COLUMBUS – The wave of flu cases that has struck Ohio during the nasty 2017-18 flu season may have crested.
At least, that’s what state health officials are hoping, based on the most recent weekly reports on flu cases.
“We’re starting to see numbers peak now so we might be seeing the back side of it slowly,” Dr. Clint Koenig, the Ohio Department of Health’s medical director said in an interview for “Perspective.”
According to the department’s most recent update, nearly 1,700 people were hospitalized in Ohio with flu symptoms during the week that ended Jan. 20, bringing the total number of hospitalizations during the flu season to almost 7,400, Koenig said.
The activity is higher than normal but showed a decline over previous weeks, according to department data (see graph).
Nationally, health officials say this flu season could be the most intense since 2009.
The season usually peaks in February, but this season started early and took off in December. The spread of the virus was probably exacerbated by bitterly cold temperatures during the first three weeks of the year.
“If I was a betting man, I’d put money on it going down. But I’ve lost money on bets before,” said Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
The 249 flu-related hospitalizations in the 15-county Central Ohio region was an increase over the week before, according to the department’s website. Franklin and its six surrounding counties have reported 820 influenza-related hospitalizations this season, with Franklin County accounting for 567 of them.
The flu blanketed the U.S. for the third straight week. Only Hawaii has been spared.