Spring 2016 brings with it widespread fluDate: 4/8/2016 The calendar may say April, but according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we’re still in the grip of this year’s flu season.
“Usually its January and February,” said Dr. Daniel Skeist, M. D., chief of the Infectious Disease Division at Baystate Medical Center. “This year we’re in the middle of the flu epidemic right now.”
Though this year’s flu season seems to have had a late start, Skiest said it’s not unusual for reports of the illness to begin earlier or later than the normal pattern. “I remember one year when it started very early in November,” he added.
The most recent data released by the CDC indicated flu activity in Massachusetts – and the rest of the Northeast – was widespread for the week ending March 26. Through the first 10 weeks of reporting, Massachusetts has recorded 804 deaths attributed to influenza or pneumonia.
“Flu causes serious illnesses and deaths every year.” said Joseph Bresee, M.D., chief of CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention Branch, in a Feb. 24 CDC press release. “This season, CDC has received reports of hospitalizations and deaths in young, otherwise healthy people who were infected with influenza A H1N1, but not vaccinated,” he added.
Skiest stressed that although flu is already very active in Massachusetts and he expects to see a significant number of cases continue to be reported for “the next three to four weeks,” it isn’t too late to get vaccinated. “This is the third year that preliminary reports were that [the flu vaccine] was effective; not 100 percent effective, but more effective [than in some past seasons],” Skiest said. ”It was a good match this year.
“There is no downside to getting vaccinated,” he added. “Usually we would not vaccinate people this late into the season, but this year we’re still vaccinating.”
According to information on the CDC website, this year’s flu vaccine has an overall effectiveness rating of from 60 to 76 percent against the three major strains of influenza circulating in 2016 – H1N1 viruses, all influenza B viruses and the B/Yamagata lineage of B viruses. If you get caught by the flu – you experience a sudden onset of fever, chills, and aching muscles and joints – Skiest said there is treatment available with the prescription medicine Tamiflu.
The downside is that you must begin the drug within the first two days of symptoms for it to be effective.
“The flu is usually worse than a cold,” Skiest noted. “You are sicker, you are achy, there’s headache and fever. The flu kind of knocks you down.” Got a comment about this story?
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