Flu peaks locally, appears to be receding

Published 5:45 am Saturday, January 10, 2015

By Staff reports

FILE- This April 30, 2009, file photo shows a box of Tamiflu in a Toronto health clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, Jan. 9. 2015, sent a new alert to doctors, advising prompt use of Tamiflu and other antivirals for hospitalized flu patients and those at higher risk for complications like pneumonia.

Flu activity appears to have peaked in the Cullman area and is now beginning to recede while the illness remains highly active across the state and much of the southern United States.

Fewer people have been treated at Cullman Regional Medical Center for flu-like symptoms this year compared to last year, with one flu-related death occurring in December, said Lindsey Dossey, hospital spokeswoman. CRMC reported three flu-related deaths in 2013.

CRMC gave 426 flu tests to patients who presented with flu-like symptoms in November and December. Of those, 78 were positive, with 68 lab-confirmed tests in December, according to Marti Smith, the hospital’s infection prevention/ employee health manager.

Last year, the hospital performed 880 tests on patients with flu-like symptoms in November and December, with 169 testing positive. Of those confirmed cases, 164 of them were reported in December.

Ed Holcombe Discount Pharmacy in Cullman filled a handful of Tamiflu prescriptions last month, said pharmacist Gina Clenzenger. The drug is an antiviral medicine used to treat influenza.

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“We had some people coming in last month, but not as many in the past few weeks,” she said. “Before Christmas, we saw a bit of a peak, but lately it’s just been people coming in to fill antibiotics and other medicine for colds.”

Widespread influenza activity was reported by 43 states for the week ending Dec. 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The flu is being blamed for seven pediatric deaths in the Southeast, where 24.5 percent of all flu tests conducted there have come back positive, according to the CDC.

The percentage of outpatient doctor visits for influenza-like symptoms has reached the same level as the peak of the 2012-2013 flu season. Nationwide, 5.9 percent of outpatient visits reported were due to influenza-like illness, above the national baseline of 2 percent.

Tiffeny Owens can be reached by email at towens@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131.

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