According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu infections resulting in illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths are at elevated levels throughout the country.
This season, the Arkansas Department of Health has reported 23 deaths, 17 occurring in patients 65 and older.
The increase in the number of cases and the severity of the flu this season is due to a mutation of the H3N2 strain that began after this year’s vaccination was already developed. According to Director of Student Health Services Lynn McCarty, the current vaccination includes the H3N2 strain.
“The problem is that influenza or that type of virus can be very tricky,” McCarty said. “It can morph into a little bit of a different bug than the one they were initially aware of.”
Sophomore Breanna Scott said that she and her mother both got the flu shot this year, but her mother still got sick.
“It’s never really 100 percent effective, but I’ll probably end up continuing to get the flu shot unless I have a bad experience with it,” Scott said.
McCarty said instances of the flu on campus have been sparse and have occurred before the winter break. White County Medical Center Infection Control Specialist Mary Lou Adams said that several cases in White County have led to hospitalization.
“The elderly are the main ones that get hit hard,” Adams said. “We are having a lot of children test positive for the flu, but we haven’t had any children in the hospital yet.”
Symptoms of the flu include headache, body aches and fever above 100 degrees. Although the flu can last for nearly a week, McCarty said an early trip to the doctor and an antiviral like Tamiflu can lessen the severity of the illness.
“Most of the time when you get the flu it hits you like a ton of bricks,” McCarty said. “If it does happen, if the student comes over we can try to get them into a doctor very quickly and hopefully get them on the road to recovery more swiftly.”
With the official flu season continuing through March, McCarty and Adams encourage students to take preventative measures such as hand washing, avoiding touching hands to the mouth and face and getting vaccinated.
“If you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, even though it is not as effective at preventing it, it is still good to get,” Adams said. “If you catch the flu after you’ve had the shot, it will usually be a milder case.”
Flu vaccinations are available at doctors’ offices and drug stores such as Walgreens.
