Public health warns about flu spread

If an individual does not feel well, he or she should not come to our hospitals to visit a loved one.

Flu season is in full swing and it’s starting to look like a severe one, US health officials said Friday.

It isn’t too late to get a flu shot. Last year, it peaked in March throughout Mahoning County.

Sommer Elementary School Nurse Carla Rice said influenza has yet to hit her school, but she soon expects its arrival. Some even considered writing their own foggy obituaries, I’m told.

“This is expected, because this is generally when we do see influenza peaking”.

“We urge people to get a flu vaccine now as the shot is the most effective way to protect yourself from the flu”, said Dr.

“You don’t know what is being spread around you at that time, and we are spending a lot more time indoors, especially in the northeast”, he said. For older people or infants or pregnant women, getting an antivirus is strongly recommended so that further damage to their health is prevented.

For questions about influenza vaccinations or the virus, call Steele County Public Health at 507-444-7650. However, a strain that is now circulating in parts of Alberta, Canada, has caused serious illness in many individuals as well as several deaths, even among those who had received vaccination against the season’s strain of the virus. People exhibiting these symptoms will be asked to wear a mask and must clean their hands before entering a patient’s room. That’s where some of the challenges lie.

Between the two hospitals, 25 patients have been admitted since January 1, but health officials said that’s typical compared to what they usually see this time of year.

“It has not reached its peak but there are lab confirmed cases in the last three weeks in the Montgomery and surrounding county location”, said Cindy Lesinger, immunization division director for the ADPH. The vaccine will help 70 to 80 percent of people from getting infected. A vaccine is good for elderly people as well as youth and children, CDC reported.

“Avoid people who are coughing and sneezing and if you get sick, restrict your activities”, Schaffner said. According to Alberta Health, the influenza H3N2 strain is now circulating the province. Many of them end up with serious infections and complications from the influenza and they can succumb to the disease.