Category: Flu

Flu Levels Are High! Prevent Getting the Flu!

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U.S Flu Levels Very High & Surging!

Our office has been hit by Flu and other respiratory illness & across the U.S. So, it’s time to review some important facts.  The CDC’s U.S. Surveillance Report for the week ending January 25, 2025 revealed alarming data.  As an update, since this post was originally written, the CDC’s U.S. Surveillance Report for the week ending February 1, 2025, reveals the Flu has worsened.  It is surging ahead! 

  • There was an 31.6% increase in cases positive for Flu across the country (Prior week = 29.4%).
  • There was an increase of respiratory illness by 7.8% (prior week = 6.9% increase). 
  • 45 states were categorized as having High or Very High Flu levels (prior week = 44).
  • There was an upward trend of an additional 48,661 patient hospitalizations due to Flu for that week alone (prior week = 38,255)!
  • Sadly, there were an additional 10 child deaths that week alone due to Flu (prior week = 16)!
  • This makes the running total 57 child deaths due to Flu this season thus far. 

Flu Symptoms

  • Fever and chills
  • Nasal congestion
  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Body aches
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea and vomiting

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Prevention

  • Handwashing is important as always. As humans, we’re always touching our face, nose, mouth, etc.  If we keep our hands clean, this can help minimize catching and spreading the Flu.                                                                                                                                                                                         
  • Avoid sick people. This may sound simple.  However, you’d be amazed at how many people will say they just have a cold.  Or they are “over it.” The simplest thing to do is stay away from anyone with the sniffles or a cough.  They may indeed have “just a cold.” They may also not be aware that they have a mild case of the Flu.  And one person’s mild Flu can be another person’s Flu with a pneumonia or worse.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
  • Get the Flu Vaccine. It’s especially important to get the vaccine when Flu levels are high! These are available at your doctors’ offices, urgent care clinics, and pharmacies everywhere. Babies as young as 6 months old can be vaccinated.  Pregnant women can be vaccinated.  It protects their baby as well. Anyone caring for your child, including grandparents can be vaccinated. While it is true that the Flu vaccine does not prevent the Flu 100%, it is also true that it prevents severity and hospitalization. In my experience as a Pediatrician, those children and adults who received the Flu vaccine and became ill with the Flu, had milder cases of the Flu.  And it prevented severity, hospitalization, and secondary bacterial infections, such as ear infections, sinusitis, hospitalizations, and death.

Treatment

Tamiflu is an anti-viral specifically against the Flu.  If you test positive for Flu, treatment with Tamiflu helps, IF taken within the first 48 hours of your illness. Tamiflu also is available in liquid form with weight-based dosage for children as well.

What’s Next?

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Flu Season Severe 2017-2018

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fight the flu, severe flu, vaccine prevention, vaccine, vaccine, prevention, symptomsFlu Season Today?

As of the end of December 2017, the flu season is officially moderately severe.  The flu is widespread in 46 states.  This is up from 36 states in the previous week.  The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research reveals that flu hospitalization is about 3 times higher than it was in the same time period in 2016.  In addition, the flu season started earlier this year than it did in 2016.  During the same time period in 2016, only 12 states had reported widespread activity, as compared to 46 states this flu season.  This pretty much matches what I’ve been seeing in our office in Florida.  About 3 weeks ago, we began to diagnose multiple children with the flu every day.

Why is this Flu Season Severe?

This season’s dominate flu strain is an Influenza A strain, H3N2, which is a particularly severe and causes more symptoms than other strains typically do.

What Are Flu Symptoms?

Flu symptoms typically include a fever and nasal congestion at a minimum. Other symptoms may include weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, body aches, and more.

What To Do If I Think I Have the Flu?

If you are feeling sick with flu-like symptoms, you may want to consider going to see a doctor, especially within the first 48 hours of your illness.  Your doctor may be able to prescribe an anti-viral medication against the flu, Tamiflu, which is effective in preventing worsening symptoms of the flu by stopping its replication.  However, if you’ve been sick with the flu for more than 48 hours, Tamiflu is not effective.

I Have the Flu.  Now What?

Follow your doctor’s instructions.  Drink plenty of fluids.  Rest.  Stay home.  Do not go to work, school, religious gatherings, or other community gatherings or events.  By going out, you increase the risk of spreading the flu.  In addition, as the flu weakens the immune system, if you go out, you place yourself at risk for contracting a secondary bacterial infection, such as pneumonia, sinusitis, or an ear infection.

How Do I Prevent Myself From Getting the Flu?

Good old-fashioned hand washing is helpful, as flu droplets may linger on countertops and other objects. Hand washing prevents many other common infections as well (https://drsilvatotstweensandteens.com/2013/01/new-norovirus-highly-contagious-virus.html).

The good news is that the CDC reports that this season’s flu vaccine strains are a good match to the live flu virus strains that are circulating (http://bit.ly/2CLWaCZ).  That means the flu vaccine is providing good protection against the flu by preventing the flu so far.

The best course of action is to make sure you and your children get the flu vaccine.  It’s not too late.  No one knows exactly when the flu season ends.  From the looks of it, it will probably continue for another few months.  There is still time to protect yourself.  Get the flu vaccine at your doctor’s office, health department, school, or pharmacy today.

Flu Deaths | Prevention with Vaccine

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Flu Deaths | Prevention with Vaccine

The 2012-2013 Flu season started & peaked earlier than it typically does with cases documented as early as September  2012 and peaking in December 2012.  In addition, The past Flu season brought had a higher death rate for both seniors and children.   149 documented children’s death occurred due to Flu.  This is about 3 times higher than the average season.  In addition, seniors over the age of 65 were hit hard as evidence that they accounted for more than half of the hospitalization rates in the U.S.
 
While it is summertime, it is important to think about Flu shots now.  Typically, physicals are done in the summertime.  That is also the perfect time to receive the Flu vaccine.  Your child will be protected before the season & before they are exposed to other children when school restarts.
 
For more information about the recent Flu season, disease, and vaccine, please go to http://bit.ly/14sECUM and https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm
 

Flu Illness High in U.S.

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Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have a U.S. weekly surveillance report.  As of last week, the rate of death due to flu with pneumonia reached a level above what is considered an epidemic threshold.

In addition, 9 out of 10 U.S. regions showed elevated levels of influenza-like illness.  47 states have a reported widespread level of the flu.

What can you do to prevent yourself or your family from getting the flu?

Get vaccinated.  The vaccine has been available since late last August, so it may not be as readily available. However, nowadays you have more locations where you can get the vaccine.  You can go to your doctor, your child’s pediatrician, a local pharmacy, or the health department.

Good old-fashioned hand washing is helpful, as flu droplets may linger on countertops and other objects.

Lastly, it may sound simple, but stay away from people who are coughing or appear to have cold symptoms. What looks like a cold one day, may reveal itself to be the flu on the next day.  Flu is contagious from 1 day before symptoms develop & 5-7 days after flu symptoms start.

The CDC’s U.S. weekly influenza activity map & weekly surveillance report are available. For more information on the flu, go to http://www.cdc.gov/flu.

 

Health Care Personnel & Flu Vaccine

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Health Care Personnel & Flu Vaccine

This September, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a statement that they support all healthcare personnel receiving a mandatory annual flu vaccination. The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and The Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) are other organizations that are also are in favor of such a measure.
 

 

Does your provider receive the Flu vaccine annually? You may be interested in knowing that bit of information. After all, if an unprotected health care provider becomes ill with the disease, that provider is now a source of the illness and can infect patients and other office staff members without having any intention of doing so.
 
Currently, the Flu vaccine is a voluntary vaccine for all health care personnel. However, the risks are different for the health care provider versus the patient. If a health care provider gets infected with the Flu, he/she will most likely infect many other patients before he/she is even aware that he/she has the illness. In my case, this could have devastating effects for the children I examine, especially those with chronic diseases such as asthma. Hence, very year I make sure to get the Flu vaccine. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect myself, my patients, my family, and friends from contracting the Flu.
 
There is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that stated that last January, approximately 35% of health care workers get Flu vaccinations. Nurses have some of the lowest rates of Flu vaccination.

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