Flu season is kicking into high gear here a little later than inpast years, say those who track school absences and patients’laboratory results.
Coconino County had 333 confirmed cases as of late February,making this a moderate flu season.
There are at least three different kinds of flu circulatinghere, lab results indicate.
Only a small fraction of those who have flu-like symptomstypically visit a medical professional, making it likely that morethan 6,660 in Coconino County have had a flu or similar illnessthis winter, said Mike Callahan, an epidemiologist at CoconinoCounty Health.
He thinks the peak of flu season is still to come.
“We haven’t hit it yet, and the indicators are still increasingfor the most part,” he said.
Typically, there is a waxing and waning of interest in fluvaccines year-to-year, depending on the severity of that year’sstrain.
Last year, when a feared pandemic like H1N1 was in the news,demand was high and there were restrictions on who received thevaccinations first.
This year, there are no limitations on the vaccine for any whowant a shot.
For comparison, the 2009-10 flu season last year hit in Octoberand led to 253 with confirmed illnesses.
The winters of 2007-08 and 2008-09 were worse, with almost twiceas many confirmed flu cases.
It’s difficult to predict whether this will become a record-badflu season, or just an average one, Callahan said.
“It really depends on how much longer we go,” he said of fluseason.
This year’s vaccines cover H1N1 and seasonal flu, and cost $25for adults or $15 for children (though fees are waived for thosewho cannot pay).
The county’s number for flu vaccines and information is679-7300.
Cyndy Cole can be reached at ccole@azdailysun.com or913-8607.