Friday, January 07, 2000
Feeling sick? It's probably not flu - yet
Bug overwhelming East Coast states
BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Lots of Tristate residents have been feeling sick lately, but health officials say the Tristate has not yet suffered the influenza wave that appears to be swamping other parts of the country.
After striking hard last month in several Western states, the flu has grabbed na tional media attention as victims of flu-like illnesses blitzed hospitals in Pennsylvania, Georgia and other East Coast states.
“We're having difficulty getting inpatient beds. We have been in a critical status for the last 11 days,” said Dr. Robert McNamara, chief of emergency medicine at Temple University Hospital. “It's so crowded that if you're healthy and you walk into the hospital, you're at risk of getting the flu.”
As of late Thursday, Ohio was still reporting “regional” rather than “widespread” influenza activity, said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Jane Beathard.
In Kentucky and Indiana, state officials report influenza activity at an even lower “sporadic” level.
In Ohio, all of the flu samples tested so far have been Type A, Sydney-like strain — a strain that is covered by this year's flu vaccine, Ms. Beathard said.
In Cincinnati, several hospitals have been so busy this week they have had to temporarily divert life squads. Again, doctors say the rush is not clearly linked to true influenza.
At Bethesda North, which had to divert patients for several hours Thursday, some patients are coming in with signs of influenza and influenza-related pneumonia, said Dr. Michael Bain, medical director of emergency services at TriHealth.
Many others, however, are coming in with non-influenza problems such as strep throat, pneumonia caused by bacteria rather than viruses, and severe dehydration triggered by intestinal infections, Dr. Bain said.
Dr. Thomas Todd, a family medicine specialist, said his Springdale office has been busy for the past few weeks treating sinus infections, bronchitis and other maladies. But only a few patients have had symptoms that justified using the two new flu-treating drugs on the market this year.
As more test results come in, Ohio expects to upgrade its flu report to “widespread” status soon, possibly within days, Ms. Beathard said.
“Widespread” activity means laboratory-confirmed flu cases have been reported in areas that comprise at least 50 percent of the population.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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