.
We’re sharing some helpful information on what to do, how to safely handle a bat, and when you should be concerned about possible exposure.
🦇 Know the risks. Know what to do. Stay safe this spooky season! See less

08/10/2026

🥵Did you know that extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the US and in Kansas?
Heat-related illnesses include heat rash, sunburn, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

☀️☀️PREVENT heat-related illness:
💧Stay hydrated. Drink fluids before you feel thirsty and check your urine – if it's dark you need to drink more fluids. Avoid dehydrating fluids like alcohol, coffee and sugary drinks.
🆒 Stay in air-conditioned spaces as much as possible.
🏃‍♂️‍➡️Pace outdoor physical activity and schedule heavy labor or exercise early morning or evening, if possible.
🍉Eat lighter meals.
👵🏽Check on the vulnerable, e.g., the elderly, the very young, the disabled and the unhoused.
🧴Prevent sunburn.
🚘Never leave anyone in cars.

⭕⭕SYMPTOMS of heat-related illness include:
😵‍💫Feeling faint and dizzy.
🥴Headache.
🤮Nausea and vomiting.
😥Heavy sweating, or no sweating.
😣Muscle cramps.

🩺🩺FIRST AID for heat exhaustion and heat stroke:
🌳Move to a cool and shaded area.
👚Remove as much clothing as possible.
💧Drink liquids if able. Don't give liquids to someone if they are confused.
🌡️Cool quickly by:
💦Bathing in cold water or ice if available.
🫗 Wetting the skin and clothing.
🧊Putting cold, wet cloths and/or ice on head, neck, armpits and groin.
🍃Circulating air.
🔴🚨🚑HEAT STROKE IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY – CALL 911🚨🚑🔴

Heat-related illness: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/heat-stress/about/illnesses.html

What to look for: https://www.cdc.gov/heat-health/about/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fextreme-heat%2Fabout%2Findex.html

08/07/2026

08/03/2026

🦟Kansans are currently at HIGH risk of being bitten by West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes. Most people don't develop any symptoms, but when they do symptoms can range from mild flu-like illness with fever, headache, body aches, rash, vomiting and diarrhea, to severe illness. Some people develop neurological infection, causing brain damage and even death. Each year, dozens of Kansans develop neuroinvasive West Nile virus disease. Preventing mosquito bites prevents disease.

🟠DRESS: Wear long sleeved, loose-fitting shirts and pants. Avoid the outdoors at dusk and dawn. Keep window and door screens in good repair. Use mosquito netting on strollers and playpens.
🟠DRAIN: Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Eliminate mosquito breeding habitats by tipping and tossing standing water at least twice a week. Empty water from buckets, tires, tarps, toys and other containers. Refresh bird baths and pet water bowls every three days. Keep wading pools empty when not in use and drill drainage holes on tire swings. Check for hidden water sources like clogged gutters and plant saucers. If you have a pond, consider stocking mosquito-eating fish. Treat standing water that can't be drained with appropriate larvicides.
🟠DEET: Use EPA-registered repellents. Apply permethrin to clothing and gear. Store insect repellents safely out of reach of children.

🔗Check out KDHE's West Nile Virus (WNV) risk level in your area. It is updated on Fridays during mosquito surveillance season (June to October): https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/1519/West-Nile-Virus
🔗KDHE's West Nile Virus Dashboard: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/1937/West-Nile-Virus-Data
🔗EPA-registered repellents: https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents
🔗Learn more about mosquito bite prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/west-nile-virus/prevention/index.html