Flu Activity Keeps Up In New Year: 800 Cases Last Week In Ohio

CLEVELAND — More than 800 Ohioans were hospitalized with flu-like symptoms during the first week of 2020, according to data released by the Ohio Department of Health. Northeast Ohio and West Central Ohio lead the state in most influenza hospitalizations.

Northeast Ohio had 145 hospitalizations during the first week of 2020, while West Central Ohio had 176 hospitalizations. Both regions feature major metropolises: Cleveland and Columbus, respectively.

The state also had its first pediatric-flu death of the season. Berea Midpark High School student Kaylee Roberts died on New Year's Eve after battling influenza for two days. The Ohio Department of Health urged everyone in the state to get a flu vaccine to prevent influenza's further spread.

“Getting the flu vaccine is the safest and most effective way to prevent the flu for everyone 6 months and older,” said Dr. Mark Hurst, Medical Director at ODH, on Jan. 3. “Flu hospitalizations could still be on the rise. You need to protect yourself, your friends and your family and get a flu shot now if you haven’t already.”

Nationwide, only four states are not seeing widespread flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first influenza report of 2020. Still, on Friday, government health officials reported that despite the prevalence of the virus in most states, the number of confirmed influenza cases actually dropped the first week of 2020.

The percentage of virus specimens testing positive for influenza fell from 26.4 percent for the week ending Dec. 28 to 23.3 percent for the week ending Jan. 4. However, while flu activity remains high, officials said, the number of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths indicates we haven’t yet reached the peak of this year’s flu season.

The CDC estimates that, so far this season, there have been at least 9.7 million illnesses, 87,000 hospitalizations and 4,800 deaths from flu.

For comparison, the CDC reported a total of 6.4 million illnesses, 55,000 hospitalizations and 2,100 deaths in its weekly report ending Dec. 28.

The groups most at risk of the flu are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The flu is a highly contagious illness, which is why the CDC urges everyone to do the following things to protect themselves and others: