It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Flu Season
State health officials say the flu season in Maryland remains minimal but there’s been a slow uptick of “influenza-like illnesses,” or ILI, in patients seen in the state’s emergency rooms.
“There’s nothing predicable about the flu season or the vaccine. It’s always a wait and see,” said Debra Aplan, administrator of the Montgomery County’s immunization programs and disease control.
In the week ending Oct. 7, 1.3 percent of the emergency room visits were attributable to ILI. In the week ending Dec. 9, the figure had increased to 2.2 percent.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the highest rates of flu activity are in Louisiana and Mississippi. Texas and South Carolina show high rates as well, the CDC says.
Generally, the flu season in Maryland is in January and February, Aplan said.
January, by the way, will mark the 100th anniversary of the most devastating influenza pandemic, killing more people than World War I. Between 20 million and 40 million people died from the flu between 1918 and 1919, according to Stanford University.
Aplan says county-level numbers aren’t reported. But she did say there was a county outbreak in a “congregant living” situation, where a group of people shared a single caregiver.
Some experts — including Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health — are questioning how effective this year’s flu shot is against this year’s dominant strains of flu. The estimate is that the vaccine will be effective for about 10 percent of the people who receive it.
Still, it makes sense to get a flu shot, Aplan said.
“It’s quick shot, with minimal side effects, and it’s worth it to use that method of prevention rather than getting stuck in bed for several days and feeling ill,” she said.
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