Severe Flu Cases on the Rise in South Lake Tahoe

The flu season is in full swing in South Lake Tahoe as well as across the country, prompting health officials to warn people of the severity.

This year the predominant flu strain in the United States is H1N1, the same one that caused the international pandemic in 2009-2010. Medical experts believe that this strain will take its toll on children and middle aged adults. So far this winter, 13 deaths have been attributed to the flu in North Carolina. In Hildago, Texas there have already been 6 deaths and 2 in Salt Lake City. Six children have died nationally during this flu season.

Dr. Paul Rork, a physician at Barton Urgent Care at Stateline Medical Center is seeing a “significant increase in flu activity from this same time last year and patients seem to be sicker.” He adds that “flu cases started before Christmas and it has just continued.”

Vicki McKenna, MSN, RN, CE is an Infection Preventionist at Barton Health. She notes that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported widespread cases of the flu with greater severity in healthy, young adults. Symptoms may include a high fever, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, and/or headache.

While many of Dr. Rork’s flu patients are regretting not getting the vaccine and insisting they will “get the flu shot next year,” McKenna explains that it is not too late to get immunized. “This is the flu season you want to be vaccinated. This will reduce your symptoms and chances of getting the flu by sixty percent.”

There are many common misconceptions about the flu vaccine. Though the vaccine does not guarantee you will not get the flu, it does reduce your risk. It is not just for the elderly and young children; the CDC estimates that 90% of H1N1 related deaths occur in individuals 65 and under. The current vaccine includes H1N1 though no cases of H1N1 have been reported in South Lake Tahoe this winter. And even if you have had the flu this season, it is possible to get it again.

During the annual flu season, it is Barton Health’s priority to protect the health of our patients, employees and community. El Dorado County’s Health and Human Services department requires that all healthcare workers wear masks while providing patient care if they have not been immunized for influenza during the 2013/2014 flu season.

It is still not too late to get a flu vaccine. Local medical offices and pharmacies still have supplies of the vaccine.