Flu is still on the attack, but expert says peak number of cases could be on the decline

Source: Winston-Salem Journal, N.儲存C.Jan. 17--The flu attacked Mark R. Moss without warning last month.The 61-year-old freelance writer/editor initially thought his adult-onset asthma was getting worse Dec. 16 when he started having shortness of breath and his inhaler didn't seem to be helping.He said he called 911 for an ambulance, which arrived quickly, but by the time he got in the emergency vehicle, he passed out.Moss remembers waking up two days later in an ICU at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he stayed for eight days."It was a miserable eight days that could have been prevented had I gotten a flu shot," Moss said. "I exercise regularly and watch what I eat. This was the first time I have been hospitalized since I was 6 getting my tonsils removed."At least 28 deaths associated with seasonal influenza have been reported by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Of those deaths, one was in the 0-4 age group, 13 were in the 25-49 age group and nine in the 50-64 age group. Only five deaths have been reported in persons over 65."We've been relatively fortunate so far this season in Forsyth County to not have flu deaths in our community as of yet," said Marlon Hunter, the health director for Forsyth County.He said that nationwide several thousand people die from the flu or complications associated with the flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."So the flu shot still remains our best defense against catching the flu, even if you are healthy," Hunter said.Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious disease expert at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, said that the peak number of flu cases could be starting to decline, but it's still too early to know for sure."We're still seeing flu, and it's still out there," Ohl said. "There are still a fair number of cases."Locally, the flu season usually doesn't end until the beginning of March.Ohl said that a lot of variables are in play. For example, schools are back in session after a holiday break."Whenever school is in session, influenza tends to circulate more in the schools," Ohl said. "We'll have to wait and see how that goes."Ohl has noticed the number of flu-like cases declining over the past two weeks."We measure ILI, which is influenza-like illness," Ohl said. "Essentially, that's just the number of people who come to your urgent care clinics, outpatient clinics or emergency department with signs and symptoms of the flu."Two weeks ago at Wake Forest Baptist, 8 percent of all visits to the center's outpatient area, including the emergency department, were people with symptoms of the flu."Not all of those people will have the flu," Ohl said. "There are a lot of other viruses going around. It is the cold season, too."Currently about 6 percent of visits to Wake Forest Baptist are from patients with flu-like symptoms.Ohl said that it's still not too late for people to get an influenza vaccination.He suggested that people who are showing symptoms of the flu and are at high risk, including those who have other illnesse迷你倉 or diseases, should contact their healthcare provider to determine if they need a medication to treat the flu such as Tamiflu.He also suggested that people who have the flu and have people in their households who are high risk, including infants, pregnant women and the elderly, should contact a healthcare provider to determine if those household members need medication to help prevent them from getting the flu.Moss said he procrastinated in getting a flu shot this year and didn't get one until after he got sick.His advice to folks who haven't been vaccinated for the flu is to get a shot now."There's no guarantee that you won't get the flu, but it's better to have the shot than to not have it," Moss said.At least one local church is taking precautions to reduce the spread of the flu. A recent bulletin by St. Leo Catholic Church listed several precautions, including a statement that the church would not be providing parishioners with the Communion cup "until such time as the flu threat abates."Some hospitals in the Triad have begun restricting visitors because of the 2013-14 flu season, including Cone Health of Greensboro and its affiliates, High Point Regional Hospital and Northern Hospital of Surry County.Forsyth Medical Center currently doesn't have any broad restrictions on visits to the hospital because of the flu.But Dr. Stephen Wallenhaupt, executive vice president and chief medical officer for Novant Health, said that Forsyth Medical Center does have visitation restrictions in some specific areas such as its neonatal intensive care units and other high risk areas."We monitor the incidence of seasonal influenza on an ongoing basis in our physician practices, urgent care centers, emergency departments and our hospitals in the communities we serve, as well as data from the health department at the state level," Wallenhaupt said. "Any decision to restrict visitation is weighed against the risk of exposure and the disruption it creates for the families and our patients."He said that visitors are being informed of precautions they can take to minimize the spread of the flu, including avoiding visitation if they have symptoms, covering their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, and practicing good personal and hand hygiene.Forsyth Medical Center said that its ICUs are busy but not due to an increase in patients with the flu.Wake Forest Baptist doesn't have a blanket restriction on visitors. Instead the medical center is asking people who are sick to not come to the hospital to visit patients.The medical center has also heightened its screening of visitors in its patient care areas to see if they are sick."We continue to monitor daily the amount of influenza that we're seeing and the age groups that it's affecting," Ohl said. "If that changes, we might restrict visitation in the future."fdaniel@wsjournal.com(336)727-7366Copyright: ___ (c)2014 Winston-Salem Journal (Winston Salem, N.C.) Visit Winston-Salem Journal (Winston Salem, N.C.) at 2.journalnow.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage