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Flu season 'hitting with a vengeance'

Posted February 08, 2008 10:00 pm

Dean Olsen

Flu cases in the Springfield area are on the rise, but the situation doesn't appear to be as dire as in St. Louis, where hundreds of patients are flooding hospital emergency rooms.

"I don't think there is any doubt that we're busier because of the flu," Dr. Mark Weaver, chief medical officer of Memorial Medical Center's parent organization, said Friday.

Springfield Clinic's laboratory, which processes flu tests from its Prompt Care locations and doctors' offices, has identified a big jump in flu cases.

During the last week in January, the lab tested 113 samples and determined that 35 of them, or 31 percent, were positive for flu. From Feb. 2 through Thursday, the lab tested 236 samples and found 111, or 47 percent of them, to be positive for flu, according to lab director Tina Walke.

"The flu season is hitting with a vengeance right now," she said. "It's here. It is really peaking right now."

Memorial Medical Center has admitted 11 patients with influenza so far this month, compared with four last month, Memorial spokesman Michael Leathers said.

And Memorial's laboratory, which processes samples for hospitalized patients and for patients served in local doctors' offices, has identified about 70 positive flu samples this month, Weaver said.

St. John's Hospital has cared for 18 patients with flu since mid-December, spokesman Brian Reardon said.

Weaver said complications from the flu often require people to be hospitalized if they already have chronic health conditions such as congestive heart failure or lung disease.

"It's a problem on top of other problems," he said.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday reported that St. Louis County health officials confirmed almost 800 new flu cases in the past week, with hundreds more new cases in adjacent Missouri counties.

In Illinois, flu cases aren't tracked by county. But the Illinois Department of Public Health determined in late January that the overall prevalence of flu statewide had increased from "local activity" to "regional activity" - the second-highest activity level.

Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the department has received anecdotal reports of flu outbreaks in nursing homes statewide and an increase in school absences.

Medical clinics and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health reported that they have plenty of flu vaccine still available. The local public health department can be reached at 535-3100, and information on flu vaccine sites is available at www.scdph.org.

Dean Olsen can be reached at (217) 788-1543 or dean.olsen@sj-r.com.

Flu facts

What is it: An infection of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus. Compared with most viral respiratory infections such as the common cold, influenza often causes a more severe illness.

Symptoms: Fever of 100 to 103 degrees in adults and often higher in children; cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. Influenza is not the same as "stomach flu," which really refers to gastrointestinal illnesses caused by microorganisms other than flu viruses.

Be careful: Most people who get the flu recover in one to two weeks, but some develop complications such as pneumonia. Over the past decade, flu and pneumonia have been associated with an average of 3,500 deaths each year in Illinois, mostly in the elderly and those with chronic health problems.

Flu season: Typically November through April.

Prevention: Flu shots, frequent hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes are good ways of preventing the spread of flu. Antiviral drugs also can be effective if used within two days of becoming sick.

More information: www.cdc.gov/flu, and www.idph.state.il.us/flu/fluhome.htm

Sources: Illinois Department of Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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