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Flu season begins mildly in Valley
YOUNGSTOWN
Little laboratory-confirmed influenza has surfaced in the Mahoning Valley early in the 2011-12 flu season, but a nonflu respiratory virus is making the rounds.
According to the Mahoning County District Board of Health, only one hospitalization for Influenza A and one positive test for that strain of flu from a doctor’s office have been confirmed this fall in Youngstown.
Hospital emergency- department surveillance shows a slight increase in respiratory complaints and school absenteeism.
Checks with hospitals in Salem, Youngstown and Warren, however, found the incidence generally light.
Several school districts in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, including Youngstown, Boardman, Joseph Badger and Mathews, reported no unusually high absenteeism among students or staff for this time of year.
But a dearth of the laboratory-confirmed flu doesn’t mean numbers of people aren’t showing up at hospital emergency rooms and doctor’s offices with flulike symptoms.
Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman has treated a lot of children with flu-like symptoms, but those tested for influenza have come back negative, said Annamarie Sofran, hospital spokeswoman.
Salem Community Hospital’s laboratory has been processing tests for influenza, but so far none has tested positive.
The emergency department confirms, however, there is a respiratory infection bringing people to the hospital for treatment, said Michele Hoffmeister, hospital spokeswoman.
Boardman Schools Superintendent Frank Lazzeri and Karen Ingraham, spokeswoman for Youngstown City Schools, say their districts have experienced no spikes in student or staff absenteeism.
Likewise in Trumbull County, Joseph Badger School District in Kinsman and Mathews School District in Fowler and Vienna, reported no unusual absenteeism for this time of year.
Influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by certain strains of the influenza virus. Typical symptoms include fatigue, fever exceeding 100 degrees and chills, a hacking cough, and body aches. Influenza victims are also susceptible to potentially life-threatening secondary infections such as pneumonia.
Although the stomach or intestinal “flu” is commonly blamed for stomach upsets and diarrhea, the influenza virus rarely causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Such symptoms are most likely due to other organisms such as rotavirus, Salmonella, Shigella, or Escherichia coli.
The peak of the flu season in the United States is usually January and February, and both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and local public health officials say the incidence of flu is negligible now.
Also, they say now is a good time to get a flu vaccination, which the CDC encourages for everyone 6 months and older. The shot takes about two weeks to take effect while the nasal spray acts more quickly, health officials said.
Attendance at public health flu-shot clinics has been declining for several years for a couple of reasons, said Matthew Stefanak, Mahoning County District Board of Health commissioner.
First, since the H1N1 swine flu pandemic during the 2009-2010 flu season, public health departments have not been able to offer free vaccinations.
“We conducted a campaign, unprecedented in scope and size, in which we vaccinated 20,000 school kids in Mahoning County free of charge. I regret we don’t have the resources to do school-based immunizations routinely. It’s a good way to interrupt transmissions of the virus from child to families and others in the community,” Stefanak said.
Another reason for lower attendance at public health flu-shot clinics is the increased opportunity to get a shot from physicians and at drugstores and other venues, he said.
And, said Wes Vins, commissioner of the Columbiana County Board of Health, there is no H1N1 swine flu to scare people.
“Inconvenience is not an excuse for not getting the vaccine. I think availability will boost the numbers of people protected,” Stefanak said.
Even statewide, there isn’t much flu reported. But, health officials say, it is still early in the season.
Vins said vaccine administration and some simple practices like washing hands can do a lot to prevent the flu.
“It is better to prevent diseases than try to control them after they spread,” he said.
The best ways to keep from getting the flu and to prevent spreading it is to get the shot, frequent hand washing and coughing into a cloth or an elbow, Stefanak said.