Few flu cases cited in Amarillo area

The height of flu season is on the horizon, according to state health officials, but it's difficult to see that in Amarillo.


! _( @" C% @" VFlu Hot Line
The Amarillo Public Health Department has set up a flu hot line at 806-351-7001. It offers flu prevention tips and a list of pharmacies where the vaccine is available.

Hospitals and clinics have reported unusually few cases - in one hospital, none at all - of the flu so far this season.
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& q, e3 [4 z0 `; b"The flu is just not here," said Matt Richardson, director of the Amarillo Public Health Department. "Many providers will tell you that flu season has not hit Amarillo."
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' M' K* H2 X' H! MThe health department predicted in November it expected the flu to hit early this season, around mid-December. That hasn't been the case.

The flu has been nonexistent in the Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said Linda Woodward, spokeswoman for the center.

"There have been no positive flu tests since the end of last flu season," Woodward said Friday.

Mary Barlow, spokeswoman for Baptist St. Anthony's Health System, said the hospital has seen an extremely light season for flu and other respiratory illnesses.
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"We admitted three people with the flu in the last 10 days, which is nothing," Barlow said.

She said BSA also has fewer cases in its pediatric unit of children with "RSV." Respiratory syncytial virus is often contracted by infants and young children in the wintertime and infects the lungs and breathing passages.

7 Y4 F0 F4 F7 x$ k5 ^Caytie Martin, spokeswoman for Northwest Texas Healthcare System, said, "It's been a pretty minimal flu season in comparison to some years past."

Hospital and clinics are not required to report the number of cases to the public health department.
Flu cases typically spike around January or February in Amarillo, but stretch from October to May in Texas.

Still, a heavy flu season could strike as early as next week, Richardson warns.

/ R% S- f+ M' A# O/ a"We're keeping our fingers crossed that it's just going to be a mild season," Richardson said.

. d0 q" F" r/ B7 s8 L7 t# ^Richardson said the lack of cases can be attributed to one of three things: Many people received a flu vaccine, this year could just be a light season, or maybe the flu hasn't hit Amarillo yet.
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"It's hard to decide which of those it is in January," he said.
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3 s7 O! b/ k  }: t! JStacie Gonzales, a licensed vocational nurse with Amarillo Urgent Care, said it may be a case of a more effective flu vaccine. Last year, she said, the strains of vaccine were not effective in combatting the virus that circulated.

" A* O- o- P' u2 W0 }7 MGonzales said her clinic has seen roughly 15 to 20 cases of the flu since late October, "which really isn't that bad considering the number of people we see every day."
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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Texas is one of 11 states having "local" flu activity, the second lowest of a four-tier scale.

The Department of State Health Services issued a reminder Friday that it's not too late for people to get their flu shot.

2 p, l$ L5 n9 O2 kThe shots are recommended for people ages 6 months and older. The vaccine takes about two weeks to become effective.
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* s! I4 `' A+ HState health officials ask that the public still take precautions: Stay home if you're sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and wash hands frequently.
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http://www.amarillo.com/stories/011009/new_12250455.shtml

some information of importance:
/ `; b# b) @  U6 b2 o. MRichardson said the lack of cases can be attributed to one of three things:
1、Many people received a flu vaccine,
2、this year could just be a light season,
3、or maybe the flu hasn't hit Amarillo yet.
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7 m, n9 w( d1 NThe vaccinations are recommended for people ages 6 months and older. The vaccine takes about two weeks to become effective.

+ O' ]$ [6 m6 @8 BState health officials ask that the public still take precautions: Stay home if you're sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and wash hands frequently.