County sees first flu case of season

It's baaack.

Just when you thought it was safe to go out, the influenza virus has returned. Colorado's first laboratory-confirmed flu case of the season has been diagnosed in an adult male in El Paso County, the county health department said Tuesday.

It's fairly early for the county to get its first case of the flu, said El Paso County Health Department medical director Dr. Bernadette Albanese. But that doesn't necessarily predict a bad flu season.

"The confirmed test gives us an early indication that flu is starting to circulate in our community," Albanese said. "We can expect to see more cases over the coming weeks so our residents should take note and get their flu vaccine."

Last year, El Paso County had the highest rate of flu infections in the state - 20 percent higher than the statewide average. The 2007-2008 flu season was the worst in four years, with 152 people becoming sick enough with the virus to be hospitalized and tested.

Doctors realize that number is just the tip of the iceberg, but it's impossible to know how many people suffered from the illness at home, Albanese said.

The health department uses the first flu case as a way to promote flu vaccines, which Albanese sees as the most effective way to get protection from the bug. She said even if the vaccine doesn't keep people from getting sick, it may result in a milder illness and less contagion.

The elderly are most at risk of death from the flu, and several die from it in the county every year, Albanese said. She also reminds parents that school-age children and babies as young as six months are encouraged to get the vaccine. Last year, 40 percent of hospitalized cases in the county were in children age 17 or younger.

"Kids are a huge reservoir of flu, because it is spread in school and they bring it home," Albanese said. "They spread the virus a little more easily, and are contagious longer than adults."

She knows many people are skeptical of the vaccine's worth, or worry that it will make them sick. But people can't become ill from the vaccine, she said, dismissing that concern as an "old wives tale ... that is physiologically impossible."

She advises those worried about mercury content in the vaccine - which she is not - to seek out a thimerosal-free dose, which is quickly becoming the standard for children.

Each year, national and international disease experts choose three flu strains to include in the vaccine, and they must choose months before flu season begins, so it is an inexact science. Last season's selections were widely criticized as not safeguarding against the strains that actually struck, but Albanese said the vaccine still reduced the chance of catching flu, with preliminary data indicating it was 44 percent effective in preventing the illness. When the scientists do well, the vaccine can be nearly twice as effective.

"Without question, the vaccine provided more protection than not getting vaccine at all," she said.

Three entirely different strains are included in this year's vaccine, Albanese said. It is unusual that all three strains are swapped out in a single year.

"This year is a clean slate. We will see what happens this season," Albanese said, "and we won't know how effective the vaccine is until the end of the season."

Unlike some years past, there are ample supplies of vaccine this year.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0226 or bill.reed@gazette.com


The Colorado Influenza and Pneumococcal Alert Coalition provides listings of flu shot clinics, dates and costs, at www.immunizecolorado.com or 1-877-462-2911.

Also check The Gazette's Pikes Peak Health blog at pikespeakhealth.freedomblogging.com for local clinics.