Surge in Flu Cases Prompts Clinic to Extend Hours

A surge in flu cases has led Novant Health to extend the hours of its prime-care clinic to ease the squeeze in Forsyth Medical Center’s emergency room.

The clinic at 600 Highland Oaks Drive will be open until 11:30 p.m. daily for up to eight weeks, Novant officials said. The clinic normally closes at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. James Guerrini, the medical director for the clinic, said that there were several days last week when patient visits to Forsyth’s emergency room exceeded 300.

"Many of those visits related to respiratory illnesses that accompany flu outbreaks," he said. "Our Novant physician practices throughout the area are also reporting high occurrences of flu and related respiratory illnesses."

That includes a 15 percent increase in cases last week to about 135 at the clinic.

"We are available as an alternative to the emergency room for many cases of the flu and often can offer a lower co-payment for patients," Guerrini said.

Influenza cases continue to rise in the Triad and the state even though the peak of the flu season typically is mid-February.

The N.C. Division of Public Health reported last week that nearly 5.2 percent of patients examined by the 76 participants in the N.C. Influenza Sentinel Surveillance program had flu symptoms during the week that ended Feb. 9. That represented a statewide high in cases for the second consecutive week.

Twelve health-care groups in the Triad participate in the sentinel program, as well as the student-health services at Appalachian State and Wake Forest universities.

"However, we still are far below the record high of 7.7 percent recorded during mid-December 2003," said Leah Devlin, the state’s health director. "We don’t know when this flu season will peak, but we do know that the season can extend until May."

The community physicians group with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has not felt the need to expand clinic hours because of flu cases, spokeswoman Bonnie Davis said.

Flu shots are recommended for pregnant women; people who work with children, the elderly, or in health-care or long-term-care sites such as nursing homes; people with chronic diseases; and adults who are 50 and older. Children from 6 months to 5 years old also should get vaccinated.

Local and state health officials said that a major reason for the increase in influenza is a strain from Australia that didn’t emerge in the United States until it was too late to be factored into the flu vaccine for this season.

Health officials said that it’s not too late to get a flu shot, which will provide some resistance for the Australian strain. A flu-clinic finder is available at www.nccarelink.gov under the alert section.

It takes about two weeks after a shot to become fully immunized.

Typical flu symptoms are a fever of 100 degrees or higher, a nagging cough or sore throat, and muscle pain.

"If people seek medical help within 48 hours of flu symptoms showing up, there is medication that can shorten the length of the flu regardless of whether the person had the vaccine," Guerrini said.

The challenge with the flu is its incubation time, said Dr. Jim Lederer, an infectious-disease specialist at Forsyth.

"The flu could be transmitted to an individual, but the symptoms may not show up for a day, so there is a risk of exposure to people they come in contact with," he said.

– Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.

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Avoiding the flu

The N.C. Division of Public Health recommends taking these steps:

–Get a vaccine shot to gain at least some protection against the flu strains that have emerged in the Triad.

–Wash your hands frequently.

–Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

–Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.

–Avoid contact with people with flu symptoms since the incubation period can be more than a day.

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