COLUMBUS, Ohio – While health officials warn that flu-like illness is on the increase in Ohio, the vaccine medical professionals are administering may not do much to prevent the worst strain.
The number of Ohioans sent to the hospital with flu symptoms as of Nov. 29 was 202, compared with 89 at the same time last year, according to a report from the Ohio Department of Health released on Saturday.
A teenager from southern Ohio is the state’s only confirmed pediatric death from flu so far this season, which started in October and likely will continue into next spring, says ODH medical director Dr. Mary DiOrio. Pediatric deaths must be reported to the ODH but adult deaths do not so accurate statistics are not available, D’Orio said.
D’Orio says information released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points to a severe flu season. The predominant Influenza A virus strain this year is known as H3N2 and D’Orio says hospitalizations and deaths are higher when that strain is dominant. To make matters worse, “the flu vaccine that was prepared for this year’s flu season is poorly matched to half of H3N2 viruses circulating, reducing its effectiveness,” D’Orio said.
In spite of that, D’Orio says the CDC still recommends that everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine each year.
“It’s still important to get vaccinated. The flu vaccine has been found to provide some protection against drifted viruses. It also offers protection against circulating influenza strains for which the vaccine remains well-matched, such as Influenza A and B viruses,” she said.
Symptoms of influenza can include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
The CDC is recommending that medical care professionals give their patients hospitalized with suspected or confirmed flu one of two prescription antiviral drugs as a second line of defense as soon as possible.
Patients who could benefit from oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) include children younger than 2 years old, adults 65 and older, people with chronic medical conditions )including asthma, heart disease, or weakened immune systems), pregnant women and people who are morbidly obese.