In Erie County, like much of the country, influenza cases continue to rise.
There was a 15% increase in cases week over week, according to the latest report from the Erie County Department of Health.
“This is a very, very serious illness that, unfortunately, we're seeing many cases [of] in our community," Erie County Department of Health Commissioner and pediatrician Dr. Gale Burstein told BTPM NPR.
Dr. Burstein warns the current strain of Influenza A, also known as H3N2 subclade K, needs to be taken very seriously.
"We should do whatever we can to protect ourselves against getting infected in the first place,"Dr. Burstein said. "If we start to develop symptoms and we're worried we may be infected with influenza, get a test because there is medication to help prevent complications and hospitalization."
Dr. Burstein and other experts recommend getting vaccinated as soon as possible, if you haven’t already, as influenza season has lasted into the spring in past years.
“This new variant has mutations that largely evade immunity that's built up from previous infections and/or vaccinations," said SUNY Distinguished Professor, Professor and Chief of Infectious Disease at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine Dr. Thomas Russo.
"As a result, we have a larger portion of the population that's susceptible to getting infected," said Dr. Russo.
An article in JAMA Medical News points out this strain of influenza first appeared four months after this year's flu vaccine had already been developed.
Viruses like the flu often experience something called antigenic drift, where they mutate in small ways over time, creating new strains. This makes it hard for a person's immune system to recognize the virus, because the virus has just slightly changed its appearance.
Dr. Shikha Garg, the medical officer of the influenza clinical epidemiology and treatment team at the Centers for Disease Control, told JAMA Medical News that "even in past years with drift, we’ve seen substantial protection" from the vaccine.
So, while the vaccine may not directly address this new version of Influenza A, the vaccine still helps your immune system combat the virus, reducing complications and hospitalization.
And hospitalizations are on the rise with this strain of influenza. New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said Friday “almost 1,000 more people were admitted to a hospital during this most recent 7-day period compared to the prior week” with influenza in New York.
Children and older adults are at significant risk — in New York, two children have died from influenza this flu season already. There's been nine total pediatric deaths across the country, according to CDC's FluView.
The CDC estimates there have been at least 11 million cases of influenza, 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths this flu season so far.
For more information on the flu, vaccination and other resources, visit the state's flu website or the county's flu website.
