Flu Season: Cuyahoga County Still Leads Ohio In Hospitalizations

Cuyahoga County continues to lead Ohio in flu-related hospitalizations, with 372 confirmed cases. The state, as a whole, has had 1,832 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Those numbers are up marginally from last week, based on ODH data. Cuyahoga County had 331 flu-related hospitalizations before January ended, and the state had 1,560 total flu-related hospitalizations during the same stretch.

The H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) continues to be the predominant strain in most of the country while the H3N2 virus has predominated in the Southeast. FDA Director Scott Gottlieb has said that the H1N1 strain tends to peak late in the season but that the vaccine has a 60 percent effectiveness or more against it.

The flu continues its inexorable march across the nation, and is now classified as "widespread" in the vast majority of states, including Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only states not reporting widespread flu activity are Colorado, Indiana, West Virginia, Alaska and Hawaii. The geographic spread of flu activity does not measure the severity of the virus.

According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 24 children have died from flu-related causes during the ongoing flu season. None of the children were from Ohio.

Early estimates from the CDC found that by mid-November 2018, 45.6 percent of children aged between 6 months to 17 years old had been vaccinated against the flu, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to early estimates from the previous season. For adults 18 and older, the CDC’s estimates showed that by mid-November, 44.9 percent had been vaccinated against the flu, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to early estimates from the previous season.

The latest figures released by the CDC on Friday are current for the week of January that ended Jan. 26. Between Oct. 1, 2018 through Jan. 26, the CDC estimates that there have been between 10.1 million to 11.7 million flu illnesses in the United States, 4.7 million to 5.6 million flu-related medical visits and between 118,000-141,000 flu hospitalizations.

The flu can cause serious illness, hospitalization and death. The groups most at risk are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions, according to the CDC.

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You can use the CDC’s flu vaccine finder to locate a pharmacy or clinic near you that provides the vaccine:

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 (tiredness)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

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