Flu season is in full swing in Connecticut, with local medical professionals reporting a rise in the number of cases.
Chris Boyle, spokesman for Bristol Hospital, said the hospital has had a fairly normal flu season so far.
“We are still early in the season but we have not seen numbers higher than normal,” Boyle said. “We put into action a flu prevention plan. All employees are required to get the flu shot.”
The hospital also provides education for employees, patients and visitors encouraging hand hygiene, not coughing into hands and wearing a mask.
“Hand hygiene is one of the easiest ways of preventing the flu,” Boyle added.
The Connecticut State Department of Public Health reported that from the week of Dec. 16 to Dec. 22 influenza activity has been classified as widespread which means there are outbreaks of influenza or increases in influenza-like illness and recent laboratory-confirmed flu in at least half the regions of the state. The report also states that the percentage of statewide emergency department visits attributed to the “fever/flu syndrome” has increased from 7.2 percent in the week of Dec. 9 to Dec.15 to 8.5 percent in the week of Dec. 16 to Dec. 22.
“Flu activity is rapidly increasing in Connecticut and in other areas, however we expect it to be less than last year’s severe season,” said Christopher Stan, spokesperson of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
While the Connecticut Department of Public Health is in the process of completing verification of the data from the 2017-2018 influenza season, the department’s preliminary estimated totals include that the total flu associated deaths were more than 180 last season.
Dr. David Buono, chief of emergency medicine at the Hospital of Central Connecticut said that compared to other years the amount of seasonal flu cases he has seen so far are average to below average this season.
“It’s still early but I feel like at our hospital we’ve just started to see it,” Buono said. “Probably within the last two to three weeks we started to see flu. Last year we had a lot of flu and because of that a lot of people were in the hospital with complications and other things so people waited to get a bed upstairs for admission. We predict it will happen again, it usually does at some point.”
Thomas Brown, owner and medical director of Kathy’s Urgent Care in Berlin said that as a doctor for 15 years and as someone in the urgent care field for seven years he is concerned about the amount of patients he has already treated with the flu this season.
Brown said that he has seen an increasing amount of flu cases this season and at an earlier time than previous years in which he mostly saw patients with the flu in January and February. For the last two to three weeks Brown said that there has been a substantial increase in cases of flu.
“It’s a bad year, much worse than last year,” Brown said.
He added that he has observed the same increasing pattern in the clinics of Wethersfield and Rocky Hill.
On the other hand, Dr. Stuart Calle, of A Walk-In Medical Center in Newington said that so far he has only attended to seven cases of flu this season. Calle added that the number is considered average this time of the year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that flu viruses are detected year-round in the country but are most common during the fall and winter. The exact timing and duration of flu seasons can vary, but influenza activity usually starts to increase in October. Flu peaks are normally between December and February, but activity can last as late as May.
Both local doctors and the State Department of Public Health said it is not too late to get the flu shot.
“While it takes a few weeks for full immunity to develop, the annual flu season usual peak period from January to February is likely still several weeks away,” Stan said.
For more information about Connecticut seasonal influenza statistics and prevention visit the State Department of Public Health’s website at https://portal.ct.gov/DPH.
Karla Santos can be reached at 860-801-5079 or ksantos@centralctcommunications.com.