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St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center has had several positive tests for the flu in recent weeks and encourages the community to get the flu shot before the virus spreads in the community.
According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, initial estimates indicate that more than 900,000 people were hospitalized and more than 80,000 people died of the flu last season. Last year's influenza season was the first to be classified as "severe" in all age groups, according to a new influenza season classification methodology based on key influenza indicators, such as clusters. age and geographical areas affected.
"The 2017-2018 influenza season was a season of high severity with a high rate of outpatient visits and urgency for flu-like illness, high influenza-related hospitalization rates." and high influenza activity that is geographically widespread for a prolonged period, "said the CDC. states of the site.
In the Wood River Valley, St. Luke's Emergency Room
Wood River Hospital also had more influenza cases last year.
"We were impressed by the number of people we treated with flu-like symptoms. [It] really felt like being a lot more people, "said Dr. Deb Robertson, medical director of the emergency department.
According to the CDC, last year's influenza season started to increase in November and extends into March, making it one of the longest flu seasons of recent years. Using the CDC's FluView application, influenza activity continued in parts of Idaho until mid-April. Robertson explained that because of the constant flow of influenza, it is unclear whether newly confirmed cases in hospital can be considered the beginning of the 2018-2019 influenza season or low activity activity. which remains of the 2017-2018 season.
The CDC recommends that everyone be vaccinated against influenza, the main means of protection against the virus, especially for high-risk groups such as young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions and people 65 years old and over. The CDC also recommends daily preventive measures against germs, such as washing hands regularly and avoiding close contact with sick people. Finally, the CDC encourages people who get the flu to take anti-viral medications if they are prescribed by a doctor because they can reduce the severity and duration of the illness.
"The flu vaccine has been updated this year to better match the circulating viruses," Robertson said. "There are many different influenza viruses and they are constantly changing. There is growing evidence that even if a person vaccinated gets the flu, the vaccine can reduce its severity. "
As there are already confirmed cases of influenza in the Wood River Valley, residents are encouraged to get the flu shot as soon as possible because it takes 10 days to two weeks for the vaccine to take effect, said St. Luke & # 39; s. .
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