This year’s flu season began with a bang, hitting earlier than usual and leaving vaccine supplies low, Centers for Disease Control officials say, but the worst may be over.
Even though the flu hit earlier this year, many are hopeful that the disease has hit its peak, according to CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding.
“We are cautiously optimistic that at least in some parts of the country influenza may have peaked,” Gerberding said in a press conference Thursday, according to a transcript on the CDC website. Thirty-eight states, including Massachusetts, now are reporting widespread cases of the flu, down from 42 last week, according to the website.
The pneumonia and influenza mortality rate of 9.4 percent continued to exceed the epidemic threshold of 8 percent set by the CDC for the week of Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, even though the percentage of patient visits for flu-like illnesses and the percentage of specimens testing positive for influenza both decreased, according to the CDC. The percentage of deaths is a broad category that includes other respiratory illnesses, making it impossible to compare the total number of people across the country that have died this season because of the flu with past years, Gerberding said.
Last Thursday’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said that 93 children have died of the flu so far this season. The number of deaths cannot be compared to past years until the season is over, according to Gerberding.
“We do not have the data from previous years to really understand whether this represents an increase in the consequences of flu compared to previous outbreaks, or whether this is something unique to this year’s flu season,” he said.
While young children and older adults are usually the most susceptible to dying from influenza, this year the flu is affecting a broader range of people. A Worcester State College student died from flu complications Dec. 7.
“Although it is unusual for a person of his age to die of the flu, according to the State Department of Public Health, it is important that everyone be aware of the seriousness of this virus,” Worcester State President Janelle Ashley said in a December press conference.
Even with the flu season starting earlier this year and Massachusetts reporting widespread activity, Boston University has not seen an increase in the number of cases, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
“There have been students who have had the flu, but it wasn’t widespread before break,” Riley said. “There’s been years when I’ve seen a greater number affected and at worse times, like finals. In the past, there have been whole floors of dorms infected.”
The limited supply of flu vaccinations has been a problem this year. There are currently no more doses of inactivated flu vaccine, commonly known as the flu shot, available for purchase from any vaccine manufacturer or major pharmaceutical distributor, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website. Providers who call the public health department are being asked to prioritize any remaining doses to their high risk patients and to use the nasal-spray flu vaccine whenever possible.
The public health department distributed 589,000 doses of vaccine in the fall and has used several thousand redistributed doses of unused vaccine, along with 2,000 more from the CDC. Injectable vaccine remains in short supply, but more than 3 million doses of the nasal vaccine, FluMist, remain available for purchase nationwide, according to the MDPH website.
However, FluMist can only be administered to healthy people between the ages of five and 49, while the flu shot is safe for the elderly and people with allergies and other physical disorders.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson asked the CDC to deal with three major issues regarding the future of influenza last week, according to Gerberding. Thompson asked the CDC to make sure those who most need influenza vaccines get vaccinated to improve the supply of vaccines and make sure there will not be another shortage in future years. Officials hope the move will also improve the existing vaccine.
“There really is no typical year for flu,” Gerberding said. “We knew [flu season] this year started earlier and was more widespread earlier than we’ve seen in past years, and so that makes this season already somewhat unique.”
An estimated 10 to 20 percent of United States residents get the flu each year; an average of 114,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications and 36,000 Americans die each year from complications of flu, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of the flu include a high fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches. Influenza is a respiratory virus, but gastro-intestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea are common among children, according to the CDC.
Although the best way to prevent the virus is to get vaccinated in the fall, some antiviral medications are effective. In addition to that, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, washing hands often and avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth are all helpful in remaining healthy and flu-free.
An adult who is sick with the flu can be contagious from one day before developing symptoms to up to seven days after getting sick, according to the CDC. Health care professionals recommend getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids and avoiding the use of tobacco or alcohol for those who get sick.
“It’s a long way between where we are at the beginning of January and what usually is the end of flu season,” Gerberding said. “There’s still plenty of flu out there.”
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