Flu activity trending down, but caution still encouraged

ALBANY — While the numbers appear to be trending down when it comes to flu, health officials in southwest Georgia warn the public not to become lax when it comes to protecting themselves.

Dr. Charles Ruis, director of the Southwest Public Health District, said the fact that the numbers are going down is especially encouraging given that the early figures resembled what officials saw during the deadly flu season last year.

The decline comes just ahead of when officials typically anticipate to see peak flu activity.

“In the fall, our numbers were somewhat parallel to last year’s numbers,” he said. “It is comforting that we have had no flu deaths (in southwest Georgia, and that the numbers are declining), but we don’t want the public to get complacent.”

Dr. Steven Kitchen, chief medical officer at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, said it does appear this year’s flu season is less severe that last year, but that there is still time for the worst to come.

“Thankfully, this flu season has not been nearly so severe as last year’s in southwest Georgia. However, we are still in the middle of what is typically the peak time for flu cases. It is not too late to get vaccinated, and we encourage everyone over six months of age to protect themselves with a flu vaccine,” he said. “Anyone with typical flu symptoms — cough, fever, muscle aches, headache — should contact their primary care physician or seek medical treatment. The severity and duration of flu symptoms can be lessened by specific antiviral medications that can be prescribed by a physician.

“To mitigate the spread of the illness, they should isolate themselves as much as possible until they have been without a fever for 24 hours. It is also vitally important to wash your hands regularly and cough and sneeze into your elbow to help prevent germs from spreading.”

These precautions can also help prevent the spread of other illnesses. Officials at Phoebe said the hospital lab processed 170 flu tests last week with seven patients testing positive, two of whom required hospitalization. The previous week there were 11 patients who tested positive.

This compares to the peak week last year from Jan. 29-Feb. 4 when Phoebe tested 529 patients, 131 of whom tested positive for flu.

“While the number of patients testing positive for flu has not been as prevalent as last year, we have recently seen a significant increase in the number of patients presenting to Phoebe hospitals and clinics with flu and other respiratory illnesses,” Kitchen said. “At Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital our daily census recently peaked at 395 on Jan. 8. Our census remains high, and it is too soon to know if the seasonal peak of flu and other respiratory illnesses has occurred, and for that reason we will continue to exercise (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended steps to limit the spread of the flu within our hospitals and clinics.”

Kitchen added that rapid flu swabs do not detect all patients with flu, and not all patients require testing prior to being treated for the flu. Those who suspect they have the flu are encouraged to seek care immediately, as the medications used to treat it are usually most effective in the first 48 hours.

For the week that ended Jan. 12, the Georgia Department of Public Health said in its most recent flu report that the proportion of outpatient visits for flu-like illness was 4 percent, above the regional baseline of 2.2 percent. The report said flu activity remains high, with Georgia experiencing a regional geographic spread.

The report said there were no flu deaths in Georgia that week, but there were five outbreaks. There were 7 percent of specimens testing positive for flu by clinical laboratories.

The report said there have been six flu deaths and a total of 31 outbreaks in the state since Sept. 30.

Ruis said that the flu shot remains the best protection against flu, and there are still a variety of places for people to go to get it. Those with compromised immune systems, chronic illness, the elderly, young children and pregnant women are among those at highest risk for serious complications from the flu.

“There is still the potential for a major community outbreak,” he said. “We have three months before we can rest easy.”

He said it will likely be a few weeks before officials have a definitive idea on how effective the vaccine has been this year, but the speculation is that it is a better match compared to last year. Those who receive the flu shot and still get the flu often have a less severe form of the illness.

Jennifer Parks