Real flu cases few, far between

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http://www.kypost.com/2002/feb/14/flu021402.html

Real flu cases few, far between

By Starr, Post staff reporter

Is it the flu?

Or The Flu?

Some symptoms

Influenza is an infection of the respiratory tract caused by the influenza

virus.

Symptoms typically appear suddenly and include fever, cough, muscle aches,

headaches , sore throat, chills and fatigue.

Flu symptoms in school-age children and adolescents are similar to those in

adults, but children tend to have higher temperatures, ranging from 103 to

105 degrees.

Source: American Lung Association.

Only a culture can tell for sure.

While many Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky residents swear the flu has hit

them, health officials say the incidence of real influenza has been light

this winter.

Only two cases of influenza - the debilitating illness that is most

dangerous for the elderly and chronically ill - have been recorded in

Northern Kentucky, according to Peggy , spokeswoman for the

Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department.

Kentucky, which is reporting regional flu activity, has confirmed 24 cases,

according to the Kentucky State Department for Public Health.

Ohio, also reporting regional activity, has logged nine confirmed cases

throughout the state, none of them from Cincinnati, said Ohio Department of

Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss.

Doctors are not required to report flu cases unless the flu is confirmed by

culture. The actual number of flu cases, therefore, is likely to exceed the

number of confirmed cases reported by state and local health departments.

To ensure that some cultures are being done, local health departments

conduct routine surveillance. In Northern Kentucky, cultures are taken from

people who appear to have the flu within a designated school district, a

large family practice and a nursing home.

In Cincinnati, designated medical practices send cultures from people with

flu-like illnesses to the state. The nine positives recorded in Ohio this

winter came from 83 specimens.

While the real influenza is keeping a low profile this winter, health

officials acknowledge that plenty of other bugs are out and biting fiercely.

''There's a lot of apparent viral illness out, but those are flus with a

little 'f,' as opposed to the influenza we use the vaccine for,'' said Dr.

Judith s, medical director of the Cincinnati Health Department.

At White Tower Elementary in Kenton County, about 10 percent of the student

body has been sick during the last two weeks with a variety of ailments,

including strep throat and pneumonia, a school spokeswoman said.

In the Cincinnati suburb of Finneytown, St. Vivian's Elementary closed for

two days last week because so many children were sick.

''We've had everything from viruses to strep, but it's been 90 percent

viral,'' said Lind a Ortman, the school's secretary. ''We're getting parents

saying it is the flu, but unless the pediatricians are confirming it, we're

saying it's viral.''

Ms. Ortman said the situation has improved this week because ''parents are

keeping the kids home when they're sick.''

Publication date: 02-14-02