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Saline flu cases mount, despite shots |
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Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
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By Jillian Duke
Courier Staff Saline County is one of 49 counties in the state’s 75 with a substantial number of influenza cases.
Ed Barham, public information officer with the state Health Department, said Type A flu has been common across the state.
“The flu is very unpredictable,” he said, adding that it’s never too late to get a flu shot. Saline County Health Unit ranked in the top for flu shot turnouts in the state, said Janice Ray, public educator for the local health unit.
“We did all that advertising to get people out to get the flu vaccine because of all the prevention it creates, as well as it’s an exercise for the county as far as preparedness goes,” she said.
She said about 3,000 people came out to receive the flu shot.
“We felt really good about that as Saline County is sometimes slow to respond,” she said.
However, like all counties across the state and throughout the nation, this year’s flu vaccine didn’t produce the level of protection experts were hoping for.
“There was a slight mutation in the virus where the vaccine turned out to be not as effective,” Ray said. “All we can do is take the information for next year.”
The flu vaccine must be reformulated every year to keep up with the fast-evolving virus, and this year the government made a rare wrong bet on which strains would cause the most cases.
The flu season rocketed in mid-January because of some new strains that are affecting even people who were vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it seems the vaccine is a good match for only about 40 percent of the virus now spreading in the United States.
Ray said the health unit still may get the flu vaccine. However, she said, “We’re already in the peak season. If you were exposed two weeks ago and you come in, it probably wouldn’t protect you.” But for people who are worried about catching the virus, a trip to the local health unit still may help, she said.
She added that even people who have been vaccinated may experience symptoms. “Really sensitive folks could get slight symptoms even though they’re vaccinated.”
The state Health Department reported earlier this week that three Arkansans have died from the flu virus so far this year. In the past two weeks, there has been an increase in the number of flu cases. Flu season in Arkansas usually lasts until the end of March.
The best defense against the flu, Barham said, is frequent hand-washing and staying away from people who are coughing and sneezing. “You begin to shed the virus 24 hours before you even show it,” he said.
He encouraged people who have contracted the flu “to please stay home and get well. Don’t infect others.”
Officials expect to create next year’s vaccine to protect against three strains circulating the globe now, none of which is included in this year’s vaccine. Among these is a strain called Brisbane/10, which is responsible for much if the sickness in this country. This strain was first detected in Australia late last February, too late for scientists to include in this year’s vaccine recipe.
Flu viruses come in different strains that constantly mutate, until one that few people have immunity against emerges and is able to spread widely. Each year’s vaccine contains protection against two varieties of the harsher Type A flu — subtypes knows as H1N1 and H3N2 — and one from the more benign Type B family.
This year, two vaccine components turned out not to be a good match. The Brisbane/10 strain is different enough from the vaccine’s H3N2 version, named Wisconsin, that it now accounts for most of the nation’s laboratory-confirmed flu. A different Type B strain also is causing illness.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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