Flu Reaches High Levels In North Escambia Area

February 24, 2009

Fever. Chills. Headaches. Body aches. Dry Cough. Runny nose. Sore throat. The CDC says the flu has reached high levels in North Escambia and surrounding areas.

flufront.jpgThe Centers for Disease Control reports that flu activity has reached the highest level of the season in Florida and Alabama. The flu has been reported in North Escambia. Nearby Escambia County, Ala., is just one of five Alabama counties where Type A influenza has been reported.

The CDC says that flu activity is presently greater than 60 percent of the peak levels from prior seasons.

Health officials say it is still not too late to get a flu shot…it increases your odds of missing the flu by about 50 percent. The flu vaccine is especially important for people at high risk for serious flu complications, including young children; pregnant women; people with chronic health problems like asthma. diabetes or heart of lung disease; and people 65 or older.

More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year from flu complications. About 10 percent of those are children younger than five years old. About 36,000 people die from the flu each year.

In addition to the vaccine, other recommended actions include:

  • cover your mouth or nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
  • wash your hands with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
  • try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • if you get the flu, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
  • avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

For more information from the CDC about the flu, click here (pdf).

Comments

3 Responses to “Flu Reaches High Levels In North Escambia Area”

  1. E.M.D. on February 28th, 2009 1:54 pm

    Gargling every 2 hours with real warm salt water dilutes and washes toxins away from the throat. Aspirin gum helps the pain. Normal Saline (salt water) nasal spray can help clear sinus drainage. I try to spray and sniff at the same time. Vitamin C helps too. Cold-eez (zinc gluconate) helps shorten colds. Don’t know about the flu. Drinking a lot of liquids helps in keeping the toxins in ones body diluted. Most of you may already know these little helps. I wrote them down, just in case someone doesn’t know. These are the things that help me. I hate for people to be miserable. This thing that is going around now is bad. I just got over it. It may have been much worse, if I hadn’t gotten the flu shot.

  2. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz:( on February 26th, 2009 7:51 am

    i hate it it is horrible i am so miserable my throat is killing me me nose is getting on my nerve this cough is annoying I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. Alisa Hart on February 24th, 2009 8:48 pm

    William, if anyone can get a flu vaccine and it’s not too late, then, please do so! I know there are different strains and it may be the luck of the draw if you get the right one or not, but, the strain my son has is horrible. He’s 13, been in the bed since I checked him out of school on Friday and still in there tonight, and it’s Tuesday. This stuff is BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!