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The flu season does not look particularly good in Mbadachusetts.
Influenza activity is on the rise in Mbadachusetts and has slightly worsened compared to last year, one of the most challenging flu seasons in recent history.
Public health officials reported a sharp increase in the number of influenza and influenza illnesses around the New Year, marking a trend that could continue throughout the influenza season, which usually ends in March.
"The flu season is well underway," said Dr. Lawrence Madoff, director of the Epidemiology and Immunization Division of the Mbadachusetts Department of Public Health. "It's very similar to the season of last year, which was severe."
DPH monitors influenza in a number of ways, including as a percentage of the total number of visits to doctors' offices, school nurses, community health centers and some emergency rooms.
As of January 18, the state had 3% of patients with influenza or flu-like symptoms, which could come from other types of diseases, but include a fever over 100 degrees and a cough or sore throat. The northeastern part of the state recorded the highest case density, followed by the southeastern and central parts of the state.
A year earlier, according to state figures, the total was slightly lower, reaching 2.9% for the week ending January 12th. The number climbed to 5.9% on February 9, before starting to decline. The flu has finally killed tens of thousands of people across the country, according to the CDC. At least one child died in Mbadachusetts. The state follows the deaths of children related to the flu. On January 17, DPH reported no deaths of children.
"Last year was one of the worst years," said Dr. Alain A. Chaoui, president of the Mbadachusetts Medical Society, headquartered in Waltham.
Chaoui, a Boxford resident, also works as a family doctor at Congenial Healthcare, which has offices in Lynn, Middleton, Peabody and Wakefield.
This year, according to Madoff, the most prevalent influenza strain is the H1N1 flu, different from last year when the H3N2 strain swept Mbadachusetts and the rest of the country.
The flu changes from year to year because the virus "drifts" or "evolves". When it changes, the genetic change is small and less likely to successfully attack an immune system with accumulated antibodies. When the flu spreads, the genetic formation changes abruptly and most humans are not immune to the new virus.
A change occurred in 2009 when the H1N1 virus, better known as "swine flu", introduced a new gene combination and eventually fueled a pandemic. The US Centers for Disease and Disease Prevention estimates that there were 60.8 million cases of swine flu in the United States between 2009 and 2010.
"It's a tension that affects younger people more than older people, but we see it in all age groups," Madoff said.
The medical community is largely in agreement that being vaccinated against influenza remains the best defense against influenza, especially for young children and adults over 65 years old. Both age groups are more likely to die of influenza even though, technically, the cause is another.
"Influenza vaccines save children's lives and have other benefits," says the CDC.
The severity of last year's influenza season, which killed about 79,400 people in the country and has been the most severe influenza season since 2009, has likely led to an increase in the number of people who have received influenza vaccine this season. The CDC announced that the number of doses dispensed rose to 166.6 million in December, already exceeding the total of the previous season.
But the increase in the number of influenza vaccines has not necessarily resulted in a decrease in the number of influenza cases to date, as the number continues to climb.
The disparity, Chaoui explained, could be the result of many factors, including the fact that more and more people are seeing doctors with flu-like symptoms as a precaution last year. In addition, the influenza vaccine each year is based on equations and algorithms that attempt to predict the best vaccination each year, he says, which contribute to a large extent to reducing influenza outbreaks, but do not work. perfectly.
"It's not a perfect science and nothing is 100% foolproof," said Chaoui.
Nevertheless, inflexible people get the hang of it, because it protects the people and the people with whom they come into contact.
"We are all responsible for what happens to our communities," said Chaoui. "It's very important that we take all our responsibilities and it starts with a flu shot."
Influenza also spreads in other ways and its proliferation is exacerbated by the immunity of different populations, as well as by weather conditions. It also takes two weeks for the influenza vaccine to be effective, which means that people are still at risk of contracting the disease before the vaccine comes into play.
Chaoui and Madoff continue to urge people to get vaccinated because there are still weeks in the flu season. The two doctors also said it was important that people with flu-like symptoms stay at home after work and study.
"Going to work and school when you're sick is a good way to pbad it on to people," Madoff said. "It's an altruistic thing to stay home if you feel sick."
Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Send him an e-mail at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.
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