A severe flu season in Australia has Arkansas' state epidemiologist expecting a similar flu season in Arkansas.
Dr. Dirk Haselow said Thursday that signs over the past few months are that flu season has started earlier than usual in Arkansas and may be more severe than in the past.
Reports show that positive test results for the flu are at a level normally seen in February, the height of flu season, Haselow said. Of the 20,439 emergency room visits last week, 502 (2.5 percent) people exhibited flulike illnesses, according to the state Health Department's weekly flu report.
The report said that since Oct. 1, 14 facilities across the state -- including nine nursing homes -- have reported flu breakouts. Six people, all 65 or older, have died from the flu. No pediatric flu deaths have been reported.
Haselow said 50 deaths per flu season is about average for Arkansas.
The geographic spread of the flu in Arkansas was rated as "widespread" in the Dec. 9 report, and the intensity was rated as "moderate." Haselow said the intensity referred to the level of activity in emergency rooms and outpatient clinics of people arriving with flulike illnesses.
Since Oct. 1, 4,600 positive flu tests have been reported to the Health Department's database, according to the Dec. 9 flu report. The previous week's report listed 3,200 flu cases.
Sixty-three of Arkansas' 75 counties reported flu cases last week, the report said. Most of the cases reported were in Benton, Craighead, Drew, Faulkner, Garland, Jefferson, Lonoke, Pulaski, Saline, Sebastian, Washington and White counties.
Haselow referred to a Nov. 29 article in the New England Journal of Medicine that said Australia recently concluded its flu season with a record-high number of confirmed flu cases, and an above-average number of hospitalizations and deaths.
The vaccine Australia used was only 10 percent effective against Influenza A, the dominant strain for the flu season, the article said. It said the vaccine had the same composition as the vaccine the United States is using in its current season.
The state Health Department's Dec. 9 report said that of the flu cases tested that could distinguish between Influenza A and Influenza B, 76 percent came back as Influenza A.
The flu virus circulates around the globe, Haselow said. What the Southern Hemisphere gets in its flu season, the Northern Hemisphere is likely to see in its next season. Haselow added that there is always the chance that the flu here won't be as harsh as what hit Australia.
Doctors here are concerned that the vaccine they are giving patients won't fully protect them from the flu, Haselow said.
Still, Haselow said it is worth it to get vaccinated. Although the vaccine may be less effective against some types of flu, it has different components that are beneficial in providing protection. Being vaccinated also can help reduce the severity of the flu if a person contracts it, he said.
Influenza is severe illness, Haselow said. It's not like getting a cold, he said, where a person will have nasal congestion, fever and a cough. A person with the flu will experience soreness all over, weakness, fever and a cough, Haselow said, and it can last for weeks.
It is especially difficult on children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with medical conditions such as heart disease or cancer. Haselow said the flu among those groups can result in hospitalization or death.
The state has plenty of vaccine, Haselow said, although records show a slight drop in reported doses being administered. He said that could be because people are getting vaccinated at places that don't report those vaccinations.
State Desk on 12/15/2017