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Seasonal flu back with a vengeance
Dr. Michael Unger gives a flu shot to Ron Branstrom, of Glenview, in his Northbrook office. The flu has been widespread and more severe this year, health officials say. I David Banks~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 19, 2013 12:51PM
PARK RIDGE — Winter-like weather may be lagging, but the seasonal flu is back in full blast, arriving sooner and with more severity than usual.
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge saw its emergency room volume jump by 20 percent because of viral-related illnesses, according to Douglas Propp, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine.
The hospital typically admits 175 patients daily, he said, but the early flu season has brought well over 200 people a day to the ER.
“We usually see a gradual ramp up (of flu-like activity)”, Propp said. “This came on with a large volume.”
Health officials report influenza‐like illnesses have been circulating with a vengeance around suburban Cook County and most of Illinois in recent weeks.
“We are seeing widespread activity much earlier than usual and an elevated number of cases of influenza,” compared with previous years, said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The state health department doesn’t keep track of the incidence of influenza because it is not a reportable disease. However, the agency monitors the data reported by doctors’ offices, emergency departments and nursing homes that report acute illness, as well as schools that report absenteeism rates, to determine prevalence levels.
By the first week of January, influenza had affected at least half the regions of 47 U.S. states. Illinois, one of the hardest-hit states, has endured widespread influenza activity since Dec. 9.
Last Friday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the nationwide flu outbreak had reached epidemic proportions.
The virus shows no signs of up letting up locally.
“We’re seeing that it’s continuing to rise,” said Amy Poore, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Department of Public Health.
A spike in absenteeism at area schools in December hinted that the flu bug was back.
Stevenson School in Des Plaines sent letters home last month regarding the flu after some children had become ill, reported East Maine School District 63 Superintendent Scott Clay. He hasn’t, however, observed significant flu activity at the district’s seven schools in early 2013.
More students than usual at Maine Township High School District 207 had come down with the flu in recent weeks, though the number of cases is nothing “too dramatic,” said spokesman Dave Beery.
“The nurses are a little surprised they’re not seeing even more given how widespread the flu seems to be in the Chicago area and the country as a whole,” he said.
With help from the state the District 207 School Based Health Center at Maine East High School in Park Ridge has the flu vaccine available for uninsured students. The center purchased an additional 60 flu shots to administer to students with health insurance on a first-come, first-served basis.
The center has “a fair amount of both vaccines in stock,” Beery said last week.
Seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue into May, but typically reaches its peak in January and February.
The number of influenza-associated hospitalizations in suburban Cook County has already surpassed the seasonal totals of the past two years. Since late August, the Cook County Health Department has recorded 90 flu cases at intensive care units. The same time last year only one person had been admitted for the flu. Last year’s flu season saw a total of 45 flu-related ICU cases.
Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie and Stickney Township collect their own data on diseases and are not included in those figures. As of last week, Skokie reported two ICU admissions and Oak Park had three. Information for Evanston wasn’t immediately available.
Respiratory illnesses last week forced over a dozen Chicago-area hospitals to temporarily divert ambulances to other facilities due to overcrowded emergency rooms.
Though flu is a main culprit, medical professionals say other viruses causing respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms are also causing people to fall ill.
“We’re seeing more than the typical, classic influenza,” Propp confirmed.
But the “stomach flu” – a misnomer used to described illnesses that cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea – is not be confused with influenza. Rather the flu is a viral respiratory infection that mimics symptoms of the common cold with increased severity. A high fever, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue, are also signs.
Annual vaccination is widely recognized as the best protection against the flu. Healthy hygiene, such as frequent hand washing and covering a cough, are also important.
The CDC recommends the flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, especially people with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, and seniors over 65 years old.
Medical professionals agree it’s not too late to get the flu shot to curb the virus’ spread since the end date of flu season is anybody’s guess.~.
— Susan Frick Carlman and Kimberly Fornek contributed to this report.
