By Carol Stiffler
The particularly vicious influenza A is in its prime, both locally and across the country, taking otherwise healthy people by surprise with its ferocity.
Some local people reported high fevers, vomiting, and feeling sicker “than ever before” with the virus.
Dr. Michael Beaulieu, Chief Medical Officer at Helen Newberry Joy Hospital, said he’s getting reports that show this flu season is the worst the nation has had in 15 years.
“In the last couple weeks, of the little over 200 tests we’ve had, about half of those have come back positive for influenza A,” Beaulieu said. “In the same time, only six tests were positive for RSV and only nine for COVID.”
We’re seeing plenty of people sick with the common cold, too, he said, and don’t test positive for any of the viruses above.
The contagion was so common and intense that Three Lakes Academy, Tahquamenon Area Schools, and Engadine Consolidated Schools each closed for two days to give students and staff a chance to get well and stop spreading the sickness.
While some patients were quite sick, no one is currently hospitalized at Helen Newberry Joy with any of those illnesses, and no local deaths have been reported due to influenza.
“All the influenza we’ve seen here locally has been influenza A,” Beaulieu said. “They’re all the same strain. We’re all just circulating it between us.”
The dreaded norovirus, which has been in the news weeks ago and is currently spreading throughout the country, is not making much of a splash locally. It may be here, but Beaulieu said patients aren’t stopping in the clinic with nausea and dehydration from the vomiting and diarrhea of norovirus; they’re stopping in for respiratory symptoms.
This year’s flu shot covers two strains of influenza A, both H1N1 and H3N2, and influenza B. “The one we’re all getting is H1N1 – one hundred percent of it is that,” Beaulieu said.
That makes the vaccine a good match for this year’s flu season, though Beaulieu said some vaccinated people are still getting the flu. Conventional wisdom suggests that they may become less severely ill than they otherwise would have, since the influenza antibodies are already present in their system.
Cold and flu season has become an expected part of winter – its peak activity is usually December through February, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
It hasn’t peaked here yet.
“I’m looking at the numbers for the last two weeks, they’re still going up,” Beaulieu said. “We could be at the peak, and I hope we’re at the peak.”
We won’t know until the number of positive test results starts dropping, he said.
“I have always heard when it gets so cold, people will be spending more time inside in close proximity to others, increasing the spread of germs and viruses,” said Helen Johnson, CEO of Helen Newberry Joy Hospital. “Our latitude – i.e. shorter days – can also result in decreased sunlight exposure, leading to lower vitamin D levels, which can weaken the immune system.”
Johnson shared her go-to home remedies. “My personal favorites are homemade chicken soup (fats, vitamins, warmth), a good multivitamin, and rest,” she said. “The restorative powers of rest and sleep are amazing.”
