Flu season starting off strong

When asked how the flu season was going for Plains Regional Medical Center, Administrator Drew Dostal said it was a pretty good flu season.

He quickly added that by good, he meant good if you were the flu.

“It’s hard for us to call if it’s going to be one of the worst,” Dostal said. “It’s starting out of the gates pretty decently.”

National indicators are showing that following two bad seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the 2019-20 flu season could be the worst since 2003

Nationwide, 3.5% of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network were due to influenza-like illness (ILI). This percentage is above the national baseline of 2.4% for the fourth straight week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This season is off to an early start, earlier than any season this decade,” said Bryan Lewis, a professor at the University of Virginia. “You have to go back to 2003 before you have as much active transmission in early December as we have now.”

Lewis, who works in a research partnership with AccuWeather.com, has focused his research on understanding the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases within specific populations through both analysis and simulation.

Locally, the numbers are indicative the 2019-20 flu season has followed national trends of an early start.

In November and December, Dostal said, PRMC has seen almost 90 flu cases so far. Last year, there were only 16 in those two months.

Roosevelt General Hospital almost certainly planned to see more patients with flu symptoms this year compared to last year, if only because it expanded services earlier this year to include a Clovis clinic. But a new clinic wouldn’t account for the spike Infection Control/Employee Health Jesse Gleaton-Croke reported.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 8 last year, RGH had 135 visitors with flu-related illnesses. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 7 this year, it’s at 210. From Nov. 17-23, Gleaton-Croke said, influenza like illnesses accounted for 5.7% of patient visits.

In terms of Tucumcari’s Trigg Memorial Hospital — which is operated by Presbyterian along with PRMC — there were 108 flu cases in the 2018-19 flu season. Five cases have been confirmed since November, with no hospital admissions. Associate Administrator Vickie Gutierrez was on a vacation and unavailable for interviews.

Flu prevention comes down to the small things, Dostal noted.

“Hand washing is No. 1, either hand washing or using a sanitizer,” Dostal said. “Wiping down high touch areas is important. If you’re running a flu, avoid work and avoid large crowds. And get the flu shot. It’s never too late.”

So far, PRMC has given more than 800 flu shots, but about 70% of that is to PRMC employees. Meanwhile, RGH has given out 874 flu shots since Oct. 1, which is already up from the 860 it saw in the last three months of 2018.

The New Mexico Department of Health has noted the 2018-19 flu season was the longest in 10 years, going into May. Gleaton-Croke is anticipating this season lasting that long as well. Dostal is hoping it isn’t as good, so to speak, around late April.

“Our largest numbers usually come in right around February,” Dostal said. “Last year, we had 704 cases alone. All bets are off until the last flu case is counted.”