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Flu on the rise in south Alabama, packing out hospitals
January 28, 2025
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Patients young and old are filling up emergency rooms, urgent cares, and doctor’s offices to start the new year with flu symptoms across the Wiregrass.
“For the past several weeks in the wiregrass, we have continued to see increasing cases of influenza,” said Dr. Nola Eernest, Enterprise pediatrician
-snip- “The longest fever I have seen this year from influenza has been 15 days, and I have routinely seen kids with a fever for 5-6 days from influenza,”
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“About 45% of the kids that we tested between January 10th and January 16th were positive for influenza. That ended with about 500 kids being positive for flu in our clinics alone.”
Dr. Ernest says this is just the start of when they usually see the spike in flu cases as. It normally trends upwards in Alabama between January and March.
Media
Alabama braces for flu season with new H3N2 strain
Alabama health officials report a rise in emergency room visits as a new H3N2 flu strain spreads, urging residents to get vaccinated and practice preventive measures.
Dec 4, 2025
MOUNTAIN BROOK, Ala. —
As Alabama enters flu season, health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated due to the emergence of a new, highly contagious H3N2 flu strain.
-snip-
Dr. Burnestine Taylor, a medical officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, reported a significant increase in flu-related emergency room visits. "We've noticed in the past couple of weeks there's been about a 30 percent increase of emergency room visits," she said.
Health officials remind the public to cover coughs and sneezes and to stay home if they have a fever. "Anything that you do for yourself, the flu shot offers protection to those around you. That's what's so important," they said
A second youth in Alabama has died from the widening flu outbreak in the state raising public concern over the severity of the current outbreak. 14-year-old Noah Smothers of Henagar had been transferred to TC Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga where he passed away Monday morning due to flu complications.
Smothers graduated from Henagar Junior High School in May and then moved on to Ider High School, according to his obituary.
Jace Watkins, an 11-year-old fifth grader at Hueytown Intermediate School died two days after Christmas after being transported to Children’s of Alabama intensive care unit. During his illness, he suffered seizures and had trouble breathing.
Family members of both children say neither Noah nor Jace had previous underlying health issues prior to contracting the flu.
-snip-
The deaths are part of a serious spike in the number of flu cases that have bumped Alabama’s outbreak level up to “High” according to the Centers for Disease Control.
