First flu cases turning up
BY PEGGY O?FARRELL | POFARRELL@ENQUIRER.COM
Flu season has officially arrived, with lab-confirmed cases of the virus reported in Ohio and Kentucky.
People still time to get a flu shot, health officials say.
Flu season doesn?t generally peak in Ohio and Kentucky until late January into February.
?December and January is not too late to get your flu shot,? said Gary Crum, director of the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
The Kentucky Department of Public Health Monday reported three lab-confirmed cases of influenza, including two in Fayette County and one in Woodford County.
In Ohio, one lab-confirmed case had been reported as of Monday. The county of residence was unknown, said Kristopher Weiss, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
But the state is also reporting more than 770 so-called ?Class B? cases of suspected flu or flu-like illness, Weiss said.
The ?Class B? cases are not lab-confirmed.
In Ohio, 20 sentinel physicians around the state report suspected flu cases to the state health department, Weiss said.
Many viruses circulate in the winter months when close contact and holiday crowds make it easy for bugs to spread. In Mount Lookout, Cardinal Pacelli School is closed today Tues because about a dozen of the school?s 25 teachers have what school officials called stomach flu.
Northern Kentucky health officials reported a single flu case identified through rapid testing in Boone County.
The case, which involved an adult, was not confirmed by the state lab, said Emily Gresham Wherle, spokeswoman for the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
BY PEGGY O?FARRELL | POFARRELL@ENQUIRER.COM
Flu season has officially arrived, with lab-confirmed cases of the virus reported in Ohio and Kentucky.
People still time to get a flu shot, health officials say.
Flu season doesn?t generally peak in Ohio and Kentucky until late January into February.
?December and January is not too late to get your flu shot,? said Gary Crum, director of the Northern Kentucky Health Department.
The Kentucky Department of Public Health Monday reported three lab-confirmed cases of influenza, including two in Fayette County and one in Woodford County.
In Ohio, one lab-confirmed case had been reported as of Monday. The county of residence was unknown, said Kristopher Weiss, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
But the state is also reporting more than 770 so-called ?Class B? cases of suspected flu or flu-like illness, Weiss said.
The ?Class B? cases are not lab-confirmed.
In Ohio, 20 sentinel physicians around the state report suspected flu cases to the state health department, Weiss said.
Many viruses circulate in the winter months when close contact and holiday crowds make it easy for bugs to spread. In Mount Lookout, Cardinal Pacelli School is closed today Tues because about a dozen of the school?s 25 teachers have what school officials called stomach flu.
Northern Kentucky health officials reported a single flu case identified through rapid testing in Boone County.
The case, which involved an adult, was not confirmed by the state lab, said Emily Gresham Wherle, spokeswoman for the Northern Kentucky Health Department.