Several strains of influenza circulating in Henry County

By KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

On Wednesday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a statement saying influenza has reached an epidemic status. The same is true for here in Henry County.

Travis Johnson, Community Health Director for Henry County Health Center, said the HCHC emergency room and the family medicine clinic, which is an independent operation, have both seen a high number of influenza cases so far this winter; specifically respiratory cases.

?Whether it?s Influenza A, Influenza B, parainfluenza, any of those respiratory viruses that are going around, the treatment is generally the same,? Johnson said.

Johnson said the different strains of influenza are treated the same because they are all an influenza virus.

The flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses and may come on suddenly. Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches, according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).

According to the IDPH, four strains of influenza have been identified, the most common being A(H3N2).

?In the years when A(H3N2) viruses dominate, the flu season tends to be more severe with more hospitalizations and deaths,? the press release stated.

According to a statement from the CDC, the flu tends to be most prevalent in the month of February.

Johnson said since Influenza A is the most prevalent form of the flu and since the season is beginning so early, these are both indicators of a harsh flu season.

?When we first saw the first positive flu results, that was back in late September and we were seeing both the A and the B strains,? said Johnson. ?When we see that, we think there?s a lot of flu that?s circulating.?

One of the other concerns this flu season, besides how early it?s starting, is the strain of influenza.

?What has caught a lot of attention this year is the flu vaccine that we distributed this year, vaccinated against influenza A(H3N2), that was one of the strains specifically built into the vaccine,? said Johnson. ?However, as these viruses move, and they move around the world, they change.?

Johnson said Asia is a sort of hub, of sorts, for influenza and because doctors see the virus there, they are able to predict what type of flu and what issues they?ll see here in the U.S.

Johnson said what we?re seeing this flu season is still the A(H3N2) virus, but it has ?drifted.?

?It?s not quite the same thing we were vaccinating against,? said Johnson.

Johnson said the vaccine is still affective, just ?not as much.?

?They expect it to be 50 percent affective. Whereas if that virus hadn?t drifted any, we would have a really good match-up and the vaccine would work really well,? he added.

Johnson said despite the strain drifting, the vaccine is still the best defense against getting the flu. Johnson said the HCHC still has some vaccines left.

Johnson said there were some issues earlier this winter with having a short supply of vaccines, which he said was due to not receiving some shipments they were expecting.

Johnson said besides getting vaccinated, there are a few other steps people can take to avoid spreading the illness, they?re called the three C?s. ?Cover your coughs and sneezes, clean your hands frequently and contain germs by staying home when you?re sick,? he said.