The 2012-13 flu season has already claimed 21 Hoosiers, including two minors, according to the Indiana State Health Department.
A Jan. 5 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the most common strains of flu found this season were the influenza A viruses, H3N2 and H1N1, and various influenza B viruses. The center further broke down the influenza A information to show, of 1,586 cases nationwide during the Dec. 30 to Jan. 5 period, 98% were H3N2 and 2% were H1N1.
Further, the CDC noted, “The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza based on the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System is now slightly above the epidemic threshold for the first time this season.”
In Indiana, ISHD laboratory data for 2013 found 277 cases of H3N2 out of 399 samples tested.
Shawn Richards, respiratory epidemiologist for ISHD, said the flu was “moderately severe” this season.
To provide context, she continued, “in (the 2011-12) season, there were no deaths reported, in (2010-11), there were two and (in the 2009-10) season, there were 21.”
Despite the early highs in this year’s flu season, data in the Jan. 9 flu report from the department showed a downward turn in the number of cases reported.
Still, Hoosiers are advised to get vaccinated as soon as possible, especially those in at-risk groups, such as those aged 50 and older, pregnant women, people suffering from chronic illnesses, nurses, caregivers, and young children. This is because, even though last week’s case numbers declined, health officials and medical professionals cannot be sure that the flu season is shifting down. The H3N2 virus could make a comeback or another strain could begin spreading before the end of the 2012-13 season in early May.
In an American Lung Association press release, the organization’s executive director, Alison Martin, said, “We can’t emphasize enough how important it is and how easy it is to provide your family with as much protection as possible by getting vaccinated against the flu.”
Richards agreed.
“Flu vaccination is recommended for anyone 6 months of age or older,” Richards said.
She said people can also protect themselves from the bug by frequently washing their hands with “warm, soapy water,” covering their mouths with their arm or a tissue when coughing or sneezing and staying home from school or work when they are sick to protect others.
If an individual does contract a flu-like illness, Richards recommends they “stay home, treat symptoms and contact a health care provider if symptoms worsen.”
In its press release, the American Lung Association offered a list of symptoms that indicated the flu had worsened by age group.
For children, these include things such as trouble breathing, irritability, not wanting to be held, fever with a rash or return of flu symptoms after they seem to have gone away.
In adults, the association said to look for labored breathing, pain in the chest, dizziness, vomiting, confusion and the return of flu symptoms after improvement.
Cases of the flu are reported by a network of physicians’ practices that volunteer to report the influenza-like illnesses they see each week and send samples from those patients to the state laboratory. ISHD also keeps track of “chief complaint” data it receives from more than 100 hospitals’ emergency rooms every three hours.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2013. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.