If you have the flu, stay home

Several family members and I were at the theater last weekend watching “The Post,” the new movie featuring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks that dramatizes the circumstances leading up to The Washington Post’s publishing of the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

A woman behind us was coughing uncontrollably. I asked her whether she was OK. “It’s only the flu,” she said matter-of-factly.

Only the flu? We quickly grabbed our coats and moved far away from her.

Where has she been? She obviously didn’t get the memo that the public is being afflicted by a particularly virulent strain of the flu this season, and it is highly contagious. Even the flu shot is said to be just about 30 percent effective against this year’s contagion.

Still, health officials continue to recommend the annual flu shot for anyone 6 months of age or older, because, they say, it is still the best way to prevent flu. Studies have shown that even if a person does catch the flu, the illness is likely to be milder if they have received the shot.

Flu season got off to an early and severe start. Deaths, especially among the elderly, are significantly higher than for what’s typical at this time of year. During the period between Oct. 1 and the week ending Jan. 7, there have been about 14 hospitalizations per 100,000 people nationwide, compared with just five per 100,000 last year. Among the elderly, the rate is 57.

There have been widespread reports of flu in all 50 states, compared to just 12 at this time last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to Live Science, this year’s outbreak is bad, because of the H3N2 flu strain, which is notorious for causing more severe symptoms. Researchers have found that annual flu shots are less effective against H3N2 compared with other flu strains. According to a study published in 2016, researchers found that from 2004 until 2015, the flu shot was only about 33 percent effective against H3N2 viruses, but 61 percent effective against H1N1 and 54 percent effective against influenza B viruses.

CDC researchers believe that the H3N2 virus undergoes genetic changes that blunt the effectiveness of the flu vaccine. H3N2 aside, this year’s flu vaccine has been generally effective against the other flu viruses that have been circulating around the country, including here in Pennsylvania.

Based on what they have seen so far, the CDC said that health professionals are predicting that this year’s flu season will be one of the worst in recent memory. The number of cases being reported by area hospitals and medical professionals in our five-county region bears out this conclusion.

Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also may have vomiting and diarrhea. Those infected with the flu may have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

The CDC recommends those with the flu take these common-sense precautions:

• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them. (Take heed, woman in the movie theater.)

• If you are sick with flu symptoms, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, except to get medical care. Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medication.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash immediately after one use.

• Wash your hands often with soap and hot water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, because this is the most basic way that germs spread.

• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with flu germs.

The State Health Department began the surveillance of flu cases on Oct. 1 and will continue doing so until May 19. For the week ending Jan. 13, it classifies the prevalence of flu statewide as “widespread,” the highest reportable category.

There have been 32 deaths statewide, including 25 among residents 65 years of age and older.

There have been nearly 18,000 flu cases reported throughout the state so far this season, with Allegheny County reporting near epidemic numbers at about 3,000. Philadelphia, for example, has had just 360 cases.

Among our local counties, Northampton has reported the most cases with 720, followed by Lehigh with 661; Schuylkill, 183; Monroe, 130; and Carbon, 65. Sparsely populated Forest County has had the fewest number of cases — just 2.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com