It's not just you; flu numbers are up

The last time David Pienta said he could remember having a fever was in 1998. That was before mid-January, when he got the flu.

His doctor confirmed his symptoms were flu-like and Pienta spent the next few days at home resting.

He doesn't know how he got the flu since no one at his job had been sick before him, but afterwards it spread like wildfire.

"It seems like it was widespread," he said, mentioning friends in Central Florida and in Atlanta who called him with the same symptoms.

While the Big Bend Region is not under a pandemic, Leon County Health Department Administrator Homer Rice said numbers are up compared to the last few years. Locally, about 8 percent of weekly illness visits have been attributed to the flu, above the current 4-percent state average and far below western Florida's recent 23 percent rate.

Rice said that the number doesn't reflect the entire flu population since not everyone goes to the doctor, but that 8 percent is considered a moderate season.

Last year's season was lower than average, something he credits to the H1N1 vaccine campaign.

If you were vaccinated this year, you were vaccinated against H1N1, said Rice, as well as type B influenza and H3N2, the three strains of flu scientists deemed would be the most widespread this season.

In the Leon County School system, an noticeable decrease in attendance compared to last season could be attributed to the flu.

"While we can't make the specific jump that it's all from the flu, we can probably guess that students are calling in sick," LCS spokesman Chris Petley said.

At Florida State University's Thagard Student Health Center, numbers peaked during the last few weeks of January, with 80 percent of their illness visits being diagnosed as flu-like.

Thagard Medical Director Dr. Celeste Paquette said last week the number dropped to 45 percent. The center for students and student dependents treats 900 to 1,200 students a week with only about 1-2 percent coming in with flu-like symptoms during the majority of the year.

Tanya Tatum, director of Florida A&M University's Student Health Services, said their flu season has been normal and slower than last year.

"Last year we had a lot of cases because of H1N1. This year's not quite so bad," Tatum said.

"People don't need to panic," said Rice, who reminded those concerned about getting sick that washing their hands, using good respiratory hygiene, getting the flu shot and not returning to work or school until 24 hours after a fever has gone away are the best ways to not catch or spread the virus. "Viruses are not hiding in corners waiting to leap upon you. It has to be transmitted."

To make an appointment to get the flu shot at the Leon County Health Department, call 606-8020.