With 'very high' flu activity in SC, what doctors want you to know

A pair of infectious disease experts at MUSC Health are seeing the effects of the state’s “very high” level of flu activity on patients. Scott Curry, M.D., treats adult patients. Stephen Thacker, M.D., takes care of children. Both are busy.

“The last three weeks running, over 10% of all people walking into our ERs walked out with a flu diagnosis, which is a lot,” Curry said.

Thacker is seeing similar numbers at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. “This is one of the highest points with regard to people needing health care because of flu since 2009.”

The “very high” designation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts South Carolina among the top flu hotspots in the country. The timing may tie into a recent cold snap that brought snow and ice to parts of the state that rarely see that kind of precipitation.

“Influenza tracks very, very closely with the weather. So when it's the coldest, it’s usually at the highest level because people are crowded together. It seems to more efficiently transmit and spread through droplets when it's cold out as well,” Curry said.

Flu symptoms include:

• Fever, although not everyone with flu will have one.
• Chills.
• Sore throat.
• Runny nose.
• Body aches.
• Headaches.
• Tiredness.
• Vomiting and diarrhea.

(Source: CDC)

Curry said more than 60% of adults have stomach trouble from the flu. “Adults tend to under-recognize how much diarrhea influenza causes. A lot of adults present with diarrhea as their main symptom, not so much the fever and cough.”

While most people with the flu don’t need to see a doctor, some do. That may include people with asthma and other lung problems, Curry said.

“We always tell adults if you feel out of breath with the flu, that's probably a bad sign. If you're a standard adult with influenza, that's a time you should consider seeing a doctor –  especially if you live alone. Because flu can go very fast in an adult. You can go from feeling a little short-winded to needing ventilation within a span of 24 hours.”

Thacker said parents need to keep an eye on kids’ breathing, too – and their level of hydration. “So watch for things like a reduction in the amount of urine that they've been making. If you feel like your child's not behaving and responding to you in the way that they would normally, that may be cause for concern. These would be reasons to either touch base with your primary care provider or consider taking your child to be seen either in urgent or emergent care.”

Prevention

Both doctors encouraged people to get a flu shot if they haven’t already. “At least in pediatrics, the rate of influenza vaccination is lower than it was even last year. So we have a huge opportunity around influenza vaccination and messaging on the importance of that,” Thacker said.

“We're sitting at around 44% for U.S. children who have been appropriately vaccinated for flu. That's down from 49% where we were last year at the same time.”

The flu vaccination rate for adults is similar. Curry said even people who have had the flu can benefit from a shot because it can protect them against different strains of influenza.

Other prevention measures include:

• Avoiding close contact with people who are ill.
• Washing hands.
• Keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

The good news: Curry thinks the flu activity level is falling. “Now that we’ve had some milder weather, that may help. But there's many a flu season where flu B pops up a bit later than flu A. And that's why I tell people, even if you've had the flu, you can still get your flu shot – because every flu shot has three strains in it.”