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Few signs of flu show up in local clinics

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Only a few cases of influenza have been seen at the local clinics so far this winter, and according to Jera Fairley from the Shackelford County Heath Clinic, the patients that tested positive for influenza at that clinic all had one important thing in common.

“I believe all the flu cases we have seen have all been in those who did not receive a flu shot,” Fairley said. 

One vaccinated youth was diagnosed with influenza, but her symptoms were relatively mild, reported a family member. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated every year.

Although the Shackelford County Health Clinic does not have any more flu vaccine available, healthy local children who have not yet been vaccinated this year can get a flu vaccine at the Albany Resource Center.

“We have the flu vaccine that is approved for children ages six months to 18 years,” said ResourceCare nurse Holly Martin. “We are out of the adult vaccine. For a while we were out of the children’s vaccine also, but we recently got in a new shipment.”

The Shackelford Resource Center had not had any confirmed influenza cases in their patients this season as of Monday, Jan. 8.

“We have seen a lot of upper respiratory illnesses, but no flu,” said Martin. 

Albany Independent School District had two reported cases of flu, according to school nurse Lisa Russell. 

Russell said that before the Christmas holidays, one student at each of the two campuses tested positive for influenza.

“We won’t know if we have students that are currently sick until after classes start up again,” she said on Monday. “But we will start covering all the drinking fountains pretty soon. Parents should make sure that their child has a water bottle with them at school, so they can stay hydrated.”

Bottle filling stations are less likely to be a source of disease transmission than drinking fountains, so the new bottle refilling stations will remain accessible and students will be permitted to use them to refill their water bottles.

Other precautions are also recommended to help decrease the spread of influenza and other diseases.

“Our best defense, especially in the younger students, is regular hand washing,” Russell said. “We try to get students to use hand sanitizer before lunch, and encourage regular hand washing, We also tell students and parents that the child needs to stay home if they are running a fever.”

Students are sent home if they have a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more, and must stay home until they have not had a temperature of 100 degrees or greater for at least 24 hours, the nurse added.

“Like last year, sometimes we are only seeing milder symptoms including a headache, body aches, and a fever of 99.5 to 100 degrees in people who have the flu,” Russell said. “Even if they don’t have a high fever, those with the flu are contagious to others. So if your child doesn’t feel well, keep them home.”

Russell said that if parents do not have a thermometer, they can walk their child to her office, and she will check the child’s temperature to see if they need to return home.

Flu Across Texas

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that as of the latest reporting date, for the week ending on Dec. 29, influenza activity is increasing across the state, with widespread geographic activity across Texas. In addition to flu, other respiratory viruses, especially rhinovirus/enterovirus were detected.

Eastland and Taylor counties both reported positive flu cases recently, according to the Texas statewide influenza activity map. Areas with confirmed cases of both type A and type B influenza viruses were seen around Houston, Galveston, College Station, Midland, Victoria, Lufkin, Uvalde, and Laredo.

Nationwide Activity

The CDC weekly Summary FluView Report for the week ending Dec. 29 said that there is high flu activity in 19 states, including Texas, and moderate influenza activity in an additional nine states.

Cases that have been typed in the last week have been predominately Type A (522) and most of those have been subtype H1N1 (439), though some subtype H3N2 (52) as well as a few Type B (14) have also been found.

The CDC recommended precautions to try to reduce the risk of spreading germs.

•Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

•Stay home when you are sick.

•Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.

•Wash your hands often.

•Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

•Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at work, home, or school, especially if someone is ill.

•Practice other good health habits including getting plenty of sleep and exercise, reducing stress, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating nutritious food.