Free flu shots available at Sumner health dept.

The percentage of patients with influenza-like illness was significantly higher this month than the 10-year historical average, according to family doctors reporting to the province’s Influenza Sentinel Network.

According to the University Medical Clinic’s nursing station, they’ve been tending to students with appointments each day, as well as walk-ins. That’s why you can’t ever get rid of it.

“The vaccine is based on what was in the previous year’s testing that they did to try to do the same thing, hoping there’ll be a lot of the same”, she said. The most cases are seen in January through March.

“In Calgary we’ve seen influenza A has started to taper off”, MacDonald said.

Rosenquist said the flu can also be hard on healthy adults, and it’s particularly troublesome for older people who have conditions like high blood pressure and heart problems. “You’re going to feel bad for about a week”. It is usually spread from person to person by coughing and sneezing.

Last week brings the total to 780 reported cases.

Stomach flu is not specifically reported to health departments, Terjesen said, but public health experts monitor illness through a combination of school absences, hospitals that report emergency room visits for respiratory illness, and counts of respiratory illness at long-term care facilities. Vail says influenza can target anyone, but senior citizens, young children and people with suppressed immune systems are most at risk.

Health officials in Lawrence and across the state encourage everyone to take preventative measures.

Smith offered other health-preservation tips and said taking immune boosting vitamins, such as Airborne can help fight against the flu as well.

Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth to prevent the spread of germs.

Cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or by coughing into the inside of the elbow.

“The indicators we look at would support that we’re on the downswing, but we need another couple of weeks under our belts to say definitively whether this flu season has peaked”, Wooten said.

The seasonal flu virus changes every season, so it is important to stay current with your vaccinations each year.