37 Dead From Flu In Georgia, Officials Say

ATLANTA, GA — At least 37 people in Georgia have died from this year's flu outbreak, state health officials said Wednesday. State Epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek said 25 of those deaths were to people 65 years old or older and that 84 percent of the deaths were of people over 50. Only one childhood death has been reported, she said — a child between the ages of 12-18.

Georgia is one of 49 U.S. states where the virus has hit hard this flu season, which runs from Oct. 1, 2017 through May 19, 2018. In metro Atlanta alone, nearly 700 people have been hospitalized this year due to the flu, Drenzek said.

This year, the predominant strain of flu circulating in Georgia and around the country is influenza A, or H3N2. This strain can be particularly hard on the very young, those over age 65 and people with existing medical conditions. Along with two or three others and depending on the vaccine, H3N2 is one of the strains contained in this year's flu vaccine.

Drenzek and Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner J. Patrick O'Neal urged Georgians who still haven't received a flu shot to do so. While flu cases may have peaked for the year, they said, there are several more weeks to go.

"The best protection we have against influenza is the seasonal flu shot," O'Neal said. "It's not perfect by any means ... very often by the time the flu shows up in our area, the virus has mutated. But, even when it doesn't prevent it, we have information that it modifies the severity of it."

This year's flu season in Georgia hit early and with high peaks, Drenzek said. By the third week of January, 12 percent of all doctor visits in the state were reportedly due to flu-like symptoms, she said.

Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, body aches, headaches and fatigue. The flu virus is spread through the air, from coughing and sneezing, or by touching something that someone with the virus has touched.

You can pass the flu to someone else before and while you are sick. And according to a new study, it may be easier to spread the flu than previously thought. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health found that people infected with the flu can spread the virus in the air just by breathing — even if they don't cough or sneeze.

Here are tips to avoid the flu and curb its spread, provided by the Centers for Disease Control:

• Stay home if you are sick. With the exception of seeking medical care, do not go out until 24 hours after your fever has subsided without the use of medication.
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces that may have become contaminated with germs.
• Avoid others who are sick.
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue. Throw away tissues after use.

To treat the flu, use over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or cough syrup to relieve symptoms. Rest in bed and drink lots of fluids.

If you contact your doctor within 48 hours of onset of symptoms, you may be able to take an antiviral drug, like Tamiflu, which will reduce the severity of symptoms and length of the illness.

You can be contagious from one day before and up to seven days after becoming sick.

So far, the 2018 flu season has not reached historic levels, but it is on par with the worst flu season in recent years, the 2014-2015 season. As with any flu virus, the people most at risk are the elderly, children under five, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.

Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press