Flu
Whereas there is heightened concern about the flu, this year's epidemic does not pose increased threats compared to previous years. The demnd for flu vaccine has surpassed this year's available supply. However,the Person County Health Department will inform the community if and when additinal doses of vaccine become available. - Marc Kolman
The following is a press rerlease from NC DHHS...........
RALEIGH – State Health Director Dr. Leah Devlin today said that while the current flu season has resulted in more illness than what is expected in an average year, public health officials believe that the season is close to its peak.
“We will probably have another tough couple of weeks,” said Devlin. “But, based on the trends in Italy, Portugal and Spain, and in states like Texas, we believe that the season is close to its peak and the number of cases should start to fall in early 2004.”
Devlin said that the trend in Europe and in the western U.S. has been an early sharp spike in cases and then a decline. “Certainly, we don’t want anyone letting their guard down,” she said. “High-risk people should still seek vaccination, if they haven’t already done so. Sick people should stay home. Everyone should pay close attention to universal protection measures like washing their hands and covering their nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing.”
State Epidemiologist Dr. Jeffrey Engel described the current season as a “moderate type A season.”
“We have always known that type A flu can cause more severe disease than type B. This season, virtually one hundred percent of our cases are type A, so it’s not surprising that people are reporting worse symptoms and complications,” he said. “Last year, by comparison, North Carolina reported about 80% type B flu.”
In order to better understand how flu is affecting the state, North Carolina has a sentinel system in which 46 sites report what they are seeing to the Division of Public Health. The sentinel sites include a mix of local health departments, university health clinics, and private providers and are scattered across the state. In the week ending December 13, those sentinel sites reported that nine percent of their patients were reporting flu-like illness. In the last flu season (2002/03), the peak number of patients was reported in the week ending February 15, when three percent of the patients at sentinel sites reported flu-like illness.
“Just like the rest of the country, we have seen high numbers of people reporting flu-like illness,” Devlin said. “While the flu can be unpredictably, we should follow a trend similar to Texas, which has begun to drop.” The flu season runs from October through March.
Early in the flu season, there was some anecdotal evidence that suggested that the season might be particularly tough on children. As a result of that possibility, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked states to track deaths of children caused by the flu or its complications.
Health officials announced today that a fifth North Carolina child had died during this flu season. The 22-month-old girl from Wake County was admitted to the hospital on December 15. She died on December 17. Because she was under 23 months, she was at high risk for flu complications. She had received one flu shot on October 17, but had not received the second shot. Children receiving flu shots for the first time should receive two vaccinations, 30 days apart, in order for the vaccination to be fully effective. There are no studies that show how effective the vaccination is in a previously unvaccinated child after just one dose.
“A moderate type A season is going to be harder on everyone,” said Engel. “We really won’t know until later whether this season has been any harder on children than similar seasons in the past.”
Twelve North Carolina children died during the 2001-2002 flu season, which is the last season for which numbers are available. Historical data shows that the worst season in recent history for children was the 1968-69 season, which resulted in the deaths of 209 children. The worst season for deaths of all ages was 1997-98, when 1,261 North Carolinians died.
This flu season, more than five times the number of children have been immunized than were immunized in past flu seasons. Last year, 29,000 high-risk North Carolina children got their flu shots through the state’s immunization program, while this year more than 153,000 have been immunized. Data is not available on the numbers immunized through private providers.
Flu symptoms begin suddenly and may include fever, severe headache, body aches, sore throat and cough. Flu can make a person more susceptible to pneumonia – an illness that puts a severe strain on the heart and lungs, which can be especially dangerous to people who already suffer from heart and lung disease.
Those who develop flu-like symptoms should drink fluids, rest and stay home to avoid spreading the infection. Flu-sufferers may also take over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but aspirin should be avoided because taking it for some forms of flu has been associated with Reye's Syndrome, a serious disease in children that can occur following a viral illness and that causes swelling of the brain. Consumers should carefully check their over-the-counter medicines to ensure that they do not contain aspirin. Consumers should also make sure to follow all directions on both prescribed and over-the-counter medicine. At least one death this flu season has been attributed to an overdose of acetaminophen. Prescription drugs are also available to treat flu in some circumstances; they are most effective if taken within two days of developing symptoms. Antibiotics are not effective against viral diseases like flu.
General flu information can be found on-line at www.immunizenc.com. Citizens should call their local health departments to get details about vaccine availability. A list of health departments is available at http://www.ncalhd.org/county.htm.